Ryan Kamp on not having a team for 2024: "If there is no longer room for a regular top 10 rider like me, then the sport is not doing well"

Ryan Kamp has been around as a man in black since New Year's Eve, but make no mistake: the 23-year-old Dutchman has found a shelter after his forced departure from Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal after New Year's Eve. All this thanks to the Roodhooft brothers, who arranged everything for Kamp, he confides to WielerFlits.

"Three weeks ago they didn't know how to help me. Everything had to be arranged very quickly. And still not everything is complete. I only picked up my first two bikes the evening after Zolder, but I am very happy that I can bridge the winter this way."

"I think I'm seventh in the World Cup rankings, I came fifth at the European Championships. It is very frustrating that you are not welcome anywhere," he thinks. "No money. No room. There were also a number of teams that said: 'you are Dutch and our Belgian sponsors are only looking for Belgians'," he explains the market situation.

"First and foremost, it is a very small world. The sponsor circles are probably also strongly connected through friends, enthusiasts and the like. My conclusion is: if there is no longer room for a regular top 10 rider like me, then in my opinion the sport is not really going well. This means that the top 10 and everything else behind it can pack its bags in a few years. There is too little budget for the sub-toppers."