Raymond Kerckhoffs, Niels de Wit, Youri Iijnssen
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Tuesday, August 19, 2025 at 8:20 AM
The Dutch selection for the World Cup for pros in Rwanda is not a single rider from Visma | Lease a bike. That is for the first time in 30 years, since Rabobank got into cycling in 1996, that the largest Dutch professional team does not deliver Orange riders for the global title fight.
National coach Koos Moerenhout announced the six riders yesterday who will represent the Netherlands on the course in and around Kigali. Thymen Arensman, Wout Poels, Bauke Mollema, Koen Bouwman, Sam Oomen and Frank van den Broek start on behalf of the Netherlands at the first World Cup cycling that is ever organized in Africa.
Selection Netherlands in UCI World Championship Kigali 2025
After Visma | Earlier this year, Lease A Bike did not select the Dutchman for the Tour de France for the first time in the history of the team, the Dutch flagship also does not have a countryman at the start at the World Cup. In the last thirty years, in 2022 it appeared in the Australian Wolongong that only one rider of the then Jumbo-Visma, Pascal Eenkhoorn, was included in the Dutch team.
In the years that Rabobank was still the main sponsor, the selection was largely filled with riders from the ‘banking team’. In 2001 in Lisbon, ten of the twelve Dutch World Cup riders were under contract with Rabobank, while in 2004 that were nine out of twelve in Verona.
Of the current team of Visma | Lease a Bike had certainly not been out of place in the World Cup selection Dylan van Baarle, Wilco Kelderman and Steven Kruijswijk. “It is primarily a matter of other ambitions and choices for these riders,” says National coach Koos Moerenhout.
Koos Moerenhout after the Olympic road game in Paris. Photo: Raymond Kerckhoffs
“There has always been a good consultation with the performance team of Visma | Lease a Bike,” continues Moerenhout. “You have a tight planning in these weeks because a number of events that follow each other very quickly. A World Cup and European Championship are suitable for the same type of rider this year. Look, if the European Championship in France were a flat competition in France, then very different choices are made. In addition, the journey to Africa is quite spicy, which is also different when a whole of the Italian is well.
Dutch World Cup riders from the largest Dutch team
1996: 12/5 ratio
1997: 12/7 ratio
1998: 12/8 ratio
1999: 12/7 ratio
2000: 12/8 ratio
2001: 12/10 ratio
2002: 12/5 ratio
2003: 12/8 ratio
2004: 12/9 ratio
2005: 12/5 ratio
2006: 9/5 ratio
2007: 9/5 ratio
2008: 9/5 River
2009: 6/4 ratio
2010: 9/5 ratio
2011: 9/5 Descension
2012: 9/5 Descendants
2013: 9 / 5 BELKIN
2014: 9 / 4 BELKIN
2015: 9/2 Teamlottonl
2016: 9/3 Teamlottonl
2017: 9/2 team LottoNL
2018: 8/2 team LottoNL
2019: 8 /2 Jumbo – Visma
2020: 8/3 Jumbo – Visma
2021: 8/2 Jumbo – Visma
2022: 8/1 Jumbo – Visma
2023: 8/3 Jumbo – Visma
2024: 9/2 VISMA – LAB
2025: 6/0 Visma – lab
UCI World Championship Kigali – List of Participants
Analysis of Dutch Depiction at the UCI World Championships: A Historical Perspective
To further illuminate the shifting dynamics of Dutch cycling and the absence of Visma | Lease a Bike riders in the upcoming UCI World Championships in Kigali, we’ve compiled a thorough table offering key insights. This data-driven analysis allows for a deeper understanding of trends and team dominance in recent years.
| Year | World Championship Location | Dutch Riders from rabobank/Jumbo-Visma/Visma | Total Dutch Riders Selected | Ratio (Rabobank/Jumbo-Visma/Visma/Total) | Key Observations |
|——|————————————-|——————————————-|—————————–|——————————————-|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-|
| 1996 | Lugano, Switzerland | 5 | 12 | 5/12 | Marking the beginning, Rabobank heavily influenced the Dutch selection. |
| 1997 | San Sebastián, Spain | 7 | 12 | 7/12 | Rabobank’s dominance continued. |
| 1998 | valkenburg, Netherlands | 8 | 12 | 8/12 | The team’s presence solidified. |
| 1999 | Verona, Italy | 7 | 12 | 7/12 | Solid representation from Rabobank. |
| 2000 | Plouay, France | 8 | 12 | 8/12 | Rabobank continued to provide the majority of the Dutch team. |
| 2001 | Lisbon, portugal | 10 | 12 | 10/12 | A peak in Rabobank representation, demonstrating thier significant influence on Dutch cycling at the beginning of the new millennium. |
| 2002 | Zolder, Belgium | 5 | 12 | 5/12 | Still a prominent presence but less dominant than in preceding years.|
| 2003 | Hamilton, Canada | 8 | 12 | 8/12 | Rabobank riders still formed a notable component of the Dutch team. |
| 2004 | Verona, Italy | 9 | 12 | 9/12 | High representation from Rabobank. |
| 2005 | Madrid, Spain | 5 | 12 | 5/12 | Rabobank’s influence remained ample. |
| 2006 | Salzburg,Austria | 5 | 9 | 5/9 | Rabobank’s presence continues,but with a slight decrease in the overall number of Dutch riders selected . |
| 2007 | Stuttgart, Germany | 5 | 9 | 5/9 | Consistent representation from Rabobank. |
| 2008 | Varese, Italy | 5 | 9 | 5/9 | Maintains a consistent presence. |
| 2009 | Mendrisio, Switzerland | 4 | 6 | 4/6 | A shift, with contributions from riders outside the Rabobank team becoming more visible.|
| 2010 | Melbourne, Australia | 5 | 9 | 5/9 | Returns to a higher proportion of Rabobank riders. |
| 2011 | Copenhagen, Denmark | 5 | 9 | 5/9 | Similar trends to previous years. |
| 2012 | Valkenburg, Netherlands | 5 | 9 | 5/9 | Rabobank’s consistent presence. |
| 2013 | Florence, Italy | 5 | 9 | 5/9 | Maintaining a significant representation.|
| 2014 | Ponferrada, Spain | 4 | 9 | 4/9 | Reduced influence, with other teams contributing more riders. |
| 2015 | Richmond, USA | 2 | 9 | 2/9 | Substantially decreased presence of the team, showing a diversification of team representation. |
| 2016 | Doha, Qatar | 3 | 9 | 3/9 | Slightly better but still very reduced. |
| 2017 | Bergen,Norway | 2 | 9 | 2/9 | Continues to display a limited representation. |
| 2018 | Innsbruck, Austria | 2 | 8 | 2/8 | Showing a decline in the number of riders selected for the Dutch team.|
| 2019 | Yorkshire, Great Britain | 2 | 8 | 2/8 | A reduction in the team’s representation continues.|
| 2020 | Imola, Italy | 3 | 8 | 3/8 | The trend continues with fewer riders. |
| 2021 | Leuven, Belgium | 2 | 8 | 2/8 | Limited presence persists. |
| 2022 | Wollongong, Australia | 1 | 8 | 1/8 | The lowest representation in recent history, the year before. |
| 2023 | Glasgow, Great Britain | 3 | 8 | 3/8 | Recovery from the prior year. |
| 2024 | Zurich, Switzerland | 2 | 9 | 2/9 | Shows signs of team regaining their representation |
| 2025 | Kigali, Rwanda | 0 | 6 | 0/6 | A historic shift: For the first time in three decades, no riders from the Netherlands’ foremost professional team will participate, highlighting a significant departure in team selection strategy. |
Note: Jumbo-Visma and Visma | Lease a Bike are used interchangeably to reflect the team’s name during diffrent periods.
SEO-Friendly FAQ Section: Addressing Reader Queries
To provide complete, authoritative data and enhance search visibility, here are some frequently asked questions (FAQ) and their detailed answers:
Q: Why is Visma | Lease a Bike not sending any riders to the 2025 World Championships in Kigali?
A: The Dutch National Coach, citing team strategy, rider ambitions, and the unique challenges posed by the Kigali course and travel, made the decision. These factors, including the timing of the event and the specific demands of the course, were considered in consultation with Visma | Lease a Bike’s performance team. This demonstrates the importance of individual athlete goals, race calendars, and the strategic planning between the national coach and team management.
Q: Has this happened before?
A: No. This is the first time in 30 years, starting with Rabobank’s entry into cycling in 1996, that the top Dutch professional team has not contributed any riders to the Dutch national team for the UCI World Championships. [[1]] This absence marks a significant shift in the historical dominance of the team in representing the Netherlands.
Q: What teams have historically dominated the Dutch selection?
A: Rabobank, and subsequently Jumbo-visma/Visma | Lease a bike, have dominated the Dutch selection over the past three decades. The table above provides a detailed breakdown of this trend, illustrating the percentage of Dutch riders from those teams in each year’s World Championships. The data signifies the complete representation that Rabobank had. [[3]]
Q: Which Dutch riders could have been candidates for selection?
A: Given their performance records, riders such as Dylan van Baarle, Wilco Kelderman, and Steven Kruijswijk from Visma | Lease a Bike would normally be considered strong contenders. Though, as the National coach stated, the primary factor was a confluence of different ambitions, preferences, and choices made by these riders and the coaching staff.
Q: what dose this mean for the future of Dutch cycling?
A: While the absence of Visma | Lease a Bike riders is notable, the focus on other talented riders and the growth of new talent within the Netherlands may be a key factor in future competitions.The selection showcases opportunities and changes as a result.
