The blows for Picnic PostNL keep coming; Nils Eekhoff sidelined for foreseeable future

Team Picnic PostNL find themselves in a dire situation with view to 2026 season, although the new year has only just started. The loss of Oscar Onley who was bought out of his contract by INEOS Grenadiers left a hole in the Dutch team's plans for the season ahead, but now they need to make amends for another loss as the anchor of their Classics team Nils Eekhoff is out of competition for an indefinite period of time.

The Dutchman best known for having infamously not won the 2019 under-23 World Championships road race, won the Danilith Nokere Koerse in 2025, but will have to forget about defending his title the upcoming spring as he was diagnosed with a flow restriction in the iliac arteries.

"Nils Eekhoff will undergo surgery next week, after which he will begin an extensive rehabilitation process. As a result, he will be out of competition for the foreseeable future. We wish you a smooth recovery Nils, and hope that if all goes well, you’ll be race ready by May," the team shared a brief message via social media.

Therefore the team's effective personnel has shrunk just to 27 riders. The weight of leadership will be most likely put on the shoulders of young talents Pavel Bittner, Casper van Uden and Max Poole. Picnic PostNL could certainly use a resurrection of Fabio Jakobsen who should be finally free of all health problems after years of struggles.