“It wasn't completely equal” – Former pro reveals gaps between men and women’s squads of Team Visma | Lease a Bike

Jip van den Bos, a former professional cyclist who spent two years with Team Visma | Lease a Bike, has opened up about her experience at the Dutch outfit, highlighting a perceived gap between the men’s and women’s programmes.

Now 29, van den Bos stepped away from racing in 2022 after suffering long-term effects from a serious concussion. Speaking in a recent interview with Wieler Revue, the current Eurosport presenter reflected on a difficult chapter in her career.

“I spent my entire period there struggling with that concussion,” she said. “But it was a nice group of riders and a good team management. I felt at ease, but I could never be the best version of myself during that period. I never felt like the old Jip there."

Though she recalls a supportive environment among teammates and direct staff, van den Bos believes that wider structural inequalities were evident during her time at the team.

"Now I actually have to give a politically correct answer, haha. Of course I don't know how it is now, but when I rode there it still had to grow. Let me put it this way: it wasn't completely equal. While we were promised that it would be completely equal. You could tell from the facilities and from statements that were made that we weren't taken as seriously as the men's team."

She made clear that the disparity wasn’t due to a lack of effort from those directly involved with the women’s squad, praising figures like team manager Esra Tromp for their commitment, but felt the priorities of the organisation as a whole leaned heavily toward the men’s side.

"Not from our own guidance, because someone like Esra Tromp took it very seriously. But from a higher level we were not equal compared to the men. The guidance has changed and everything is well organised and professional, but from the organisation itself the focus will always remain on the men, I think."