The Jan-Willem van Schip saga continues - UCI disqualifies Dutch rider from yet another race, but with a new reason

Jan-Willem van Schip's name has by now been more associated with the UCI than anything else during the 2026 season, as he has been repeatedly disqualified due to the infringement of different rules. All of them are regarding aerodynamics, and this Monday he has also been removed from the French Ronde de l'Oise.

When on the attack in the final stage, the Dutchman once again was on the spotlight and the UCI commissaires, upon a closer look of the Azerion / Villa Valkenburg rider, determined that he was breaking a UCI rule.

That is because the 31-year old was racing with a bidon tucked down the front of his skinsuit, something which brings aero gains - but cannot be artificially done. This is the non-compliant clothing rule, 2.12.007.

On Instagram, the Dutchman explained the incident from his point of view. “In the final stage I attacked, and I tucked my water bottle under my shirt. The jury rode past immediately and I asked ‘is my cycling position okay now?’ The man completely freaked out. I asked ‘what is the problem? Can I hide the water bottle with you, or do I have to throw it away here?’”

The result, a disqualification: “I found it very strange. For a long time I didn't get any clarity on exactly what the problem was; I was only told that I was being taken out of the race. Afterwards, I was told that I was disqualified because I had a water bottle in my shirt.”

Due to the spotlight that he carries on every race, commissaires appear to actively seek out rule infringements. Across social media, the criticism for this decision is heavy, specially as there are constant and varied cases of riders, race organizers and even journalists breaking UCI rules and not getting punished by it.

The Dutchman was expelled from the Tour of Holland last October and recently at the Tour of Hellas as well, both times due to 'illegal' positions on the bike - due to his seatpost and handlebars respectively.