Under-17 rider wins Dutch champs, then relegated for victory salute

The highs and lows of cycling! Finn Bastiaanssen, an under-17 rider from The Netherlands, was shocked after a big win on Sunday. He crossed the line first at the Dutch national championships and threw his arms in the air, elated to win.

The young Dutchman crossed the line first and thus crowned himself Dutch champion. At least, that’s what he thought. The joy quickly gave way to sadness when it turned out that his victory salute resulted in him being relegated. Instead, the second-placed rider, Thijs Wiersma, would receive the red, white, and blue national championships jersey.

The victory celly

Although it’s common to see pro cyclists raise both arms in victory salutes, it’s not allowed for under-17 riders in the Netherlands. Similar to body checking not being allowed in hockey in Canada until the age of 14, taking your hands off the bars is forbidden until riders are in the under-19 category, a.k.a. juniors.

Not the ideal way to win

“I have mixed feelings about this,” Wiersma said after the race to CyclingOnline. “Finn made a mistake, it is what it is. I would have preferred to win by crossing the finish line first. An hour later, I was declared the winner.”

The young Dutchman said that he was happy to win, but it’s not the way he wished to.

“On one hand, it’s great, but you miss the moment of actually crossing the finish line first. I came here to win. I almost didn’t, but in the end, I did. It’s both nice and not nice. I’m happy with it, and I’ll wear the jersey with pride,” he said.

The jury then decided to relegate Finn Bastiaanssen to fifth place.

This isn’t the first time a Dutch rider has lost a title after crossing the finish line. Nils Eekhoff experienced a dramatic turn of events at the under-23 world championships in 2019. After a crash, Eekhoff rejoined the race with the aid of team cars, ultimately crossing the finish line first. However, his joy was short-lived. Following a lengthy review, the race jury determined that his return to the peloton violated race regulations. As a result, Eekhoff was disqualified and stripped of his world title.”

In the past, riders in the pro ranks have lost races from victory salutes, but usually premature ones, where the second rider throws their bike past them to steal the win.