Amy Pieters Sues SD Worx-Protime Over Unpaid Wages Following Career-Ending Injury
Former pro racer Amy Pieters has taken the SD Worx-Protime team to court, claiming the team owes her outstanding wages due to what her lawyers call an “indefinite contract.”
Following a crash during a training ride with her Dutch national team in Calpe, Spain, in December 2021, Pieters spent nearly three months in a medically induced coma, causing her thriving career to come to an immediate end.
Nearly two-and-a-half years after the accident, Pieters is still on the road to recovery. She didn’t take her first steps until October of 2022 and, as of early 2023, was primarily communicating using facial expressions and nods. According to her family, the former world track champion still struggles with speech and memory.
According to Dutch news outlet Dagblad de Limburger, Pieters and her legal team are hoping to prove that, according to local employment law, her contract with SD Worx qualifies as “indefinite.” Pieters’ last contract with SD Worx ended on January 1, 2023.
Last year, the team honored Pieters with stickers on the top tube of their team-issued bikes that read, “This is your stage.” Below that was the name “Amy,” with the “M” written as a flowing heart.
However, on-bike tributes are hardly income, which Pieters and her team are hoping a legal ruling will provide. They are basing their argument on the fact that they believe Pieters’ three consecutive contracts—which she held with the team from when she first signed with them in 2017—should carry over as “indefinite,” or until she turns 67.
“After three consecutive contracts, a contract for an indefinite period follows,” Pietes’ lawyer, Nick Poggenklaas, said. “The law only makes an exception for professional football. In fact, this is no different from the question of whether or not Deliveroo delivery drivers are permanent employees.”
According to reports, the Netherlands-based SD Worx-Protime believes the UCI’s arbitration committee should handle the case. However, local courts have thus far mandated that the dispute be handled by domestic courts within the country.
Pieters went pro in 2010, signing with the Merida team. After five seasons with Skil-Koga (who were also called Skil-Argos, Argos-Shimano, Giant-Shimano, and Liv-Platur during her time there), Pieters spent a year with Wiggle High5 before signing with Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team, who would soon become SD Worx.
A noted track cyclist who won the 2020 and 2021 World Championships in the Madison (with Kirsten Wild), Pieters’ career highlights on the road include a 2021 Dutch national road race win, a 2018 win at Ronde van Drenthe, and a 2014 win at Omloop het Nieuwsblad.
Her last race with SD Worx was in the 2021 Women’s Tour, where she finished fourth in the general classification, seventh in the points classification, and seventeenth in the QOM competition.
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