Jan-Willem van Schip has reflected on the disqualification drama at last week’s Tour of Holland which saw him on the receiving end of the UCI’s disapproving eye, going viral in the cycling world in the process, that after his latest mad aero set-up (including upside down seatpost) saw him chucked off the race.
The Dutch rider and his Parkhotel Valkenburg team protested the decision on the grounds that he had raced it before and all the equipment had been approved by the UCI. In fact, commissaires on the ground saw nothing wrong and allowed Van Schip to race the opening road stage, before he was later disqualified following an intervention from the sport’s governing body.
Van Schip is no stranger to pushing the boundaries of aero set-ups and tech rules, the breakaway specialist kicked off the Baloise Belgium Tour back in 2021 for using Speeco’s Aero Breakaway Bar [below].
At last week’s stage race in the Netherlands, Van Schip again used a mind-bogglingly long stem and aero handlebar, but fell foul of the UCI’s rules for using his seatpost upside down, a move to alter his position on his Tavelo bike.
Team manager Paul Tabak bemoaned the decision and explained how all the equipment was registered and approved by the UCI and “he’s been racing with it for several years”. However, Van Schip was disqualified for using his seatpost upside down, although there have still been some questions about exactly which rule the infraction is alleged to apply to.
OFFICIAL! Jan-Willem van Schip was DSQ from Tour of Holland because of his bicycle that breaks the UCI rules. #TourofHolland
📷: @Julian_Dubbeld pic.twitter.com/7qpxndr9ov
— Lukáš Ronald Lukács (@lucasaganronald) October 15, 2025
With a few days now passed to collect his thoughts on the events, Van Schip took to Instagram to explain his perspective on racing and provide some initial reaction to the disqualification.
Calling himself an “outcast who does things another way”, the 31-year-old who said he’s looking forward to racing on the track this winter and exploring gravel racing in 2026, accepted that his boundary-pushing philosophy on the road “causes a tonne of unnecessary friction”.
Van Schip said he remains “grateful” that he “gets to try”, racing his bike against many of the world’s best teams and riders”, but suggested there is a “contrast between what you have to do to perform in cycling and what cycling culture encourages you to do”.
He said this contrast “couldn’t be bigger” and described his approach as simply that of someone who is “curious”.
“Being insulted because you do things differently is never fun,” Van Schip admitted. “Being rejected for chasing your dreams hurts. Being the outcast who does things another way causes a tonne of unnecessary friction. When things go wrong, you have to be fallible. I’ll have to be even better prepared next time.
“It’s amazing to be curious. Curious about getting faster, using less energy, trying new things. Curious about winning. It’s incredible how much support I get on my journey. I’m truly grateful for that. So many people have cheered ‘Go Willem!’ on rainy Thursdays. I keep feeling people care about me and want things to go well. That moves me.
“That’s what I realised after a rough patch. I like solving cycling problems. I like going fast at just the right moment. After the DSQ because of the seat post, someone said to me: ‘Willem, what you’re doing with that bike, I should be doing too. I’m the same height, I also need a different handlebar and seatpost. But I don’t dare’.”
Van Schip also highlighted how different he’s found the approach in the two main environments in his life — studying at university and racing bikes professionally.
“The contrast between what you have to do to perform in cycling and what cycling culture encourages you to do couldn’t be bigger. Now that I’m at university, I’m thriving,” he explained. “Everyone asks questions, everyone constantly shows the behaviour of wanting to learn, to be curious, to improve. That makes me happy.”
Looking ahead, he also asked if anyone has a gravel bike or knows a team that might be willing to support him in an ambition to race Unbound next year.
Van Schip was also removed from the results sheet of the Heistse Pijl when his Toot Engineering Ashaa RR aero handlebars were later questioned by the UCI, with his Parkhotel Valkenburg team saying they are still awaiting a response from the governing body to their protest against the decision.
Following last week’s Tour of Holland disqualification, Parkhotel Valkenburg sports director Chris de Jonge was also fined 500 Swiss Francs by the governing body in relation to the equipment violation.
Team manager Tabak told Wielerflits about their frustration at the disqualification: “Everything is registered. But it’s a difficult situation. Last year, he was also disqualified from a race the day after the Heistse Pijl, after using the Toot Engineering Ashaa RR Aero handlebars.
“To this day, we’re still protesting about it, because we still haven’t received a response from the UCI. So it just depends on how a UCI commissaire interprets the rules. That’s the case here, I think. But it’s pretty simple: if the tax authorities think you’re in debt, you have to show that you’re not. That’s the case here as well, and that’s what we’re going to try to do.
“There’s always trouble about Jan-Willem’s handlebars. Every time, we show the approved documentation. Together with Jan-Willem and a jury member, we’ve already written a letter about it to show what it’s all about. Hopefully, that will help overturn the disqualification.”
Last December, Van Schip was handed a one-month ban by the UCI for making “indecent and very expressive gestures” at race officials, following an incident that saw the Dutch rider disqualified for a “dangerous” manoeuvre during a chaotic elimination race at the UCI Track World Championships.
According to his trade team manager Tabak, following his latest brush with the law at the Tour of Holland this week, Van Schip is becoming increasingly frustrated with his position in the sport.
“He’s still fighting, but he’s also asking himself why,” Tabak said. “He’s been working hard to get back on track after being dropped from the national track programme. He’s rediscovered his motivation and form. But now this happens again. Let the man race – and if it’s not allowed, show us in the rulebook where it says so.”
Van Schip confirmed in his Instagram post that he will be racing a track campaign this winter, including an appearance at the Rotterdam Six Day.
5 thoughts on ““Being rejected for chasing your dreams hurts”: Jan-Willem van Schip responds to mad aero bike disqualification due to upside down seatpost, calling himself an “outcast””
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Bit pointless then, isn’t it?
My Argon18 Nitrogen has a
My Argon18 Nitrogen has a reversible seatpost clamp which is designed to achieve a similar position for TTs. I wonder if that would be legal.
When you see the image of him
When you see the image of him from the front, the chasers look a decade behind. The evolution will be speed and he is a fantastic early adapter.
But he knew the rules and he got the attention and outcome he was expecting at season end …..without a contract.
galibiervelo wrote:
Part of the issue seems to be that no-one was very clear on the rules – he thought it was legal, the commissaires thought it was legal, but the UCI have decided it’s illegal without really explaining why.
Dutch Graham Obree. Good luck
Dutch Graham Obree. Good luck, mate.