“He had plenty of time to put a jersey on”: Philippe Gilbert criticises Van der Poel over hot seat controversy in Switzerland

Mathieu van der Poel’s performance in the Tour de Suisse confirmed his strong form ahead of the Tour de France, as he narrowly finished second behind Tadej Pogacar in the time trial. However, the Dutch rider’s effort was overshadowed by a post-race controversy after he sat in the hot seat without a jersey, a moment that went viral and resulted in a 500 Swiss franc fine.

Former world champion Philippe Gilbert argued that Van der Poel had sufficient time to avoid the situation. “He stayed in the hot seat for at least 30 minutes. He had plenty of time to put a jersey on,” Gilbert said on Dans Le Peloton.

Gilbert also stressed the commercial impact of such televised moments, particularly in a WorldTour race like the Tour de Suisse. “From a publicity perspective for his team, it was very important. There are teams that would dream of being live in front of millions of viewers.”

From his perspective, Van der Poel missed an opportunity to represent his sponsors in a more professional manner. “This was not very smart. In the different teams I rode for, it was always badly received when images were published of us not being dressed.”

Not everyone agreed with Gilbert’s criticism. Former professional Frédéric Amorison took a more sympathetic view, pointing to the unusually hot conditions in which the time trial was held. According to him, riders are often forced to remain in uncomfortable situations for extended periods after finishing their effort.

“Some riders have to wait for long minutes, sometimes even hours. Do we really still need in 2026 to ask riders in a stage race to sit in the hot seat for so long?” Amorison asked.

He questioned the purpose of the protocol altogether. “What is the point of that anymore? Most of them would prefer to be in their team bus, in the cool,” he said.

Amorison also highlighted the unusual weather conditions. “It was extreme conditions. Van der Poel looked like he was sitting on the beach, but that wasn’t necessary,” he concluded.