"The kid who got angry and started throwing things" - Ex-pro critical of Visma's latest signing
Cycling
Most of the time, it's not hard to find the reasoning behind transfers at Visma | Lease a Bike. But their new recruit from October until 2027 - Anton Schiffer - is a different story. The German started with road cycling as a former triathlete, gained some recognition through Zwift Academy, but continued to race at a continental level until the moment Visma chose to take a chance on him. And so the German will make his professional debut at the age of 26. His results show a promising climber, but there are more layers to Schiffer...
"Anton Schiffer to Visma | Lease a Bike. That's absolutely killing me, figuratively speaking, I'm sitting here without any pants..." Ramon Sinkeldam begins his account on cycling platform Beyond The KOM.
He then reveals that Schiffer is the - then still anonymous - rider he'd previously spilled the beans about to his podcast buddy Lars van den Berg. "I told you about that clown who was participating... no, wait, I have to put it differently. I told you about that kid who was participating in the Zwift Academy, with Alpecin-Deceuninck. About that kid who got so angry..."
Van den Berg recognizes the story and adds: "Oh yeah, the one who was throwing those things. That's him?" Sinkeldam nods. The Dutchman struggles to understand why Visma went the extra mile to sign such a "problematic kid": "I don't get it. What did I miss in this whole story?!"
Read also
Zwift Academy
Zwift is a popular e-cycling platform where, in partnership with Alpecin-Deceuninck, the Zwift Academy takes place every year with the winner promised a contract at the Belgian team (or its development team). Previous winners include now-seasoned pros Jay Vine or Luca Vergallito.
Sinkeldam talks about how Alpecin-Deceuninck boss Christoph Roodhooft lashed out at the angry Schiffer during the Zwift Academy test period. "He said: listen, buddy, you've got the little hill on the Coll des Rates, for Pogacar. The little hill on one of the most famous climbs in Spain. You've been riding here for years at Conti level. Apparently, you can cycle really fast. Just tell me? What's wrong with us rejecting you now?", Sinkeldam paraphrases.
Sinkeldam also says that Schiffer was completely unapproachable to him, both at that point during the Zwift Academy and later. "I tried to talk to him. He said nothing. Zero interest in us. If you're applying for a job at another company, you're at least supposed to be nice to the employees, right? I tried to talk to him... nothing came of it."
"He really didn't want to know anything about us. Then he was sent away. After that, I saw him in races a few more times, including at the Tour of Turkey. He doesn't say anything again, does he? Then I thought: lick my ass, I'm not going to talk to you either," Sinkeldam concluded.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 2visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment