Movistar's Uijtdebroeks explains getting dropped during dramatic team time trial at the Tour de France

Cian Uijtdebroeks got off to a dramatic start in the Tour de France. The 23-year-old Belgian arrived in Barcelona with high hopes for the general classification and was backed by a strong Movistar team. That included support for the team time trial in Stage 1, but it was precisely in that discipline that things went completely wrong on Saturday.

Uijtdebroeks and Movistar held on to an excellent time trial for a long time. At the first checkpoint, the Spaniards were in seventh place at the end of the day; they were still in seventh at the second checkpoint, and they started the final stretch with the tenth-fastest time of the day.

From there, things went rapidly downhill—actually, from the moment the climb began. Uijtdebroeks had to drop back at the foot of the second-to-last climb, and panic immediately set in among the entire team.

Pablo Castrillo waited, but there were still a few Movistar riders up front. They were at a crossroads: should they keep going and aim for a good time, or wait for the team leader? It ended up being a half-hearted mix of both. Raúl Garcia Pierna crossed the finish line solo and clocked the 20th-fastest time.

Behind them, it was a long wait for a sign of life from Uijtdebroeks. He finally crossed the finish line, completely spent, 2 seconds behind Castrillo and Jefferson Cepeda, 35 seconds behind Garcia Pierna. He finished 1.53 minutes behind stage winner Jonas Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike.

After the finish, the big question, of course, was what exactly had happened to Uijtdebroeks. The Belgian completely collapsed and said, “I had cramps heading into the first climb, but it wasn’t easy to break away. I think it’s because of the heat.”

"Maybe because it's the first day of competition and we're going full throttle right away," Uijtebroeks continued, searching for explanations amid the sweltering conditions in Barcelona. "The body isn't used to that. And once you get cramps, it's tough."

In the end, the time loss was enormous. “My teammates tried to push me to my limits, and I gave it my all,” he told French media, trying to stay positive. “It’s only the first day; there are still three weeks to go.”