Sian Uitdebrooks (Visma lees a Bike), who plummeted down the standings on stage 7 of the Vuelta a España, has been troubled by a series of disappointing performances, complaining that his “legs are numb.”

On a stage won by Wout Van Aert and teed up by unselfish defending champion Sepp Kuss, Wijtdebreuks suffered on the late Alto Del 14% climb and was over 8 minutes off the pace, and the shine of Visma Ries-a-Bike was lost.

The 21-year-old talent was still in contention for the overall, over seven minutes behind surprise leader Ben O'Connor (Decathlon-AG2R), but just over two minutes ahead of Primoš Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and one minute behind co-leader Cus.

But when Roglic and his team caught fire on the Category 2 climb at the back of Friday's stage, Wittdebloks found himself quickly falling back.

“I rode as hard as I could and my heart rate is not at the limit, but I still have a numb feeling in my legs and everything is blocked,” he told Belgian broadcaster VTM after the stage.

The feeling was familiar to Uit de Brueckes, who moved from Bora-Hansgrohe last winter. The Belgian rider has dominated the junior circuit, winning the Tour de l'Avenir in 2022, finishing in the top 10 at last year's Vuelta, his Grand Tour debut, and starting brightly in his first race in Visma this year.

However, things have not gone well, with retirements at the Volta Catalunya and Giro d'Italia, middling results at the Tour de Suisse and Vuelta a Burgos, and now a first-round loss at the Vuelta.

“I've often said it could be due to fatigue or this or that, but it can't be recurring. It can't be due to fatigue every time,” Wittdebrox continued.

“This never happened before last year. I've never run around with such a numb feeling. My legs feel numb to the touch. I can't do anything anymore. It's not normal."

”If it's such a short uphill, I should be able to sit further ahead. It's not so bad once, but when it goes on and on, it's no fun. I'm trying so hard, but it's like I'm running with swollen legs and no power. I need to find out what's causing it.”

Uitdebreuijs' ambitions for the 2024 Grand Tour have now gone off the rails. The possibilities he hoped to explore by changing teams seem more remote than before. He will support Cus for the rest of the Vuelta, but his mind is already on the 2025 season.

“I want to help the players who are doing well as much as I can,” he said. Also, we need to look further into the cause of this,” he said. In any case, we will have to take a different approach for next year."