"It’s crazy how much money is nowadays paid to youngsters" - Picnic PostNL manager on fighting for riders against teams "with no financial ceiling"

That the financial demands in the sport of cycling are growing is no secret. In fact, many team managers, analysts and other sport figures are calling for salary caps, in hopes of equalling the opportunities. One of the managers who are struggling against the crushing pressure of money flowing from Middle East is Picnic PostNL manager Iwan Spekenbrink who, despite his best efforts to raise home-grown talent needs to constantly look over his shoulder.

"Cycling has changed a lot since Covid. Especially in terms of the amount of money circulating, especially from the Middle East," said Spekenbrink in an interview for WielerFlits. "As a result, some budgets have gone through the roof, even with bizarre examples such as the UAE. As a team, we are competing against countries with no financial ceiling," he analysed. "We should not complain, it is reality and our challenge is to succeed against these teams."

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While Spekenbrink can understand why the likes of Tadej Pogacar are being paid what equals a yearly budget of a smaller PRT team, the fact that UAE Team Emirates - XRG are able to draw away the young talents with the power of money too. "It’s crazy how much money is paid to youngsters. That kind of money was given to those who had already had success in the big races, not to any junior."

So why should riders even pick Picnic PostNL over a superteam like UAE? "Not all young people adapt. Yes, in UAE they can run at a high level but often their results are subordinate. We have shown that we can develop young people and in that sense we do not consider ourselves inferior, I would even say that we are better at that," he claims with confidence.

"Money is a factor, but when the race starts you have the same opportunities. We rely on riders who choose to earn less but who we know will still be in the final. There will always be riders with that kind of thinking and we have them in the team," he concluded.

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