"A Dictatorship": Shocking Investigation into Picnic PostNL

A ripple effect has engulfed the Dutch team. Picnic PostNL announced it will commission "an independent and professional investigation into the team's culture" following the publication of a wide-ranging report in the Dutch media, which exposed alleged toxic working conditions in recent years. A former coach even went so far as to call it a veritable "dictatorship."

The investigation is by NOS Sport and the podcast In De Waaier , who released the results on Thursday morning after several months of work in 2026. At the heart of the story is the culture that has developed under the leadership of sporting director Rudi Kemna and team owner Iwan Spekenbrink .

The two media outlets interviewed 71 current and former employees , almost all of whom were quoted anonymously. What emerged was a portrait of an alleged "culture of fear" and an "unsafe" work situation.

The team's response

In a statement released Thursday, Picnic PostNL wrote that it "does not recognize itself in the overall picture" described by the publications, but admits that "it is important to look at oneself with a critical eye." The team emphasizes that "the fact that experiences vary does not diminish the gravity of the stories that have emerged." The team promises to take the findings of the investigation seriously and implement the necessary improvements, "out of respect for all those who are, or have been, part of Team Picnic PostNL."

The most serious accusations

The strongest testimony comes from former professional Martijn Tusveld , who rode seven seasons with the team, first as Sunweb and then as DSM, between 2018 and 2024. Tusveld recounts how his position in the peloton changed when, after receiving a request for his opinion from Kemna, he openly criticized the team's tactics at the 2020 Giro d'Italia.

According to the report, Tusveld was told he was creating a "negative climate." In a 2025 email, he wrote to Kemna that, after the Giro episode, he no longer dared to speak, feeling "powerless" and no longer the person he once was. "I became anxious," he told NOS. "I thought: I'll keep my mouth shut, say yes and amen. And that's what I did for all the years that followed with this team." The former rider also spoke of depressive symptoms in 2021 and thoughts of self-harm.

Similar experiences of internal culture change have been reported by anonymous former staff members. Among those who spoke openly is Adriaan Helmantel , Tom Dumoulin's former coach. According to him, Dumoulin's historic victory at the 2017 Giro d'Italia marked a turning point for the team, but not in the right way. Management allegedly tried to exert excessive influence, wanting everything to come from the top, "becoming paranoid" at the idea that the riders would "call the shots" if they were too close to the coaches. "It became a dictatorship," Helmantel said.

In a separate report by NOS, former rider Nicolas Roche , formerly of Team Sky and Saxo Bank, also weighed in: "I think this management is not suited to cycling." According to the Irishman, cycling is an unpredictable sport, where you have to deal with the weather, the tactics of 24 other teams, and a body that is not a perfect machine: "I understand that they want a master plan, but you can't plan the 17th stage of the Tour de France in May. And that's what they did." Roche claims he was "pushed towards the exit" in 2021 and was told he had "too much influence on young people" : "My experience became a problem for the management."

Two opposing versions on the lack of confrontation

The issue of communication remains. NOS claims to have contacted the team on October 12th and then sought an in-person meeting two days later at their Deventer headquarters. According to the broadcaster, Spekenbrink refused to respond, either in writing or on camera.

The team tells a different story. As soon as they received clues from the investigation, they offered a meeting to explain their philosophy and allow them to speak with current staff members, but NOS "chose not to accept the offer." The following Monday, according to the team, they were given only a few days to answer a series of questions, and subsequent attempts at dialogue failed.

The three "commitments" of the PostNL Picnic

In the statement, the team recalls the three pillars it has been founded on since 2008: fair, healthy, and responsible sport (with anti-doping policy as a central element); safe collaboration based on shared values , where everyone feels free to express opinions and raise concerns; and job continuity and security , in a sector where, the team writes, several teams disappear every year. Internal safeguards include a personal coach for each rider, a Riders' Committee, and dedicated staff advisors. If anyone has felt unsafe or without the space to report concerns, they conclude, "we want to understand how this could have happened."