Cian Uijtdebroeks cites several reasons why things no longer worked at Visma
Cian Uijtdebroeks will today in the opening stage of the Tour of Valencia ride his first race kilometers in the Movistar jersey. The Belgian climber says he is 'intensely happy' with the Spanish team. In an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws, he also explains why things no longer worked out at Visma | Lease a Bike.
It might be the most remarkable transfer with an eye on 2026: Cian Uijtdebroeks leaving Visma | Lease a Bike for a new Spanish adventure with Movistar. But why did the Belgian climber choose the telecom squad? "Movistar is a team not well known in Belgium, but right now I am really happy here. They are intensively focused on me and their training system is different as well."
"In training science, you have on one side Visma’s philosophy and on the other the approach of UAE Emirates. Movistar aligns more with UAE. More zone 2 training and lots of threshold work. In plain language: lots of tempo and long intervals, which my body prefers and in my opinion is also better for a stage racer. At Visma the focus was on short, explosive efforts and therefore lots of VO2 max."
Little input
"I asked to do longer training blocks, but that was difficult within their system. You had little say. That was hard for me. Since Merijn Zeeman left, it became even more disciplined. That works for certain riders. A Jonas (Vingegaard) loves that, it takes the stress away for him, but not for a rider like me. I really want to be involved in planning my training, efforts, and races."
Uijtdebroeks points to time trialing. "In terms of training, Visma is the most precise team in the world. They are extremely focused on data, but for example in time trialing I was absolutely left wanting. Working on position, training sessions. Since Tirreno-Adriatico last year, I haven’t been on the time trial bike. That’s not acceptable for a stage racer, even if you do few time trials. You have to work on that. Jonas was allowed to at Visma."
"Everything is looser here"
At Movistar, he immediately found himself in a different environment where he feels at home. "Everything is looser here and more importance is placed on the rider’s own feeling. There are scales on the table as well, but you are free to use them. [...] I need a looser team, where I can create a professional framework for myself and get the chances I want."
