In the latest development in the Cian Uijtdebroeks contract saga, the Belgian’s prospective 2024 team Jumbo-Visma have confirmed that the young Belgian will attend the Dutch team’s training camp in Denia, rather than head to Mallorca to join Bora-Hansgrohe.
Jumbo-Visma told Cyclingnews on Monday that the 20-year-old will be joining the team in south-east Spain for the training camp, which begins on Tuesday and runs until the 2024 team presentation in Amsterdam on December 21.
“The team is going on training camp. And we introduced Cian as our newest member, so yes. He will be with us,” Jumbo-Visma told Cyclingnews.
The Dutch squad, which will be known as Visma-Lease a Bike in 2024, announced that they had signed Uijtdebroeks to a four-year deal on Saturday. However, his current squad Bora-Hansgrohe quickly denied the move, stating that the rider is under contract with them through the end of 2024.
Uijtdebroeks’ new management company A&J All Sports later issued a statement via Instagram claiming that the Belgian’s contract with the German team was terminated on December 1, leaving him free to switch squads.
“Legal proceedings already have been initiated by CIan and the UCI is aware of the termination of the agreement,” read the statement.
“Cian is confident about the outcome of the pending procedure and will refrain from further comments at this time. Of course, Cian is excited and looking forward to the future cooperation with Team Visma-Lease a Bike starting next season.”
Bora-Hansgrohe’s short statement simply read, “Cian is and will remain a member of Bora-Hansgrohe, also in the coming 2024 season. He is contractually bound with us until December 31, 2024.”
The contract dispute sparked outrage amongst some rival teams, with Cofidis team manager Cedric Vasseur saying Jumbo-Visma CEO Richard Plugge should quit as the president of the AIGCP teams association.
“What is that again for the @AigcpOfficial president ???” Vasseur wrote on social media. “You have to respect the rules and resign immediately !!! Get out.”
Uijtdebroeks has been a sought-after talent since his days in the junior ranks, where he racked up win after win in dominant fashion, even earning the nickname ‘the next Remco Evenepoel’ from some sections of the Belgian press.
He turned pro with Bora-Hansgrohe in 2022, finishing third at the Sibiu Tour and winning the Tour de l’Avenir before making more progress this season with top 10s at the Volta a Catalunya, Tour de Romandie, Tour de Suisse,…
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