'What heartache, what a sh*t sport': Dutch rider van Schip disqualified by UCI...again

Jan Willem van Schip is in trouble again. This time at the Tour of Hellas, a 2.1-level race in Greece. The Dutchman, riding for Azerion / Villa Valkenburg, has been expelled from the stage race — much to his own fury. On Instagram, a deeply frustrated Van Schip made his feelings known.

It is not the first time Van Schip has been removed from a race. At the Tour of Holland, the Dutchman was at the centre of a major controversy when he was pulled from the race over his unconventional bike setup. The decision divided opinion at the time.

In Greece, a new disqualification has followed for a virtually identical position. "Wow, unbelievable. So I've been disqualified. Again. At the Tour of Hellas. Apparently my position isn't right, because I'm supposedly leaning too much on my forearms," Van Schip says in a video in which he responds at length to the incident.

The Dutchman is not having it. "When I say that everyone does this and that I'm actually always holding my shifter, then... no. This really hurts. This is not okay. The bike is completely legal, the seatpost is fine — but they've found something to screw me over again. It hurts."

The dispute with cycling's governing body enters a new chapter. "The UCI sent me an email calling me a peculiar rider. That hurts more than anything. I don't know. I just don't feel welcome in cycling." And this despite the fact that there had been contact between the two parties. "I tried to get in touch with the UCI this spring."

A phone call was arranged. "So I thought: great, we can have a proper conversation about what is and isn't allowed. That call was just cancelled. I sent a reminder — no response either," a deeply disappointed Van Schip says.

Cycling commentator and one half of the Lanterne Rouge cycling podcast Benji Naesen commented in support of van Schip: "The UCI really needs to do something about the inconsistent application of that ‘forearm-as-support’ rule," said the Flemish podcaster.

"In every race, someone rides in that position, and more than half the time it’s overlooked. How are riders supposed to know what’s allowed and what isn’t when it’s allowed for rider 1 but not for rider 2?" Naesen concluded.

Himself no stranger to the wrath of the UCI, Naesen was recently sent a letter by the governing body, reprimanding him for the use of critical language in their direction. Naesen has reportedly filed a formal complaint with the UCI Ethics Commission. The saga continues.