Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team manager Ralph Denk has claimed there are marked differences between the mid-contract transfers of Cian Uijtdebroeks and Maxim Van Gils, with the loss of Uijtdebroeks to Visma-Lease a Bike coming after a bitter divorce, while Lotto agreed a deal to let Van Gils go.
Uijtdebroeks departed Denk's team in December of 2023 after a messy transfer saga. At the time, there were reports of bullying, which both parties then denounced, alongside public criticisms from the Belgian of his time trial setup and the team's tactics at the Vuelta.
In contrast, Denk claimed that Van Gils' decision to depart Lotto Dstny for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, despite signing a two-year contract extension in March, was down to him simply wanting a change of team. A deal was reached, apparently with Lotto being paid a fee.
"Cian was creating untrue stories against us. Maxim had just wished to change teams," Denk told Cyclingnews at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's training camp in Mallorca, simplifying the two rider transfers.
"With Van Gils it was a conversation between Lotto Dsnty, us, and the rider. We signed a three-party agreement and I think this example shows how a rider transfer should work."
Uijtdebroeks himself said back in 2023 that he didn't want his departure "to turn it into a soap opera" when asked why he left by HLN.
"I really didn't feel well. That is why my contract with Bora has been terminated. I had to leave to be happy again," he said.
"A lot of things happened, but I don't want to go into detail about them. That's the best for everyone, respect for everyone. We had a valid reason to terminate my contract and that is what we ultimately did."
Both Uijtdebroeks and Van Gils work with Italian agent Alex Carera and his powerful A&J All Sports agency.
A&J All Sports claimed that Uijtdebroeks terminated his contract with the German team on December 1 2023. Then veiled accusations of bullying and mistreatment at Bora-Hansgrohe emerged via the media. Carera and Uijtdebroeks have always denied the accusations or any “untrue stories” came from Uijtdebroeks, and Carera again denied the accusations when contacted by Cyclingnews after Denk's latest comments.
Denk denied them too but eventually agreed on a deal to let Uijtdebroeks leave. The transfer became official after Uijtdebroeks had already trained with Visma-Lease a Bike at a December training camp.
Denk announced Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's objectives for 2025 at the team's media day and then faced questions about his transfer strategy and ethics. How did signing Van Gils align with his comments in May about not trying to sign Tom Pidcock, Wout van Aert or Remco Evenepoel because they "have long-term contracts"? Denk also admitted that he had talked to Evenepoel as recently as late September about a move from Sousal-QuickStep to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.
Denk held firm that the Uijtdebroeks and Van Gils transfers were very different.
"The starting point was the wish from Maxim Van Gils to join our project or change team. We were not proactively entering into a situation where the rider and our team had a binding agreement," said Denk.
“We heard in autumn that Maxim had the wish to change teams. To change teams you always need an agreement with the old team, the new team and the rider. We found an agreement in a good way with his former team Lotto and so then the transfer happened."
Teams try to, and often succeed, in signing riders who are under contract, with the tactic used more frequently in recent seasons, as some teams dominate due to bigger budgets and others suffer. Agents use the freedoms of European employment law as a lever despite attempts by the UCI to limit agents' actions and so protect teams and sponsors.
Uijtdebroeks, Van Gils, Roglič, Andreas Kron and Wout van Aert are among the highest-profile cases in recent years.
Evenepoel has been linked to a move to Denl's Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe since 2021, despite his contract with QuickStep running until 2026.
His now former boss, Patrick Lefevere has been outspoken in his criticism of Denk's transfer tactics, admitting in November that "I don't like him" after claims of the German offering Evenepoel a "contract with big bonuses" in spite of his existing deal.
Evenepoel confirmed at the World Championships in Zurich that he would stay at Soudal-QuickStep but Denk confirmed he talked to the Belgian.
“I think Remco announced very clearly during the Worlds what his plan was," Denk said at the end of the press conference on Saturday.
"All the stories before that, in my opinion, were too many rumours.
"His personality is great and it would be a great fit," Denk later admitted to TM, "But he made it very clear where he sees his future."
