"On that same day, Jonas Vingegaard did the same..." - Jan-Willem van Schip's team are livid over lack of UCI consistency and 'pure harassment'

Azerion / Villa Valkenburg rider Jan-Willem van Schip was disqualified from yet another race this past Sunday. The Dutch rider and his team are livid with the UCI commissaires' behaviour towards them in races, reported as harassment, whilst the rules continue being bent all over the sport without consequences.

Previously his position on the handlebars and his seatpost setting had led him to be disqualified from the Tour of Holland and Tour of Hellas in recent months. At the Ronde de l'Oise this Sunday, the Dutchman was disqualified mid-race due to have a bidon inside the front of his jersey - something that can bring aerodynamic benefits, but will no longer be allowed.

Team manager Paul Tabak argued that he and the rider knew the rule would only come to effect on the 1st of July, so on paper it should not yet be implemented. "Jan-Willem knows those rules too, which is why he didn't want to stop," he explained to Wielerflits. "Ultimately, he was forced to do so by the gendarmerie. That is intense. If that hadn't happened, the race would have been stopped".

The feedback from the UCI is null: "You know what it is? We also sent a message to the UCI stating that the regulations are not in order. But I just don't get an answer. And now the fact is that we are in the news for negative reasons again. That is very unfortunate, because with Mathis Avondts we did win the first stage. That is what we would like to be in the news for, not this whole situation surrounding Jan-Willem.”

The incident at the French race was only one of many, but according to Tabak these are a consequence of the commissaires' extreme attention to everything he does, arguing that it almost begins to seem like there will be punishment even if there is no rule being broken.

“I think it doesn't matter a damn thing what he does anymore. Every single day they came to check Jan-Willem's bike in the Tour de l’Oise. Every day! They measure it up… If they can find anything, they’ll catch you. They keep pestering us constantly, every single international race. It doesn't matter what we do or how Jan-Willem does it, he's just screwed.”

After he was disqualified, he was guided by the French police to leave the race. A picture has been moving through social media of him on the ground with a gendarmerie next to him, but the argument that he was tackled to the ground is ultimately not true.

"Jan-Willem was quite emotional after he was taken out of the race on Sunday. Let me put it this way: if you had seen that… He was just lying there crying like a child on the side of the road," Tabak explained. "It is simply degrading that it has to come to this. Jan-Willem doesn't deserve that either. Certainly not with his track record. It is really very sad. If we can help him with anything, we will. But I don't think we will get very far with the UCI".

But this is not the result of reckless ignorance over the rules. As Tabak explained, even throughout the French event, van Schip himself was in contact with the race management in order to understand how he could ride in order to not get disqualified.

“We go with him to the race commissioner before the start of every race. We always want to film that, but it’s never allowed… Jan-Willem then asks how the person wants him to sit on his bike and hold his handlebars. What is allowed and what isn’t?"

H"e did that in the Tour de l’Oise as well. In stage two, he received a penalty for an unauthorized cycling position. After that, he immediately went to the commissioner and asked what he had done wrong. And asked him to tell him what he had to do. On Sunday, after his disqualification, we went to the commissioner again and wanted to film that conversation, but again, that wasn’t allowed.”

The situation has escalated to a point where the Dutchman is struggling to finish races, specially when he is on the attack and the cameras are on him. But within the team there is also the need to reinstate what can't be done.

"You’d better ask Jan-Willem. But we are now at a point where we need to deal with this further. Van Schip isn't bigger than the team; no one is. Organizations don't like it either when you get this bullshit every time. So we need to take a good look at this and discuss it with Jan-Willem as well.”

"He is a boy of extremes. He seeks out the spaces. He wants to cycle as aerodynamically as possible and be as aerodynamic as possible. And that is allowed by me, as long as everything stays within the rules and the laws of the UCI. But I think we have already passed that point".

It is hard to understand how the situation will unravel however, as the track specialist has become a magnet for attention in the continental calendar that he rides in, often being the race's headliner.

"Ideally… If for even a moment I feel there is a chance of success in tackling this, I will do so. I consider it pure harassment. But we are too small – also as a team – to continue with this. It shouldn't come at the expense of the team. But the point has now been reached where it goes this far and no further".

However what becomes an extra issue to the team is the inconsistency in which these rules are applied. After van Schip's disqualification at the Tour of Hellas earlier this year, social media become flooded with screenshots of riders using the same 'wrists on the handlebars' position on televised races, without consequences.

At the Giro d'Italia there was a non-stop current of rules broken on TV footage that received no consequences, such as the celebrations of teammates behind a sprint win; and even Eurosport's Adam Blythe who interviewed riders during the race - something which earns a journalist a direct removal from the race. This reaches even the best in the peloton.

"I am of the opinion that there are rules and that the UCI must enforce them. There must also be sanctions for that. However, I do want to add: if they do that, then they must do it for everyone. Jan-Willem was recently disqualified from the Tour of Greece (Hellas, ed.) because of the position he adopted on the bike".

"On that same day, Jonas Vingegaard did the same in the Giro d’Italia and he received a yellow card. There needs to be clarity, because that is currently lacking. Those rules must apply to everyone, not just Jan-Willem".