Bora-Hansgrohe deny bullying Cian Uijtdebroeks

Bora-Hansgrohe have denied any form of bullying in relation to the contract dispute surrounding Cian Uijtdebroeks.

Uijtdebroeks terminated his contact with Bora-Hansgrohe on December 1 before signing a four-year deal with Jumbo-Visma. The German team have disputed the termination, citing that the rider still has a contract with the team for 2024.

Neither Uijtdebroeks nor his agent has commented on the precise reasons behind the contract termination but a report in Dutch newspaper AD suggests that the rider felt that he was bullied by riders and staff. The team have denied the allegations.

AD reports that Bora-Hansgrohe thought Uijtdebroeks, “was too fanatical. He was like someone in high school who got an A because he studied well, only to be told, 'Oh, you got an A again?!'

“He was bullied,” the report continues. “For example, during the Vuelta there was also an 'Anti-Cian' app group, without himself in it, so they could gossip about him. It's really too childish. He didn't feel at home in that team at all.”

GCN has also heard from one source that Uijtdebroeks felt bullied by the team but that source would not go on the record and was not part of the Bora-Hansgrohe team at the Vuelta a España this year, where tensions began to emerge.

Read more: Cian Uijtdebroeks joins Chris Froome for training as Bora demand €1 million from Jumbo-Visma

Eisel flatly denies the allegations

Bora-Hansgrohe sports director, Bernhard Eisel, was at the Vuelta and was part of the squad that helped Uijtdebroeks secure a top-10 place overall. He flatly denied any allegations or suggestions of bullying within the team.

“100% I can deny that. Definitely not. Especially from my side, and the the riders’ side,” Eisel told GCN on Tuesday from the Bora-Hansgrohe team camp in Mallorca.

While there were frictions between Uijtdebroeks and teammate Aleksandr Vlasov at the the Vuelta, Eisel stressed that both riders were well supported.

“He had a team that looked after him, Aleks Vlasov had his team that looked after him and, from my point of view, they did an incredible job to protect him. We did everything we could for him. I have to deny that one. It’s that simple. 100% no,” he said.

“Honestly I’m tired of the whole thing. I would say it was three times the effort for him than it was for Aleks in the role. If that’s not enough then it’s going to be difficult. From a professional standpoint in support, it was 100 per cent for him in the race. I’m not willing to add more. We did what we could and that’s it.”

Read more: Outraged Cofidis boss threatens vote of no confidence in Plugge over Uijtdebroeks saga

On Tuesday morning, the UCI stepped in to issue a statement, saying simply that “the rules will be enforced”, but the saga rumbles on as Uijtdebroeks prepares to join Jumbo-Visma on their pre-season training camp in Spain. Bora-Hansgrohe had stated that they expected the rider to attend their training camp, and it’s unclear how this plays out from here and how much more messy it might get.

“There’s not much I can say about it. We have our statement that he’s under contract with us and Jumbo have said they’ve signed him,” Eisel said.

“It will come down to court. That’s where we are at the moment.”