'El nuevo jefe' Cian Uijtdebroeks explains misunderstanding: 'Don't know where it came from either'
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Follow us on GoogleMovistar has also outlined its plans for 2026 and an important role is reserved for newcomer Cian Uijtdebroeks. The Belgian who left Visma | Lease a Bike wants to perform the next four years on behalf of his new Spanish team and will be thrown into the dark next summer with his Tour debut, in Barcelona. At IDLProCycling he explained his plans.
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Movistar usually presented its plans and ambitions for the upcoming cycling season just before Christmas at the headquarters of sponsor Telefonica in Madrid, but at the end of 2025, for the first time, it chose Valencia as the venue for its team presentation. That way, proud team boss Eusebio Unzué could also welcome more international press.
In front of the idyllic Palau de les Arts, the men and women of Movistar presented themselves for 2026, before being introduced to all the stakeholders in the building. In it, Uijtdebroeks - adorned as always with a big smile - was the shining centerpiece, along with leading men and women such as Ivan Romeo, Enric Mas, Marlen Reusser, Cat Ferguson and Paula Ostiz.
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Uijtdebroeks explains misunderstanding
Ex-Tour winner Pedro Delgado spoke amicably, but in Spanish. The perfectly Dutch, English and French-speaking Uijtdebroeks still needs to work on the home language of his new team, so he answered in English when asked what his goals are for 2026.
'I will ride the Tour de France for the first time, but I want to get everything out of it right away,' explained Movistar's new leader. 'In addition, Itzulia Basque Cpuntry is an important race, for both the team and myself. And I will make my debut in the Walloon Classics, where I also want to reach a high level,' he told the podium.
There was an interview with Marca last week, in which Uijtdebroeks actually talked about the Giro and Vuelta as options. The Belgian laughs when we confront him with that. 'I also don't know where that came from or what went wrong. I said that the Giro and Tour were options, the Vuelta was never on the table," he explains the misunderstanding.
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Uijtdebroeks wants a taste of Tour
So why a Tour debut in the end and not the Giro? 'That has mainly to do with the course. In the Giro there is a long time trial and it is not an extremely hard edition, while in the Tour there is a lot of climbing. And I have to get a taste of it, right? It is the race where I want to show myself in the coming years," he said. But that doesn't mean I go there without ambition, certainly not. I want to show myself in the classification.'
Uijtdebroeks will make his debut for Movistar at the beginning of February in the Tour of Valencia. Afterwards, he will head to Paris-Nice for the month of April, which is important for him, with the Tour of the Basque Country, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, while altitude training is planned in between. Heading into the Tour, he will ride the Critérium du Dauphiné.
Program Cian Uijtdebroeks 2026
Tour of Valencia
Paris-Nice
Tour of the Basque Country
Flèche Wallonne
Liege-Bastogne-Liege
Critérium du Dauphiné
Tour de France
Paris-Nice
Tour of the Basque Country
Flèche Wallonne
Liege-Bastogne-Liege
Critérium du Dauphiné
Tour de France
You will soon read an in-depth interview with Cian Uijtdebroeks on our website!
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Tom van der Salm (27) comes from the charming town of Zeilberg (Deurne) in the Netherlands and has been working as editor-in-chief & journalist at IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, In de Leiderstrui, since 2019. He travels with the peloton from the Tour de France to the AlUla Tour and from the World Championships in Rwanda or Canada to the Zilvermeercross in Mol. In his spare time he enjoys playing football, mountain biking, running, walking with his Labrador/Stabyhoun, investing, holidays, (specialty) beers, reading, cooking and watching sports & documentaries!
Contact: [email protected]
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Latest Comments
- If he finished ninth at the Tour, why didn’t he get a stage win too? I’m still trying to understand how the overall standings work.julien11-11-2026
- I like the honesty of that training post. Even the best riders feel the difference after a few weeks off, and he’s got plenty of time to build back up.samanthak11-11-2026
- Fifth in the world rankings after that autumn run is some achievement. Pidcock was so aggressive at the Tour, too—hopefully he can turn a few of those near-misses into wins inpatriciaw11-11-2026
- Does XEFI’s investment mean the team will have more money to sign riders, or is it mainly a sponsorship and naming change? And is Roglič expected to race much next season?jeremya11-11-2026
- If the roster is nearly complete, why bring up Roglič at all? Feels like the article is turning a firm “no” into a transfer rumour.andrewf11-11-2026
- Wuling is no joke—105 km of climbing to 3,275 metres is brutal. Five minutes off Dyball’s record is still an incredible ride.velodromevirtuoso111-11-2026
- Roglič at TotalEnergies would be a fascinating move, but Heulot sounds pretty clear that it isn’t happening. His experience could be a massive boost for the younger riders, though.jennifer1911-11-2026
- Eight riders told to go for stages, and nobody gets one—hard to know what the plan was there. It’ll be interesting to see whether they pick a clear leader next time.bikebuffj10-11-2026
- Was Bernal’s 20th place really their best GC result? I thought he might have finished higher. Either way, it sounds like a rough Tour for the whole team.gearguru3310-11-2026
- Five days in breaks with no stage win is a painful stat. The team had chances, but they need to turn those opportunities into results.julien10-11-2026