"I'm not satisfied with how I've been going so far, my legs are too good to get results like this, I just need to pull out the animal inside me and get to work," said Casper Van Uden at the start of the fifth stage of the Tour of Turkey from Patara, confiding in our microphones and expressing without hesitation his desire to reap the fruits of the work done in recent weeks.

Five hours later, the Dutch sprinter of Team Picnic PostNL turned words into action, claiming in a sprint his first seasonal victory and that of his team, a result that both he and his entire team had hoped to achieve on the road that, in a few days, will take them to the Giro d'Italia.

"Unlike last year, when I arrived here after getting sick and used the race to try to regain form, this time I arrived well prepared. After starting the season early, I rested for a long time and had five weeks to train at my best, so much so that even here, in the first stages, the sensations were excellent. Results didn't come because we made some mistakes, but we learned from them, the guys continued to believe in me and today I was able to reward them with a nice victory," said the twenty-four-year-old from Schiedam in a press conference before analyzing in detail what happened in today's stage.

"I think it was a rather tough stage. We had to face two long climbs but, as we saw, my teammates and I were all in the first group in the end. This is because they continued to fight, bringing me back to the front and then launching me optimally. Timo (De Jong), Sean (Flynn) and Tim (Naberman) all have incredible power and did a really excellent job, I have to thank them so much," Van Uden continued.

"The objective was to stay together until the last corner, position ourselves well, open up and launch. I think we did an excellent job. For us it was beneficial that, with the headwind on the final straight, Ballerini launched his sprint early: this way I was able to take advantage of his slipstream, overtake him by exiting at the right moment and then manage to hold the lead until the line."

With this important confirmation of his form and confidence decidedly bolstered, Van Uden can now, after completing his Turkish commitment, launch himself toward the great appointment of the Giro d'Italia without setting limits or fearing any opponents.

"My dream is to win again at the Giro. I know I can do it because I've already done it, so I just need to do it again by pulling out the fire inside me. If I can do my sprint, as I've demonstrated several times now, I think I'm fast enough to win even at the highest levels. I think we have a good team and we're on the right track. The objective, I think, shouldn't be so much victories, but being able to contest the sprint because then, at that point, we know I'm able to have my say. If we continue to set this as our goal, results will come," said the Dutch rider confidently, after which it was inevitable to ask him how he has lived and is living the team's difficult situation from within, which before today was thirtieth in the annual UCI ranking and without seasonal victories.

"What's up to us is not to worry about points but to try to get results by doing everything possible to achieve them. It's not nice to be in this position, but I think that as riders, the right thing to do is stay united and maintain a positive attitude. I think it's really important because there's a lot of talent in this team and many young guys and, maybe it will take a bit more time, but results will come. I think it would be nicer for us if everyone gave us a little time and limited themselves to enjoying the sport while keeping many of their opinions to themselves. In any case, we shouldn't take these things too seriously, but fight for ourselves, to find our best condition and with that try to get the best possible results."

The difficulties and various criticalities related to the team that have been highlighted around, as he himself had told us in the morning, emerged in his view more on the basis of external inventions than real troubles.

"I think the problems come from people outside the team: they invent problems in their heads that we don't have. Among us, in fact, the atmosphere is excellent and we're enthusiastic about racing and going to races together," Van Uden had explained to us in Patara.

"I believe that so far we haven't had luck, many guys have been victims of injuries and crashes and that never helps. Let's add that it wasn't ideal to see one of the main leaders for the general classification of the big stage races leave the team at the last minute. It's tough when you make a plan, prepare the races and then lose an important rider... in any case, internally the atmosphere is good and we're all eager to do well," the Dutchman had continued, recounting what happened to the team in recent months where he never lost sight of confidence in his work and that of his team.

"My job is to give my best, that's what I need to do and what should concern me. I don't train for points or for other people's victories. I know I need to do my part and, as a team, we just need time and we've proven that in the past too: even last year, like this year, the approach to the Giro wasn't ideal, but then I won in Lecce and the whole team was able to take a step forward. So as we say in Dutch, 'er is geen man overboord,' there's no need to make a drama out of it."

It's not to be ruled out, therefore, that, having unlocked the victory account in Turkey, the entire Picnic changes gear and starts stringing together victories and notable performances in succession, taking advantage of the quality spread among the riders in their roster. Among these, from the beginning of 2026, there is also Mattia Gaffuri, on whom we asked Van Uden for an impression.

"I shared a room with Mattia at the UAE Tour. He's a good guy. He followed a slightly different path from other professionals because he's someone who has also trained other guys in the past and has a scientific background. He's a nice and intelligent guy, I think he's making important steps forward and I like having him around, I get along with him. Looking at what he's done so far, for example the last Tour of the Alps, I think he deserves to be at this level. Let him use his legs and give him time, let's not rush things. Merlier was much older when he started winning races repeatedly. Today, however, if you don't win at 22 or 23 years old, people start saying you don't have this or that... I think you just have to give people time because everyone has their own pace and there's absolutely no need to put additional pressure," was the wise conclusion of a guy who, in addition to knowing how to win, also knows how to express himself with great effectiveness.