Teams & Riders Cian Uijtdebroeks - From the wetlands to the top of cycling

[theyoungest]

Altough more than average talented, he has not the qualities of a future GT-winner. Probably not even a potential podium-rider. Not explosive, and mediocre in TT. Bad for stagewins and bad for GT-ambitions. But he does have talent.

But what happened this season, and probably also during the winter ? It's clear he's having trouble digesting the food-app. After that, both Uijtdebroeks and the team made serious mistakes. The rider by concealing the fact that he already suffered from numb legs at the beginning of the season. The team by allowing him to stay in the Vuelta for two weeks despite his poor health condition. I suspect that, after the heavy criticism, the team is now using a Covid excuse to withdraw him from the Vuelta. But much too late. Hopefully his season ends now, and the necessary medical examinations are now finally being carried out. Then everything can still work out before the start of the next season. It is important that they do not put the rider in a straightjacket, but take his qualities, weaknesses and physical limitations into account. Otherwise he will be destroyed next season and it will be the end of his career.

People are obsessed with this food app, as if it limits riders in how much they eat, but actually for a lot of them it results in eating more than they did before. I reckon for someone like Uijtdebroeks, who did this all on his own on his previous team, this will have been no different.

The idea of a straitjacket is very prevalent in your Belgian media, mostly because they feel Van Aert is being held back by his team and doesn't get to be the leader in every single race he starts, but actually they're probably quite advanced in an individual approach for every rider. That doesn't mean they get the best out of every one of them though... clearly in the case of Uijtdebroeks they didn't.

 

[ingsve]

This is more what I was expecting for Cian given the white jersey group thing. They have added the 2 Faun classics and Jura and Doubs to his calender as well as Coppi e Bartali and Slovenia.

Those are certainly races where he can challenge more for the win rather than merely top 10s.

 

[CyclistAbi]

One of the issues that gave Uijtdebroeks problems in 2024 was a consistent feeling of dead legs. Thankfully, he has now fixed that issue. "That worked. At first I thought it was the femoral artery, but there was a pinched nerve in my lower back and that was causing the pain," he says. "The team's medical team did a great job to clear this up and start treatment. I did a lot of strength training to strengthen my back and now I feel good again. I have found a body again that is capable of going all out. The difference is huge. Last year I felt that my physical capacities were there, but that pain blocked everything. When I wanted to stand up on the pedals, my legs would collapse."

"With Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard I have two great examples" - Cian Uijtdebroeks looking to become Visma's next superstar Grand Tour leader

This time last year, Cian Uijtdebroeks was one of the most talked about riders in the peloton as his transfer to Team Visma | Lease a Bike and the controversy surrounding it caused headlines. It's fai...

cyclinguptodate.com

So the cause for issues in the previous season was diagnosed and treated, good to hear that.

 

[LongtimeLurker]

Wonder how much of role of him leaving his previous coach was a concern for him. It was talked of how well he managed him and they had great trust in the '23 season. It has or was talk he asked his coach to follow him to Visma and the coach decided to stay at Bora not move across.

 

[Netserk]

Cian Uijtdebroeks fights back tears after off day in Tirreno: "The dull feeling of last year is back: crap!"

https://twitter.com/x/status/1900950491724484680

View: https://x.com/sporza_koers/status/1900950491724484680

 

[Andre]

Cian Uijtdebroeks fights back tears after off day in Tirreno: "The dull feeling of last year is back: crap!"

https://twitter.com/x/status/1900950491724484680

View: https://x.com/sporza_koers/status/1900950491724484680

4:08 in GC. Pretty sad indeed. I'm beginning to doubt if he can improve this year

 

[Peyroteo94]

Early peaker. Probably was training and behave like a pro very early in his career.

 

[Berniece]

Cian Uijtdebroeks fights back tears after off day in Tirreno: "The dull feeling of last year is back: crap!"

https://twitter.com/x/status/1900950491724484680

View: https://x.com/sporza_koers/status/1900950491724484680

I feel for him, heart rate at 150 but can’t push more power. Clearly there is still an issue with his body.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Early peaker. Probably was training and behaviour like a pro very early in his career.

omg

 

[MLKarlos]

Cian Uijtdebroeks fights back tears after off day in Tirreno: "The dull feeling of last year is back: crap!"

https://twitter.com/x/status/1900950491724484680

View: https://x.com/sporza_koers/status/1900950491724484680

Ahhhh damn what a shame. I hope they will solve this

 

[Red Rick]

What did they think was wrong first again? Back issue?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

What did they think was wrong first again? Back issue?

That was their conclusion last year. I'm sure they checked him for the same issue as Aru and Oomen had, that's what was initially being proposed as a likely explanation.

 

[Red Rick]

That was their conclusion last year. I'm sure they checked him for the same issue as Aru and Oomen had, that's what was initially being proposed as a likely explanation.

I'm honestly just getting Dumoulin style burnout vibes now. Long COVID can *** with the recovery.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I'm honestly just getting Dumoulin style burnout vibes now. Long COVID can *** with the recovery.

Hmm, to me it still feels more like Aru/Oomen style issues. Simply not being able to push the power you know you should be able to push. He was optimistic and very driven to get back to his former level. I didn't get that vibe from Dumoulin tbf. As for long Covid, i have no idea. Unfortunately, neither do they.

 

[Mayomaniac]

I'm honestly just getting Dumoulin style burnout vibes now. Long COVID can *** with the recovery.

Yeah, maybe there is a mental aspect to it too.

 

[tobydawq]

Hmm, to me it still feels more like Aru/Oomen style issues. Simply not being able to push the power you know you should be able to push. He was optimistic and very driven to get back to his former level. I didn't get that vibe from Dumoulin tbf. As for long Covid, i have no idea. Unfortunately, neither do they.

The iliac artery thing? Yeah, riders have been operated for that (like Aru) but not really been able to return to their top level (at least I can't think of any cases). It doesn't sound good.

 

[Mayomaniac]

The iliac artery thing? Yeah, riders have been operated for that (like Aru) but not really been able to return to their top level (at least I can't think of any cases). It doesn't sound good.

Aru being the impulsive idiot he is went for the operation with the shorter recovery time that has a clearly worse track record when it comes to full recovery, that has to be said...

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

The iliac artery thing? Yeah, riders have been operated for that (like Aru) but not really been able to return to their top level (at least I can't think of any cases). It doesn't sound good.

Yeah. Oomen had the same thing and after his Giro 2018, never again remotely got back to that level. I think Van Vleuten or one of the other top Dutch ladies also had it, i'm not sure.
But i assume they checked Uijtdebroeks for that, i can't imagine they let him ride another year like that if there was a chance that was the issue.

 

[Samamba]

Nerve issues coming out of the lower back are very hard to solve in certain cases. I have been struggling with similar problems for 10 years straight. Stress does have a negative impact on it, so in that sense something mental could make it worse for Cian, but it won't be the root of the problem.

 

[Samamba]

Yeah. Oomen had the same thing and after his Giro 2018, never again remotely got back to that level. I think Van Vleuten or one of the other top Dutch ladies also had it, i'm not sure.
But i assume they checked Uijtdebroeks for that, i can't imagine they let him ride another year like that if there was a chance that was the issue.

You're talking about iliac artery endofibrosis, a increasing problem for cyclists and speed skaters, cause of the aggressive position they are in all the time. Iserbyt just had surgery on it too. In the past it was hard to fix, now the procedure is getting better and most people can get back to good level, but not everyone.

It is detectable through some blood circulation tests, so they have definitely checked him, but it's not that easy cause there's a lot of other causes for bad blood circulation in a leg and I also think (not sure about that) that they actually need to do surgery to really know how bad the situation actually is in an artery.

 

[Netserk]

You're talking about iliac artery endofibrosis, a increasing problem for cyclists and speed skaters, cause of the aggressive position they are in all the time.

Which goes back to training and behaving like a pro from a very early age.

 

[Peyroteo94]

His problems are probably a result of professional training since he was a teenager. His body imploded.

 

[Salvarani]

Which goes back to training and behaving like a pro from a very early age.

From what I seen, his style been sort of like someone who is giving his all through every pedal stroke as well.

It feels like it could be quite laboring and maybe detrimental to someones body with time.

 

[Red Rick]

Tbh I think it's hard to accuse blobloblo of having an extreme position on the bike.

 

[Samamba]

Which goes back to training and behaving like a pro from a very early age.

That is true yes, it's mainly the overly aggressive position pros ride in nowadays. It isn't the only problem linked with it, also the increase in knee injuries. I fear it's only going to get worse. Think at some point there needs to be some serious research being done about it and maybe the UCI needs to set some rules if it actually gets bad.