Cian Uijtdebroeks puts off coming back to Visma | Lease a Bike for now

Uijtdebroeks struggled with lower back problems during last year’s Vuelta a España and thought he had overcome them at the start of 2025, until the relatively unexplained issues resurfaced at Tirreno-Adriatico. The talented Belgian was left at a loss.

He stepped away from racing for a while and made his comeback in mid-April during three French one-day races, though things still didn’t go smoothly. Visma | Lease a Bike decided to pull Uijtdebroeks from the Tour de Romandie, and the team skipped the Tour of Slovenia altogether due to several injury cases.

Richard Plugge provided clarification on behalf of the team to HLN. “Last year, Cian was riding well until he started having back issues. This year, he’s also struggled with a physical problem and asked us for a few weeks of rest to fully reset. I’m totally fine with that, because in the long run, it will pay off. We need to keep building with him slowly. Some young riders take off right away, like Matthew Brennan. Others take longer to reach their full potential.”

Uijtdebroeks was originally scheduled to ride the Tour de Suisse, but he has since been taken off the provisional start list. Julien Vermote will take his place for Visma | Lease a Bike.

Uijtdebroeks has still been active on social media, sharing updates from his training rides in the mountains. With captions like “step by step” and “building the base,” he makes it clear that he’s working toward a return. That comeback could potentially happen at the Tour of Poland, which is scheduled for early August.