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Cyclist Mathieu van der Poel recently came under fire after announcing he’d taken an ambassadorial role with Dutch company Flying Group. Flying Group is a private jet company with an 18-plane fleet, ranging from small to superjets.
Van der Poel announced the partnership on social media on the eve of this year’s Tour de France (his sixth), and the backlash from his fans came quickly.
According to Velo, van der Poel responded to the concerns from fans soon after.Â
“This partnership isn’t about luxury, it’s about performance, recovery, and the kind of support that helps me give 100% every time I show up,” he stated.
This also isn’t the first time van der Poel has courted controversy via private jets, as he flew 600 kilometers on a private jet to the Cyclo-cross World Cup the previous winter.
The disappointment from van der Poel’s fans is understandable, as private jets not only create significant amounts of carbon pollution but also consume massive quantities of fuel.Â
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Consider that 90 minutes of flight on a private jet can produce nearly four tons of pollution per passenger, and a ton of carbon is the equivalent of driving your car 5,000 miles. That’s a lot of carbon pollution in a short period, and considering how many wealthy individuals use private jets, that pollution adds up substantially, contributing to the overheating of our planet.
Pollution created by human activities, primarily the burning of dirty fuels, doesn’t just heat the planet up, either. This pollution is also responsible for rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and a host of health issues in our communities.
The cyclist’s fans weren’t afraid to tell him exactly how they felt about the partnership.
“You are a cyclist. I wish you’d use your platform as an opportunity to promote sustainable transportation and safe infrastructure, because this is killing people and the planet,” one person wrote on van der Poel’s social media announcement.
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“Private jet travel is unnecessary and extremely bad for the environment. This is an example of selling yourself just for the cash with no regard to future generations,” another stated.
One user simply wrote, “You just made me stop caring about your cycling career.”
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