Cian Uijtdebroeks races on at Vuelta after ankle crack confirmed: 'Walking is difficult'

The Movistar rider started Tuesday’s demanding mountain stage in Andorra after struggling through the opening hours of stage 3 with pain from the injury.

“Yesterday was really tough for the first two hours,” Uijtdebroeks told HLN before stage 4. “Walking is difficult, but fortunately I don’t have to walk,” he added with a laugh. “We’ll see how it goes. Today is the first real big test.”

Uijtdebroeks crashed just over 60 kilometres into Sunday’s stage to Manosque while trying to return to the peloton after changing bikes because of a mechanical problem.

He was able to remount and finish the stage, but Movistar later reported wounds and abrasions to his right hip and knee, his left elbow and arm, as well as trauma to his left ankle.

Initial examinations were unable to establish the full extent of the ankle injury because of the swelling. Uijtdebroeks said on Monday that there could be a small crack, something further checks have now confirmed.

“There is a small crack in the ankle, we’ve been able to confirm that now,” he said.

Despite the diagnosis, doctors have given him permission to continue racing.

“At the moment the doctors say it is safe,” Uijtdebroeks explained. “Normally it can’t really get much worse. If something happens, I’ll mainly just suffer more.”

The timing is far from ideal. Stage 4 takes the Vuelta into Andorra for the first major mountain test of the race, with 2,830 metres of climbing packed into only 104.8 kilometres.

For Uijtdebroeks, however, the roads could hardly be more familiar.

“This is really nice. These are my training roads, so that’s great,” he said. “My girlfriend also has an apartment here and we pass it twice today.”

The crash is another setback in a season that has already required plenty of patience from the Belgian.

Movistar arrived at the Vuelta with the Belgian alongside Enric Mas as one of its important riders for the general classification, but there were already questions surrounding Uijtdebroeks' condition after illness derailed his Tour de France.

He abandoned the Tour after suffering from a bacterial stomach infection and later revealed that his fever had reached 40°C during the race.

His recovery subsequently took longer than initially hoped. Uijtdebroeks underwent several medical checks before being cleared to return to more intensive training, with the Vuelta becoming his next major objective.

Speaking before the Spanish Grand Tour, he acknowledged that there was still some uncertainty over how his body would respond to three weeks of racing.

Uijtdebroeks began the Vuelta with 123rd place in the opening time trial, finishing 54 seconds behind stage winner Tadej Pogačar.

For now, there are no plans to stop. Tuesday’s Andorran stage should provide a much clearer indication of how much the ankle injury will affect him once the road turns seriously uphill.