Visma | Lease sees yet another rider drop out for the fall races: "We really can't afford anything else to go wrong"

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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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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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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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