More drama for Picnic PostNL, who are not among the UCI WorldTour licence applicants for 2027

Picnic PostNL has been struggling with problems for quite some time, particularly financial ones. Last year, it was also uncertain whether the team would receive a WorldTour license, even though it had earned enough points. At that time, the team also missed the deadline, but ultimately received the license under strict conditions.

As a result, they were granted a license for one year, not three. In addition, certain financial conditions had to be met. It’s unclear whether they succeeded, but what is clear is that Picnic PostNL has once again missed the deadline.

Missing the deadline comes in the midst of an extremely turbulent week for Picnic PostNL. Earlier, news broke that a culture of fear prevails within the team, according to reports from the NOS and In de Waaier, which spoke with 71 current and former employees. This sparked a lot of reactions, both from former riders and current athletes.

Nicolas Roche, for example, confirmed the reports, but John Degenkolb and Warren Barguil vehemently denied the rumours. Team manager Rudi Kemna also responded to the incident, saying he “recognised parts of it,” but that he was deeply shocked by the reports.

It’s not the end of the road just yet for Picnic PostNL. The team may have missed the deadline, but that also happened last year.