Bora-Hansgrohe have denied that Cian Uijtdebroeks was bullied in any way during his time at the German team, with directeur sportif Bernie Eisel refuting claims that the 20-year-old Belgian rider was considered ‘too fanatical’ or ridiculed in an 'Anti-Cian' Whatsapp group during the Vuelta a España.
Uijtdebroeks joined Jumbo-Visma at their training camp in Denía, Spain, on Tuesday, with video footage by Het Laatste Nieuws showing him wearing a plain black jersey and shorts but riding a Jumbo-Visma team-issue Cervelo bike.
Bora-Hansgrohe told Cyclingnews they would “strongly condemn” any decision by Uijtdebroeks to train with Jumbo-Visma rather than attend their own training camp in Mallorca.
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Uijtdebroeks is convinced he has the right to terminate his contract with Bora-Hansgrohe and join Jumbo-Visma, refuting their claim that he “is contractually bound with us until 31 December 2024."
Any rider transfer or contract termination has to be approved by the UCI but it is not clear if this has happened.
"The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is monitoring the situation and emphasizes that the applicable rules will be enforced," the UCI wrote in a terse statement on Tuesday.
Uijtdebroeks and his agents A&J All Sports have so far refused to comment on the suggestions of bullying but confirmed at the weekend that Uijtdebroeks has started legal proceedings.
"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."
Dutch journalist Thijs Zonneveld suggested that Uijtdebroeks may have been bullied in ‘In het Wiel’ podcast.
“Several sources say that Uijtdebroeks was something of an outsider at Bora,” Zonneveld said, his comments widely reported in the Dutch and Flemish media.
“He was treated like a kind of nerd by other riders, but also by team leaders. That was because he was very fanatical about certain things. He was weighing his diet, he didn't think his time trial bike was aerodynamic enough, he didn't think his clothing was good enough, so he bought different socks himself.”
“He was like someone in high school who got an A because he studied well, only to be told, 'Oh, you got an A again?!'” Zonneveld added.
“For example, during the Vuelta, there was also an 'Anti-Cian' app group, without himself in it, so they could gossip about him. It's really too childish. He didn't feel at home in that team at all.”
Eisel, who was at the Vuelta with Uijtdebroeks, denied any suggestion of bullying within the team.
“100% I can deny that. Definitely not. Especially from my side, and the riders’ side,” Eisel told GCN from Mallorca.
“He had a team that looked after him, Aleksandr Vlasov had his team that looked after him and, from my point of view, they did an incredible job to protect him. We did everything we could for him. I have to deny that one. It’s that simple. 100% no.”
Eisel admitted that the contract dispute is likely to end up in court. Jumbo-Visma have reportedly offered to pay a symbolic fee of 100,000 Euro, Uijtdebroeks salary for a year. But Wielerflits have reported that Bora-Hansgrohe would want ten times that amount to end the contract dispute.
“There’s not much I can say about it. We have our statement that he’s under contract with us and Jumbo have said they’ve signed him,” Eisel concluded. “It will come down to court. That’s where we are at the moment.”
