Cian Uijtdebroeks after ‘very explosive’ final: “Was a bit too far, but had good legs”

For Cian Uijtdebroeks it was mainly important to limit the damage in the final of the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia, but the Belgian from Visma | Do lease a bike. “It was quite hectic and the final was very explosive,” he said afterwards Eurosport.

In the final, the riders were faced with a short but very tough ‘wall’ with the steep climb to San Vito (1.4 km at 9.4%). Not exactly an ideal climb for a rider like Cian Uijtdebroeks. “It was really punchy. I had good legs on the longer climb (Colle Maddalena, ed.), but on the last climb I was just a little too far.”

“I had to keep closing holes and I’m not very explosive… I tried to close the holes. In the end I still had good legs on the final climb. I’m happy with that. We only lose a few seconds on the first riders. That’s no drama either. It’s okay, especially for a very punchy first day.”

Uijtdebroeks eventually crossed the line in fourteenth place, in a group ten seconds behind stage winner Jhonatan Narváez, Maximilian Schachmann and Tadej Pogacar.