Is Picnic's sole leader for Tour de France out of the race? Pavel Bittner caught up in Classique Dunkerque mass crash

Team Picnic PostNL Raisin's 2026 season is one big disaster. The already reduced lineup is a frequent victim to crashes, illnesses and injuries. And none of their leaders seem to be spared as the series of bad luck caught up also to the Dutch's team sprinter Pavel Bittner during Classique Dunkerque.

As if rain and strong wind gusts weren't enough on the north-west coast of France, those warriors who have survived into the final sprint had to roll a dice for whether they'd end up in a late crash with 500 meters to go. And unfortunately for Bittner, he was one of the main victims.

"In the crash at Classique Dunkerque yesterday, Pavel Bittner suffered a large cut to his ankle, which required stitches, alongside sustaining some ligament damage," Picnic PostNL informed via team channels.

The Czech rider was intended to lead the team also at the subsequent stage race, the 4 Jours de Dunkerque, however his injuries meant that participating was not a viable option: "Consequently, he won’t line up for 4 Jours de Dunkerque and head home to recover and let the injury heal."

As the team's only reliable scorer in 2026 (with modest 485 UCI points), Bittner is naturally tuning his preparation towards Tour de France this summer, where he'll be Picnic's main leader even though Max Poole's possible participation hangs in the air.

Cosnidering the nature of Bittner's injury, these shouldn't prove a major obstacle in his preparation, but it's quite possible that Bittner's preparation programme will need to be adjusted with next appointments scheduled for Brussels Cycling Classic (June 7) and Copenhagen Sprint (June 14) - perhaps a bit too soon.

So far in 2026, Picnic PostNL Raisin has not yet managed to podium a WorldTour race, but Bittner was close to this "achievement" a few times, including a sixth place at Tour of Brugges. His other notworthy results include 2nd at Scheldeprijs and 3rd at Bredene Koksijde Classic (both 1.Pro).