Pavel Bittner fit after injury scare as Team Picnic PostNL reveal Tour de France squad amid difficult 2026 season

Team Picnic PostNL have confirmed their eight-rider lineup for the 2026 Tour de France, with Pavel Bittner included after an injury-disrupted build-up to the race.

The Dutch WorldTeam arrive at the Grand Depart in Barcelona after a difficult first half of the season, but will head into the Tour with stage results as the clear target. Bittner is expected to be their main option in the fast finishes, while Warren Barguil and Frank van den Broek give the team cards to play on hillier days and in breakaway situations.

The selection also continues Picnic PostNL’s development theme, with four graduates from the team’s Development program included in the eight-man squad. Robbe Dhondt becomes the first Belgian graduate from that pathway to make the team’s Tour de France lineup.

Picnic PostNL coach Matt Winston acknowledged that the team’s run-in to the Tour had been far from smooth, with Bittner’s injury costing him important racing kilometres before the biggest race of the season.

“As a team we’ve had a bumpy run-in, with an injury to sprint finisher Pavel, meaning that he missed some key racing kilometres,” Winston said in the team’s announcement. “However, he’s recovered now and is ready to get in the mix in those fast finishes, like last year.”

Bittner will be supported by an experienced sprint group including John Degenkolb, Niklas Markl and Julius van den Berg. Frits Biesterbos is also set for his Tour de France debut after what Winston described as “a great first season as a pro.”

Away from the bunch sprints, Picnic PostNL will look towards Barguil, Van den Broek and Dhondt on the hillier stages. Barguil brings the experience of a former Tour de France polka-dot jersey winner, while Van den Broek has already shown he can be dangerous when aggressive racing opens up opportunities.

Dhondt’s selection gives the team another young rider to develop across three weeks. Winston described him as “a proud product” of Picnic PostNL’s Development program and said he can learn alongside more experienced teammates while the team hunts stage results. “We head to the Tour with a group that is highly motivated to show our colours at the pointy end of things,” Winston added.