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.
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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, and at his Grand Tour debut in the Vuelta a España.
Uijtdebroeks was under contract for 2024 with Bora-Hansgrohe but was not appears to have fallen out with the German team.
On Sunday, Israel-Premier Tech rider Chris Froome posted a selfie of Uijtdebroeks training with several members of the team while wearing a blank kit. Later on Sunday, Belgian website WielerFlits reported that Bora-Hansgrohe are seeking a €1 million buyout for their up-and-coming GC star.
Tensions between Uijtdebroeks and his team appeared to surface at the Vuelta this year, with the Belgian openly questioning as to why teammate Aleksandr Vlasov was allowed to attack on stage 20 and move past him to seventh overall.
Upon the conclusion of the Grand Tour, he told Het Nieuwsblad that his team, "They wanted to go for the GC with me, but they didn't believe in that… I'm happy that I could stay in the top 10 – that's what I needed – that I could show the team and other teams that I have what it takes to ride at a consistent level for three weeks."
In October, Uijtdebroeks' frustrations surfaced once again after he complained about his time trial bike setup and Bora-Hansgrohe's time trial training methods after finishing 14th at the Chrono des Nations.
The complaints have seemingly laid the groundwork for the divorce and transfer, with Uijtdebroeks named as a new Jumbo-Visma rider, while Bora-Hansgrohe claiming he is still under contract for 2024.
