Cian Uijtdebroeks has said the regime at Visma Lease a Bike became "even more disciplined" when its former sports director, Merijn Zeeman, left at the end of 2024, with the team becoming "more difficult" for him.
He said he was forced to slot into the team's training system, with no ability to tailor it for himself, while his position on the bike was changed significantly to one that did not suit him.
At the same time, he claims he was left to his own devices in his bid to develop as a TT rider, but was not allowed to train on his TT bike to prepare for the discipline.
Some of his comments, particularly around being forced into a method of training that did not suit him, echo recent remarks by former Visma-Lease a Bike rider Dylan van Baarle.
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The Dutch rider said being forced into the team's way of training - with an emphasis on shorter more intense efforts - led to his exit from Visma Lease a Bike. And he believed it also contributed to Simon Yates's sudden decision to retire last month, mid-contract.
"At Visma, the focus was on short, explosive workouts, and therefore a lot on VO2 max," Uijtdebroeks told hln.be of his former team, in remarks almost identical to Van Baarle’s.
The young Belgian rider left Visma Lease a Bike for Movistar last October, with two years remaining on his contract. That move occurred two years after breaking his contract with Bora-hansgrohe to move to Visma.
"I asked to do longer blocks (at Visma), but that was difficult within their system. You didn't have much say. That was difficult for me," he said.
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Uijtdebroeks added Visma become even more disciplined when Zeeman left, which suited him even less.
"I really want to be able to think about my training, acceleration, and races," he said, instead of having everything mapped out with little freedom. While Visma was "the most precise team in the world" he felt he needed more freedom.
New freedoms should improve performance
A new bike position, to make him more aero, was also implemented at Visma-Lease a Bike, which did not suit him.
"My saddle was moved back five centimetres, but I'm not the kind of rider who, like Victor Campenaerts, adopts a very aero road bike position," he said.
"If I want to release my power without certain nerves getting inflamed, the saddle has to be moved forward. Tiesj Benoot experienced that too."
He believed his TT and stage racing performance would be better this year because of changes he has been allowed to make. That has included doing a lot of Zone 2 training volume - "train all day at 300 watts" - with no VO2 max efforts in winter.
"I've already lost three minutes to Remco (in a TT), but now it shouldn't be more than one minute. I have a new bike position and personalised handlebars. I feel comfortable in training," he said.
He believed once he tailored his training to sharpen himself for racing, and then started racing, he would lose 2-3kg. That would happen towards Paris-Nice and especially Tour of the Basque Country, which was his first big goal.
