Cian Uijtdebroeks seemed to be on his way to seventh place in the final classification in his first major Grand Tour, but the 20-year-old Belgian ended up dropping to eighth place on the penultimate stage of the Vuelta a España. Uijtdebroeks couldn’t keep up with the group of favorites in the final stretch of the race and saw his teammate, Aleksandr Vlasov, overtake him.
In a statement to the Belgian press, Uijtdebroeks reveals that he still has weaknesses that need to be worked on for better standings in upcoming competitions. “The finale was very tough,” he said.
The young Belgian adds, “And really explosive. I know that explosiveness is still a big issue for me.”
João Almeida’s Attack
“I can go fast for an hour, but I can’t produce very high power for a short period. Thanks to Jan Hirt and Sérgio Higuita (teammates in the breakaway), we remained really strong, ensuring that João Almeida wouldn’t attack me again.”
Cian Uijtdebroeks reveals he wasn’t chosen by the team
The cheerful Belgian has introduced himself as a Grand Tour cyclist, even to his own team. “The team also wanted to fight with me for the classification, but they didn’t believe in it very much. Instead, it was the team’s strategy for Alex (referring to Vlasov) to be the man. I tried, alongside him, to do my best to stay at the front.”