Conflict of interest and a lot of money: Cian Uijtdebroeks' affair is just beginning

Just when it seemed that the drama in the cycling transfer market was over, we have again a mess and, again, with Jumbo-Visma in the middle after announcing the signing of Cian Uijdebroeks stating that his contract expired on December 1. The response from Bora-Hansgrohe, his current team, was not long in coming.

Cian Uijdebroeks stars in the latest affair of the cycling transfer market

A few days ago Jumbo-Visma surprised everyone by unexpectedly announcing the signing of the latest pearl of cycling, the young Belgian Cian Uijdebrokes who in his first two seasons as a professional in the ranks of Bora-Hansgrohe has uncovered all his quality suggesting that he can be a reference for the grand tours in the coming years. A contract that would extend until 2027.

What is surprising is the date of the announcement when contracts are usually signed until December 31. Here the controversy began as Jumbo-Visma claims that Uijtdebroeks' contract ended on December 1. Immediately after the announcement, Bora-Hansgrohe denied the signing announcing that the rider also had a contract with them for 2024.

NEWS

Cian Uijtdebroeks will join our team. The 20-year-old Belgian signs a four-year contract until 2027.

Welcome, Cian! #cian2027 pic.twitter.com/rLbVwqFu3g

— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) December 9, 2023

For their part, the cyclist's representation agency also spoke out on the matter, with a statement in which they corroborated Jumbo-Visma's statement also stating that the contract with Bora-Hansgrohe ended on December 1. According to Jumbo-Visma's own sports director, Merijn Zeeman, when they learned of this fact they did not hesitate to proceed with the signing, as it is a cyclist who fits perfectly with the team's approach.

However, this action by Jumbo-Visma has not been well received in the cycling world. Cofidis director Cedric Vasseur or Patrick Lefevere have harshly criticized Jumbo-Visma general manager Richard Plugge for his double game as director of the Dutch team and as head of the team association, even having requested his resignation from this position.

This is not the first time that Jumbo-Visma has been involved in a case like this. The signing of Wout van Aert and the legal battle that took place with his previous team Willens-Crelan was also notable, for which the Dutch team finally had to compensate them with 662,000 €.

Meanwhile, Cian Uijtdebroeks remains isolated from this situation letting his representatives do their job and continues training normally as Chris Froome showed with a picture on his social networks when the Belgian joined the Israel-PremierTech group during a training session near Girona. Interestingly, Uijtdebroeks was not wearing Bora-Hansgrohe's clothes, nor Jumbo-Visma's, wearing a conventional kit while waiting for this whole matter to be resolved.