"Cried like a child": Van Schip's team

The controversial disqualification of Jan-Willem van Schip in the 2026 Ronde de l’Oise continues to generate reactions. After it was revealed that the French gendarmerie had to intervene to remove the Dutch rider from the race after he refused to abandon it, the Azerion Villa Valkenburg team has come to the defense of their cyclist and accused the UCI of keeping him under constant surveillance that they believe is affecting his sporting career.

Van Schip's team criticizes the UCI after police intervention: “It is inhumane that this has gone so far”

The team director, Paul Tabak, stated in an interview with WielerFlits that the Dutch formation does not share the regulatory interpretation that led to the disqualification. Van Schip was expelled from the event for carrying a bottle under his jersey, a practice that the officials deemed contrary to UCI regulations.

However, Tabak argues that the rule in question should not yet be applied.

“According to us, that rule does not come into effect until July 1. Furthermore, in the current regulations, we do not find any provision that explicitly prohibits carrying two bottles or gels under the jersey. Jan-Willem knows the rules, and that’s why he didn’t want to stop,” he explained. It is assumed that the regulation applied refers to the update presented a few days ago that prohibits the use of front pockets, but it is still unclear if that is what the UCI is indicating.

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The situation escalated when the rider refused to leave the race after receiving the sanction. The officials then requested the intervention of the French gendarmerie to stop him.

“In the end, he was forced to stop by the police. It’s something very serious. If that hadn’t happened, the race would have had to stop,” Tabak stated.

A rider permanently under suspicion

Beyond the discussion about the regulations, the head of Azerion Villa Valkenburg believes that the case of Van Schip has become something deeper than a simple regulatory issue.

The Dutchman has already accumulated three disqualifications since October. First, he was expelled from the Tour of Holland for a bike configuration deemed illegal. More recently, he was sanctioned in the Tour of Hellas for his position on the bike, and now he has been disqualified from another race due to the bottle incident.

For Tabak, there is special scrutiny over his rider.

“They checked Jan-Willem’s bike every day during the Ronde de l’Oise. Every day. They measured everything. If they can find something, they will find it.”

The director also recounted another incident that occurred recently at the Flèche du Sud, where the officials questioned the approval of the wheels used by the team just ten minutes before the start of an important stage. According to him, after reviewing the documentation with the officials, it was shown that everything was correct.

“It’s something constant. It happens again in every international race. It doesn’t matter what we do or how Jan-Willem rides. They always end up focusing on him.”

The UCI and the problem of interpreting the rules

The team claims that they have been trying to obtain official clarifications on some rules that directly affect Van Schip and his particular aerodynamic solutions for some time.

Tabak states that they have raised their doubts with the UCI on several occasions without receiving a response.

“We have written to the UCI saying that the regulations are not well defined, but we simply do not receive a response.”

The lack of clarity is precisely one of the aspects that most concerns the team. They explain that before each race, Van Schip usually goes with the team officials to speak directly with the officials to ask what positions or configurations they consider allowed.

Even so, the sanctions keep coming.

A very harsh and exceptional action

The harshest image of the entire episode came after the police intervention in which they stopped the cyclist in the middle of the race. Tabak revealed that the rider was deeply affected by what happened.

“If you had seen him… He was there, on the side of the road, crying like a child.”

The team director did not hide his discomfort with how the situation ended.

“It is inhumane that this has gone so far. Jan-Willem does not deserve something like this, especially considering everything he has achieved in this sport.”

Is a future impossible in UCI races?

Tabak’s statements also leave a worrying reflection on Van Schip’s sporting future.

Although he insists on defending his rider, he acknowledges that the current situation is hardly sustainable.

“With his current bike, with his current position, and with the things he does, it practically makes no sense to take him to a UCI race. Sooner or later, they will end up disqualifying him.”

While Van Schip works with the riders' union to try to obtain a clearer interpretation of the rules, the confrontation between one of the most creative cyclists in the peloton and the regulatory bodies of cycling seems far from over.