Don’t overlook Giro debutant Van Uden in Kooij’s shadow: "Even if I start in 15th position, I can still finish 6th"

While there is often a lot of excitement at the start of a grand tour, there was hardly any of that in Dürres. As a result, Van Uden will not get the full Grande Partenza experience in his first grand tour. "But it's nice to discover a new country. We were on the Tour of Turkey the week before the Giro, and it's actually quite similar. It's slightly different, but the same basic idea. Training in an up-and-coming cycling country, as we can call it, is always interesting."

There were some complaints about the condition of the roads in Albania, where you can't expect kindness from other drivers. Not all roads were equally good, but that's sometimes also the case in Belgium. For us Dutch, that is. We have to deal with it, smiled Van Uden, who has Bram Welten, Niklas Märkl, and Alex Edmondson at his side as fast riders in the Giro. After three days in Albania, Romain Bardet and Max Poole are still doing well in the rankings on behalf of the team.

After his definitive breakthrough with four professional victories in 2024, starting in the Giro was a logical next step for Van Uden. "I was a little nervous, but that's normal. I was really excited. As a professional cyclist, riding a Grand Tour is one of your goals. The preparation also went very well. I felt good during the tour of Turkey, so I feel fit. Now I just need to get the mental side of things right, and once I've done that, I could well be set for success."

The sprinter has not yet managed to win this year, although he did finish in the top ten in the AlUla Tour, the Tour of the Algarve, Tirreno-Adriatico, and, most recently, the Tour of Turkey. According to Van Uden, he still needs to 'click' in 2025. "By that, I mean making the right choices and doing things like that. In terms of sprint preparation, do not let yourself get boxed in or stuff like that."

"Of course, it would have been nice to win a stage in the Tour of Turkey, but it was especially important that we rode well as a team. If you win there but the team isn't riding well, you're further from home. The guys did a great job in Turkey, and now it's up to me to make the right choices," said Van Uden, who would normally get his first chance on Tuesday in Lecce.

A stage win would, of course, be ideal, but Van Uden realizes that the competition, including Olav Kooij, is strong and that his Giro is also part of a process. "My goal is to sprint as much as possible. It's not that I've set myself the goal of winning a stage, although I would like to achieve that. Above all, I want to be able to ride my sprint several times, and then I'm confident that I can achieve good results. Even if I start in 15th position, I can still finish 6th and feel good about it. Riding good sprints is most important for me," he confirms.

Looking ahead, reaching Rome is also an ambition. "Finishing the Giro is obviously also a goal. Otherwise, I wouldn't be starting here. But I'm not focusing too much on that: it's mainly day by day," says Van Uden, who says he is not too worried about the super tough third week. "I climb well. I felt that in Turkey too, so I'm curious. I usually have that in me, so we'll see," he concludes.