The young Belgian rider Cian Uijtdebroeks, among the main hopes of the cycling peloton, has signed up for four years with the Visma-Lease a Bike team from January 1, the team of Jonas Vingegaard and Wout Van Aert announced on Saturday .
Aged 20, Uijtdebroeks, who was under contract with the German structure Bora-Hansgrohe, won the Tour de l’Avenir in 2022, an event reserved for under-23s, and this year took eighth place in the Vuelta at the pros.
Considered a general classification rider, capable of shining in stage races, he had been on the radar of the powerful Dutch team for several years.
“We have been following Cian since he was a junior,” declared the sports director of the ex-Jumbo-Visma. “When the opportunity to sign him arose, we didn’t hesitate. Cian is a perfect reinforcement for our team. He seeks to develop in all areas. We are happy that he chose us and that he chose our approach.”
Uijtdebroeks joins the team which crushed the competition this year on the three grand tours, winning the Giro with Primoz Roglic, retaining the Tour de France with Vingegaard and signing an unprecedented hat-trick in the Vuelta, Sepp Kuss winning ahead of his two leaders .
“It’s an honor to learn from guys like Jonas, Wout and Sepp,” commented the young Belgian, quoted in the Dutch team’s press release.
However, he will not benefit from Roglic’s expertise. After eight seasons spent in the ranks of the Dutch team, the Slovenian, who is 34 years old, was one of the main protagonists of the transfer window by going the opposite way to join Bora-Hansgrohe.
hpa/vol
