{"id":661557,"date":"2025-12-30T02:47:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T02:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/661557\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T02:47:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T02:47:14","slug":"with-visma-i-wasnt-even-sure-id-be-able-to-do-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/661557\/","title":{"rendered":"With Visma, I wasn\u2019t even sure I\u2019d be able to do that…"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cian Uijtdebroeks<\/a> has become Movistar Team<\/a>\u2019s marquee signing, a move that marks a significant step in the Spanish team\u2019s strategy to strengthen its Grand Tour presence. After leaving Team Visma <\/a>| Lease a Bike, the young Belgian arrives with the ambition to grow as a three-week racer and add depth to the roster at the most important races on the calendar.<\/p>\n

The rider expressed his delight with his new team and his surprise at the level of professionalism he found at Movistar. With Het Nieuwsblad, Uijtdebroeks highlighted the strength of the structure, the personalized focus on nutrition and wellbeing, and a shared vision to grow together at Grand Tours, which fuels his enthusiasm for this new phase of his career\u2014contrasting, for example, with what led his former Visma teammate Matteo Jorgenson to leave the team.<\/p>\n

Objectives and team switch<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Uijtdebroeks spoke about his decision to leave Visma and sign for Movistar, explaining that his main goal is to improve as a Grand Tour rider and that he needed a team that would let him pursue that target.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal has always been to improve as a Grand Tour rider, and the best way to achieve that is to be able to race them. With Visma, I wasn\u2019t even sure I\u2019d be able to do that in 2026. Then you\u2019re no longer on the same wavelength. I started looking for a team that matched my ambition, and Movistar is the perfect fit. We can grow together in the Grand Tours. Don\u2019t forget I spoke with them before signing with Bora.\u201d<\/p>\n

Movistar Team\u2019s structure and supportThe rider also emphasised the importance of Movistar\u2019s support structure, especially in areas such as nutrition and personal wellbeing<\/a>, which he considers essential to his development.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor now, I find it a very professional fit. I receive a nutrition plan every day, not through an app, but from a specialist who speaks directly to me and makes adjustments when needed. I think we could be a good match. I\u2019m a rider who sometimes loses touch with his feelings. The team will bring that out of me, asking: Cian, yes, your numbers are good, but do you also feel good as a person? That could definitely work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cian<\/p>\n

Cian Uijtdebroeks, star of Movistar Team\u2019s presentation<\/p>\n

Personal life and sacrificesUijtdebroeks reflected on the challenge of balancing personal life with a professional career and how he and his partner Magdeleine Valli\u00e8res, women’s world champion<\/a>, share a common vision of sacrifice to reach their dreams.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd after Guangxi, I was already at a training camp with my new Spanish friends. It\u2019s not always easy to see each other often, but we share the same vision. Our mutual dream has always been to become great cyclists, and that doesn\u2019t happen without sacrifice. We have to make it happen over the next 10 to 15 years. Our lives are like this now, chasing the dream.\u201d<\/p>\n