Visma | Lease sees yet another rider drop out for the fall races: "We really can't afford anything else to go wrong"
Cycling
Visma | Lease a Bike will also be without Cian Uijtdebroeks for the rest of 2024. The young Belgian had to abandon the Vuelta a España due to a COVID-19 infection, and he will not be competing in any of the remaining races in September and October.
Through his social media, Uijtdebroeks announced that he is now focusing on 2025. "My season is over. I’ve taken some good rest and am currently working on resolving some physical issues, to be ready for 2025. I’m looking forward to rebuilding."
For Uijtdebroeks, the season in the Vuelta ended somewhat quietly. After his much-discussed transfer from BORA-hansgrohe last winter, he performed strongly in the spring. He completed a long training block leading up to the Giro d’Italia, where Uijtdebroeks showed good form. However, COVID-19 threw a wrench in the works. Through Switzerland and Burgos, he had hoped to make a big impact in the Vuelta, but that didn’t work out. Another COVID infection compounded the situation.
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Visma | Lease a Bike faces an overcrowded sickbay
Uijtdebroeks is just the latest rider who will be absent in the final weeks of the season. Sepp Kuss and Jonas Vingegaard are taking time off to be with their newborn babies, Robert Gesink retired after the Vuelta, and Wout van Aert dropped out of the same race with a season-ending knee injury. In early September, Tim van Dijke suffered a hard crash at the BEMER Cyclassics, breaking his wrist. Koen Bouwman also went down in the same race but managed to finish. However, the Dutch rider skipped the Tour of Luxembourg afterward.
And that’s not all—Thomas Gloag (broken elbows), Ben Tulett (broken shoulder), Dylan van Baarle (broken hip), and Loe van Belle (broken shoulder) will all miss the rest of the season as well. Additionally, Michel Hessmann is sidelined due to a suspension following a positive doping test. Now, Uijtdebroeks' physical issues are added to this growing list.
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Visma | Lease a Bike hopes the situation won’t worsen
In a roster of 28 riders, having 11 unavailable is a significant blow. Team manager Arthur van Dongen was confronted with the long list of unavailable riders during the Tour of Luxembourg. He indicated that the team has reached its limit. "We really can't afford anything else to go wrong or we’ll have to start a race like Paris-Tours with only six riders, as our development team is also racing there."
In the races that have already taken place in recent weeks, and in the upcoming ones, Visma | Lease a Bike has not yet had to field riders they would prefer to rest. "So far, we’ve been able to line up the riders we want, with only Tosh Van der Sande stepping in for Koen Bouwman. But that fits perfectly into Tosh’s schedule," said Van Dongen. Visma | Lease a Bike still has nine races left in this period, besides the World Championships. The 15 to 18 available riders will have to pull their weight...
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Remaining races Visma | Lease a Bike 2024
22-09-2024 Cycling World Championships
22-09-2024 Gooikse Pijl
02-10-2024 Elfstedenrace
03-10-2024 Sparkassen Münsterland Giro
05-10-2024 Giro dell'Emilia
06-10-2024 Paris-Tours
07-10-2024 Coppa Bernocchi
10-10-2024 Gran Piemonte
12-10-2024 Il Lombardia
15-10-2024 Gree-Tour of Guangxi
Il Lombardia 2024
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Latest Comments
- Well explained, thanks for the clarity! Daniel DantasDanieldantas20-12-2024
- This is the kind of 'news' that belongs in a cheap tabloid. No matter how boring the offseason gets, nobody wants to read this.
santiagobenites19-12-2024 - I wish we could have seen him try. He'd absolutely get dropped before Pogi overtakes his domestiquesVeganpotter10-12-2024
- Talk is cheap! Next year barring crashes with a healthy team... all well be on track! Some need to talk to make a headline!mootman27-11-2024
- I do not see this event listed on HBO Max Sports Online? Can anyone confirm? Thanks!
MrYuck23-11-2024 - It seemed that he was focusing forward at the time of the crash, after seeing a quick video snippet. But one thing I think he should focus on more intently is breaking a bad habit he has, right now. And that is his constant looking over his shoulders. He does that so much, that I am very sure it is not good for him. Simply watch videos of the greats of CX and you will see very little of that constant looking over their shoulders. That is a behavior that betrays a bit of insecurity on his part. He shouldn't be so concerned, incessantly, about what is over his shoulder. He needn't worry they didn't all disappear. He neds to keep his focus more ahead of himself, and he needs to pay a bit more attention to himself, in a confident manner. It is very frustrating to watch, because it is apparent that he has a lot of potential, and is in much better shape thwan many of his competitors, but the mental game needs to be sharpened more, because that part of strategy plays a huge part in the final results
reemmo022-11-2024 - hahahaha love this shit! I didnt even watched the race, but reading all the gossip articles of how stupid this is!Zatoichi19-11-2024
- Van Aert is really handsome. He can influence me all day! Ditto for Philipsen. Why do you think many of us love cycling?: to see heroic attempts at climbing mountains at high altitudes or to watch speedsters sprint for the finish line or to watch a human being ride at break neck speed down a tricky descent? No, it's all about their lean physiques and muscular legs. (apologies for objectifying these dedicated and amazing athletes).BarwonHeadsUp25-10-2024
- It is unfortunate that the author can't feel the joy that Pogacar brings to the sport and his fans who are legion and I for one feel lucky to have watched such a memorable performance and historic season From the Strada until yesterday with multiple wins in stages in both tours and beyond dominance in the World's. He is proud to wear the Rainbow stripes, shows his leadership to protect his fellows and is as courteous and sportsman-like as the sport allows. He goes early to not have to respond to each attack as all the rest would make him do it. Any racer who could would do the same. Don't "grow tired" of greatness as it is always fleeting.ccrider13-10-2024
- What load of rubbish. Pog is likely a once in a generation cyclist, the like of which hasn't been seen since 'the Cannibal '. How many people were complaining that Merckx was making racing predictable? I remember this year's World RR as one of the most exciting I've watched. Mainly BECAUSE Pog was the favourite and launched what everyone thought (Pog included) was a suicidal attack with 80km to go. For the next 2 hours, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "this is too much, even for Pog". Maybe Zonnefeld prefers the snooze-fest that is a bunch sprint? Like most people I know, I can't watch two hours of the bunch riding very fast... I wait for the final 5km and watch just the sprint. In any event, most races are won from a sprint or lone break. What difference does it make who makes the lone break? Ultimately, the other contenders will have to figure out a way to beat Pog. Even if that means collaboration between teams. It's going to be an exciting few seasons, until the next Pog arrives on the scene. If this is boring, heaven knows what exciting looks like!Michael513-10-2024