Picnic PostNL 2026 Tour de France - Pavel Bittner leads stage win hunt after Oscar Onley departure

2025 Tour de France:

• 2025 Tour stage wins: 0 
• 2025 Best GC finish: 4th - Oscar Onley

2026 Objectives:

Team Picnic PostNL enters the Tour with stage victories as its main target. The team has no rider focused on the general classification, allowing it to approach each day according to the terrain and race situation.

Pavel Bittner will be the main finisher on the flatter stages. His preparation was interrupted by injury, but the Czech sprinter has recovered and will be supported by an experienced group featuring John Degenkolb, Niklas Märkl and Julius van den Berg.

“We head to the Tour with a group that is highly motivated to show our colours at the pointy end of things,” said coach Matt Winston.

Warren Barguil and Frank van den Broek provide the strongest options when the route becomes more demanding. Both are proven breakaway riders, while Tour debutant Robbe Dhondt can also look for opportunities across rolling and hilly terrain.

Frits Biesterbos completes the selection after an impressive first season at WorldTour level. A stage win remains the clearest measure of success, but the team will also aim to race visibly and give its younger riders valuable experience.

🇫🇷 Warren Barguil (34): Barguil returns for his twelfth Tour as the most experienced climbing option in the team. His outstanding 2017 campaign produced two stage victories and the mountains classification, while he has twice finished tenth overall. After completing the Giro in May, his focus will shift towards selected breakaways rather than another attempt at the general classification.

🇳🇱 Julius van den Berg (29): It may be Van den Berg’s first Tour, but the Dutchman already has seven Grand Tours behind him across the Giro and Vuelta. Most of his work will come within Bittner’s sprint group, helping the team control the approach and move its finisher into position.

🇨🇿 Pavel Bittner (23): Bittner heads into his second Tour as the team’s main sprint option. He finished fourth on a stage during his debut last summer and has since added second at the Scheldeprijs and third at the Bredene Koksijde Classic. An injury disrupted the final part of his preparation and cost him some racing, but the team is confident he has recovered. Turning one of the faster stages into a victory will be his main objective.

🇳🇱 Frits Biesterbos (24): Biesterbos has earned a Tour debut during an impressive first season at WorldTour level. He finished third at Veenendaal-Veenendaal, fourth at the Brussels Cycling Classic and seventh at the Copenhagen Sprint, showing that he can handle long races and fast finishes. The Dutchman will contribute to the sprint setup, although his strength on harder courses may also give him opportunities of his own when the race becomes more selective.

🇳🇱 Frank van den Broek (25): Van den Broek has come remarkably close to a Tour victory in each of his first two appearances. He helped Romain Bardet secure the opening stage and yellow jersey in 2024 before taking another second place from the breakaway last summer. Third on a stage of Itzulia Basque Country this season showed that his attacking ability remains intact. The rolling and hilly stages will again provide his best chances.

🇩🇪 John Degenkolb (37): Degenkolb brings considerably more Tour experience than anyone else in the sprint group. The former Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix winner claimed his only Tour stage on the cobbles in 2018 and now begins his eleventh appearance. His own opportunities may be limited, but his positioning, communication and understanding of chaotic finales will be central to Bittner’s chances on the flatter days.

🇧🇪 Robbe Dhondt (22): Dhondt becomes the first Belgian graduate of the team’s development programme to start the Tour. He secured thirteenth overall at the Four Days of Dunkirk and later completed the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, gaining experience against WorldTour opposition. The three weeks will form an important part of his development, but he will also support Barguil and Van den Broek and could join breakaways on suitable hilly stages.

🇩🇪 Niklas Märkl (27): Märkl returns after completing his first Tour in 2025 and will again be part of the squad’s sprint operation. The German is comfortable handling the less visible work required before a bunch finish, including positioning and maintaining order around Bittner.