"You always lose against the UCI" - Jan-Willem van Schip's 'untenable' for his current team

This past week's Ronde de l'Oise was brought to the spotlight as for the third time in the space of just over half a year, Jan-Willem van Schip was disqualified after breaking a UCI rule. This time it was because of a bidon placed inside the front of his jersey, which is not allowed. The team worries about keeping the Dutch rider, in a situation where the UCI fines accumulate.

“I was shocked, because I didn’t know either,” Azerion / Villa Valkenburg DS Johan Berghmans told Sporza. “Those are all things we are not focused on as a team. There is no way to resist the UCI, so yes, he had to leave the race, but he didn’t want to. He is a super sweet guy, but he has his edges".

Previously, his handlebar and seatpost size proved to be issues; as did his hand positioning on the bike. In search of further aero gains, the track specialist put a pidon in the inside of the front of his jersey, something which is nto allowed by the rules. "He knows all the rules, so he felt he was acting correctly. According to him, that rule comes into force on July 1. I said 'stop now and leave the race'. You can’t change it anyway, but he stood his ground and kept riding.”

After a picture of him on the side of the road laying on the ground with a French policeman next to him emerged on social media, it was rumoured that he had been tackled to the ground. Berghmans confirms this was not the case.

“The police on the motorbike did effectively take him out of the race. But it certainly was not heavy-handed. According to Jan-Willem, the police came to ask him to stop. Maybe that was done in a strict way, but I don’t know. In the end, he did do it voluntarily," he explains.

“So, for the sake of clarity, he was not pulled off his bike by the police in a rough way. They simply did their job. He was in shock afterwards, but that comes from his mindset. He was lying in the grass verge crying and shaking. Everyone was simply worried about him.”

But the Dutch continental team has a big issue, which are the fines that the Dutch rider has been accumulating. "They really are looking at him, and as a team it is genuinely no longer enjoyable. For us, the situation is becoming a bit untenable. We are only a small continental team, you know. We are absolutely not Visma or anything like that. Everywhere Jan-Willem races, it almost always costs us 1,000 Swiss francs in fines. As a team, that is unsustainable.”

Hence, the solution seems clear: “Ultimately, we have to get to work with Jan-Willem. He has to get out of that gray area," he adds. "Nobody becomes better or happier from that. He has to move into the green zone and ride a bike like every other rider, but that is very difficult with him".

"As a sports director, you want to focus on your whole team. In that stage, I ultimately spent half a day dealing with one rider and the jury, and we do not want that anymore," he admits, making it clear that van Schip's position is not above the team's. "It costs too much money and energy, and it brings nothing in return. You always lose against the UCI.”