Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma-Lease a Bike) has been left scratching his head over his string of disappointing performances, complaining of ‘numb legs’ after plummeting down the Vuelta a España standings on a comparatively innocuous stage 7.
In a stage received by Wout van Aert and teed up by the selfless defending champion Sepp Kuss, the shine was taken off the day for Visma-Lease a Bike as Uijtdebroeks suffered on the late climb of the Alto del 14% and went on to ship greater than eight minutes.
The 21-year-old expertise had began the day extra then seven minutes down on the shock chief Ben O’Connor (Decathlon-AG2R) however nonetheless within the common classification image at simply over two minutes down on Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and one minute again from his co-leader, Kuss.
However, when Roglič and his crew lit issues up on the category-2 climb deep into Friday’s stage, Uijtdebroeks rapidly discovered himself going backwards.
“I experience as exhausting as I can, my coronary heart fee shouldn’t be on the restrict, however I nonetheless have a numb feeling in my legs and every thing simply blocks,” he advised Belgian broadcaster VTM after the stage.
This has change into a well-known feeling for Uijtdebroeks, who has but to see lift-off in his Visma-Lease a Bike tenure that started along with his shocking and controversial change from Bora-Hansgrohe final winter. The Belgian had dominated the junior circuit, received the Tour de l’Avenir in 2022, positioned within the high 10 finally yr’s Vuelta at his Grand Tour debut, and made a shiny sufficient begin in his first races for Visma this yr.
But issues have gone awry, with DNFs on the Volta a Catalunya and Giro d’Italia adopted by middling shows on the Tour de Suisse and Vuelta a Burgos, and now this first-week setback on the Vuelta.
“We have usually stated that it may very well be on account of fatigue or this or that, nevertheless it can’t be that it retains coming again. It can’t be fatigue each time,” Uijtdebroeks continued.
“Until final yr I by no means had this. I’ve by no means skilled driving round with such a numb feeling. Even after I contact them, my legs really feel numb. I simply can’t do something anymore. That’s not regular.
“On such a brief climb, I ought to be capable of sit rather more on the entrance. If it occurs as soon as, it is not unhealthy, but when it occurs continuously, it is not enjoyable. I work actually exhausting for it, nevertheless it’s like I’m driving round with swollen legs that do not produce any energy. We need to look into what may very well be the reason for this.”
Uijtdebroeks’ 2024 Grand Tour ambitions have now veered off the rails, the potential he wished to discover by switching groups seemingly additional away than it was earlier than. He’ll help Kuss within the the rest of this Vuelta however his thoughts is already lurching in direction of the 2025 season.
“I’ll assist the fellows who’re doing properly as finest I can,” he stated. “We additionally need to look additional into the reason for this. We must strategy it in a different way for subsequent yr anyway.”
