At the 2025 Tour of Holland, Jan-Willem van Schip once again found himself at the centre of attention. This time not for his unconventional handlebars (something that has happened a few times in the past) but for a seatpost the UCI deemed illegal. As he crossed the finish line, the 31-year-old Dutchman had no idea that officials in Aigle were already requesting photos of his bike. Hours later, he was disqualified—despite the local jury arguing for fifteen minutes to stop it—he said to WielerFlits.

Van Schip has ridden with the same seatpost setup for two years, a practical fix for a frame geometry that simply doesn’t fit someone who measures 1.94 m.

Jan-Willem van Schip uit NIBC Tour of Holland gezet vanwege ‘fiets die afwijkt van UCI-regels’

Het zou gaan om zijn zadelpen. Zo zag deze er drie weken geleden uit bij Arno Wallaard Memorial pic.twitter.com/iOFOZEri5J

— Julian Dubbeld (@Julian_Dubbeld) October 15, 2025

“Every time I do something, it’s under a magnifying glass,” he says. “I’m not trying to stir anything up.” To him, the issue is straightforward: the equipment matches his body, but not the letter of the UCI’s rules. That the federation suddenly took issue with it after two quiet seasons feels like “a personal reckoning,” he said.

This Dutch rider keeps getting DQ’ed

The Parkhotel Valkenburg rider says what irks him the most, is is the inconsistency. Just two weeks earlier, he finished third in the Arno Wallaard Memorial on the exact same bike. And this wasn’t the first time he felt singled out—he was removed from the results of last year’s Heistse Pijl without a clear explanation. “We’ve asked ten times. A year and a half later, still nothing,” he said.

As for performance, Van Schip is confident that his equipment choices make him faster. His understanding comes not only from racing but from extensive testing for the Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games. “It’s not rocket science,” he said. What troubles him is a culture that celebrates marginal gains—until he is the one exploring them.

For Van Schip, the feeling of being an outsider is heavier than any penalty. “I wouldn’t ride for years on equipment I couldn’t handle,” he says. Yet within the peloton, innovation is often met not with curiosity but suspicion. That disconnect, he admits, “is what hurts the most.”