Van der Poel's dad weighs into Tour de France hotel controversy: 'Cockroaches, rust, mould under the bed...'
CyclingWednesday, 15 July 2026 at 12:08
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Follow us on GoogleThe first rest day of the Tour de France did not go off without a hitch. On Monday, videos and photos began pouring in from various sources, highlighting the poor condition of the hotels. On Tuesday, before the start of Stage 10, IDL Pro Cycling went by the buses to ask just how serious the situation really was.
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The hotels are booked by the organising committee of the Tour de France and assigned to teams. This is a UCI rule, so it’s not unique to the Tour de France. The cycling federation also requires that, in all its other races, the race organisation arrange accommodations for the teams. A team with a lot of money cannot, therefore, book a 5-star hotel.
How does Tour de France hotel room booking work?
Hotel assignments are made based on a system designed by the Tour de France organizers to ensure a level playing field. If high-star-rated hotels have been reserved, they are evenly distributed among the teams over a four-week period. So it’s also possible that a team might end up in a lower-rated hotel. That was the case for several teams on the first rest day.
Since the rest day of the Tour de France was held in the Cantal department—in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region—there wasn’t a wide selection of hotels. The region is characterized by rugged natural scenery and beautiful views, but there isn’t much for tourists to do. As a result, some teams were unlucky enough to end up staying in a subpar hotel after an extremely grueling first week.
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Cockroaches, mould, and sleeping outdoors at the Tour de France
"We had a good hotel; things were great for us," said Koen Pelgrim, coach at Soudal Quick-Step, on Tuesday morning. “It doesn’t all have to be very fancy, as long as the basics are good. Unfortunately, there aren’t many hotels in this region, so the organizers can’t work miracles. You also don’t want to spend extra hours on the bus just to stay at a different hotel far away from the race course.”
Not everyone on the bus shared that view. Adrie van der Poel, for example, said that on the rest day, he would have gladly driven a little farther for a bit more luxury. “We brought our own mattresses and have portable air conditioners, but there were still a lot of other issues. Mould, cockroaches, the food for the staff members… The team arranges meals for the riders, but not for them.”
And so the riders from Alpecin-Premier Tech, Uno-X Mobility, and Picnic PostNL—who have already been putting in such long days at this Tour de France—sat at a long table with bad food. “Those teams will say the same thing,” said Van der Poel’s father. “I haven’t seen the footage from Uno-X, but we’ve also had riders sleeping outside,” he said, referring in part to Silvan Dillier.
Tour de France teams ensure riders get a good night's sleep, even without air conditioning
Dillier decided to sleep outside on the balcony because he found the noise from the team’s portable air conditioner too loud. Because even though hotels can sometimes be very spartan, teams with air conditioners, cooled and comfortable mattresses, and dehumidifiers can make even a bad room somewhat bearable. “We have top-of-the-line units where you can set the temperature for the riders. That way, they always sleep in a cool environment,” said Pelgrim.
"In recent years, we've been bringing all kinds of systems with us, and that makes a big difference. "Our chefs take care of the meals, and the riders are able to sleep well," the Dutch coach added. At UAE Emirates-XRG as well, team manager Andrej Hauptmann emphasized that his leader, Tadej Pogacar—despite the lack of air conditioning in the hotel—had had a good rest day.
"The Tour de France lasts three weeks, so you can't always stay in a nice hotel," said Hauptmann. "But we prepare for that—we know the conditions won’t always be perfect. Our riders are well-rested, and I felt good during the rest day. It was okay, and I think Tadej had a good night’s sleep, too."
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Tadej Pogacar
Van der Poel sometimes finds the quality of hotels in the Tour de France to be insufficient
Let’s be clear: not everyone was entirely negative about the Tour de France hotels at the start of Stage 10. There was sympathy from certain quarters, but we also heard harsh criticism from other teams. “The Tour de France calls itself the so-called greatest race in the world,” we heard said cynically. At Uno-X, the riders could laugh it off—spending a night sleeping outdoors—but it was still a shame.
Adrie van der Poel put it best: “The locations of the hotels are often good, but the one for the rest day was outdated, rusty, and there was mold under the bed in my room.” Some people had good airflow with the windows open, but staff members whose rooms didn’t have windows slept outside. This has nothing to do with a level playing field; some hotels are just bad.”
During the first week, Adrie and Alpecin-Premier Tech did stay at some nice hotels, but the selection isn’t great throughout France. “If you can’t find good hotels, you’re better off looking for another place to spend a rest day. It’s not good for the riders’ morale—you don’t want to spend three weeks sleeping like that.”
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Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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