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Professor Marjan Olfers was asked by Picnic-PostNL to conduct an independent investigation into the culture within its cycling team, following reports of a climate of anxiety at the company managed by Iwan Spekenbrink. Olfers, a professor of sports and law at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam who previously studied culture in Dutch elite sport, has begun the work. The investigation will include interviews and surveys.
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An investigation based on confidential interviews with 71 current and former riders and staff alleged that the Dutch WorldTour cycling team Picnic-PostNL had for years had a fear culture and an unsafe, tightly controlled working environment. Former members described feeling unable to raise concerns, and some said they left traumatised. Former rider Martijn Tusveld said the experience had caused mental-health problems. The Professional Cyclists’ Association said it had received similar signals; a single report said Centrum Veilige Sport Nederland had also received reports. Picnic-PostNL said it did not recognise itself in the overall picture, but announced an independent professional investigation into how its team culture is experienced. It said it wants to understand why anyone may have felt unsafe or unable to voice concerns. Sports director Rudi Kemna said he was sorry that people had experienced the situation this way and that the team must listen, while saying he did not recognise descriptions of a culture or dictatorship. Rider Julius van den Berg also said he had not experienced it that way, though he found the accounts distressing for those involved.
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Research by NOS Sport and the cycling platform In De Waaier reported that the relationship between riders and coaches at Picnic-PostNL was highly hierarchical and contributed to a culture of anxiety. Several people said the team management had created a top-down structure in which riders were expected mainly to follow instructions. Former trainer Adriaan Helmandel attributed this approach to team manager Iwan Spekenbrink, who allegedly told him that the rider should only pedal after receiving information from the coach. A former staff member said that criticism was treated as an attack on the team’s philosophy, while former rider Martijn Tusveld was afraid to speak after criticizing tactics and later experienced depressive complaints. Coaches Louis Delahaye and Jeroen Otter said that the growing focus on data had caused the human side of athletes to be overlooked. They argued that measurements needed to be interpreted in context and that open communication and trust between riders and staff were essential. Delahaye said coaches should help athletes make independent decisions, while Otter described the cooperation between athlete, coach and staff as the basis for performance.
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Former Picnic-PostNL riders Marcel Kittel, Tom Veelers and Kirsten Wild said they recognized parts of an article describing a culture of fear at their former team, although their experiences differed. Kittel said he had expected more support as a young rider and left in 2015 disappointed. Veelers said he had felt safe but noticed that riders’ input was not always acted on when he was a team leader. Wild said she had often felt unheard, including over her trainer, track-racing ambitions and team sprint roles, and left in 2014. The three former riders said people at the team should be listened to and that such conditions should not be treated as normal. They expressed hope that the team would change, while also noting its importance to Dutch cycling and saying it had been a stepping stone for many riders.
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Nicolas Roche said his time with what was then Team Sunweb, now Picnic-PostNL, became increasingly difficult in 2020 and 2021. The former Irish professional cyclist said management relied too heavily on strict protocols and planned races in excessive detail, leaving little room for riders to adapt. He described repeated conflicts after expressing opinions, including an incident at a January 2021 training camp when staff reprimanded him for extending a training session. Roche also said the team discouraged close personal relationships between riders and staff, which he believed increased mental pressure and could contribute to burnout and other mental-health problems. Roche said the team ultimately pushed him out because he had too much influence over younger riders and encouraged them not to follow the protocol. He said his experience and directness had become problems for management, while also expressing gratitude that the team was among the few to continue paying riders during the coronavirus pandemic.