{"id":550949,"date":"2026-03-19T16:59:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T16:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/550949\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T16:59:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T16:59:16","slug":"i-was-just-missing-a-bit-of-punch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/550949\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI was just missing a bit of punch\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nAfter the finish, he reflected in conversation with Cycling Pro Net<\/a> on both the positives and the limitations of his return. \u201cI\u2019m happy. For sure, the first race back is always about getting used to everything again, especially the positioning and the stress in the bunch.\u201dStrong positioning and climbing legs offer encouragement<\/p>\n

Despite the time away from competition, Uijtdebroeks underlined that his team had executed their plan effectively in the run-in to the decisive climb.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe entered the climb in a perfect position. We might not have had a team of big, heavy guys, but with our climbing strength, the guys did an amazing job to put me where I needed to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

That positioning proved crucial as the race intensified on the first ascent, where he was able to follow the early moves and establish himself among the strongest riders still in contention. \u201cOn the first climb, I felt really good, but on the flat section I pushed myself a bit too much, and I paid for that on the final climb. Still, overall it was good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cian<\/p>\n

Uijtdebroeks pre-race at Milano-Torino 2026<\/p>\n

Aggression over caution in final kilometres<\/p>\n

True to his pre-race approach of using the race to test himself rather than simply following wheels, Uijtdebroeks chose to race aggressively in the finale.<\/p>\n

As the leading group reduced to a select handful of riders inside the final kilometres, he launched attacks in an attempt to force a selection before the line. \u201cI tried to make a move near the end because I knew the sprint would be difficult for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, against rivals with sharper finishing speed after a full race effort, the final acceleration proved just out of reach. \u201cIn the end, I was just missing a bit of punch, but that should come back with these efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n

A return built on intent rather than results<\/p>\n

While the result itself may not tell the full story, the manner of Uijtdebroeks\u2019 performance offered a clear indication of where he stands after his early-season setback.<\/p>\n

Pre-race, the Belgian had made it clear that this outing was about reintroducing himself to racing intensity<\/a>, and his actions on Superga reflected that mindset. Rather than riding conservatively, he repeatedly put himself into the race at key moments.<\/p>\n

On a climb where the race was ultimately decided by timing and explosiveness, Uijtdebroeks showed he could match the pace for much of the decisive phase, even if the final edge was not yet there.<\/p>\n

With further racing to come and intensity returning to his legs, Milano-Torino served as both a test and a statement: he is back racing, and already willing to take the initiative.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After the finish, he reflected in conversation with Cycling Pro Net on both the positives and the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":550950,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,174455,784,270711,39552,85],"class_list":["post-550949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cian-uijtdebroeks","tag-cycling","tag-milano-torino","tag-movistar-team","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=550949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/550950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=550949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=550949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=550949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}