Van Schip disqualification saga continues: rider 'tackled to the ground' by French police and removed from his bike

Jan-Willem van Schip was disqualified in the Ronde de l’Oise, his third DSQ in less than a year. The controversial Dutch aero specialist was pulled from the race, although this time it had nothing to do with his sometimes eye-catching bike.

At the Ronde de l’Oise, his bike did meet the rules. But during the final stage of the French race, won by Dutch talent Keije Solen, Van Schip was removed from the results because he did not comply with the clothing regulations. According to La Flamme Rouge, this involved bottles under his jersey.

That is forbidden under the regulations, since a bottle in the jersey creates an aerodynamic advantage. The UCI had earlier also announced it would crack down on food stuffed in the front pockets of jerseys, because it is both unsafe and gives an unfair aerodynamic benefit.

Eventually, the gendarmerie is said to have stepped in to remove Van Schip from the race.

According to a local news outlet covering the race, Van Schip refused to get off his bike and leave the race. This led to the local police officers resorting to extreme measures: "Faced with this refusal to comply, the gendarmerie, present along the route, intervened and eventually immobilized and tackled the Dutchman to the ground."

Van Schip responded on his Instagram. “Here we go again,” he sighed. He said he had already visited the jury to make clear arrangements: what is allowed, and what is not? “The first stage went well, but in the second stage I was in the early break. They kept coming past with the car, and filming all the time. I thought: ‘What is this now?’ And I saw the other guys in the break all leaning over the bars, slouched down, which apparently should not be allowed.”

It was nevertheless the Dutchman who received a fine, and so it was about his bike position after all. Despite the agreements. “I went to the jury to ask what was wrong. They said my position was not right, and that I had to look at the footage. On the images you can see that I am sitting tight on the shifters, that my hands are closed properly, as agreed, and that should also be allowed.” Then, in the final stage, it went wrong again.

He was in the early break there too. He took a bottle and put it in his jersey, believing it was still allowed for now. But the jury came alongside him, honking loudly and shouting. “I thought: this cannot be right. Because it only changes next month that you are no longer allowed to put things in your jersey. But I found it very strange. I just kept riding.”

Only after a jury motorbike had urged him several times did Van Schip get off the bike. “I thought: is my left toe not in the right place, is the moon not in the right position? What is the problem? Disqualified again, because I had a bottle in my jersey. I don’t know, I’m doing my best. It just doesn’t really work out, all of it. It is really very sad.”

Author: David Bavin-Hobbs - [email protected]