"The desire to show something for once is certainly strong": Gijs Leemreize reveals Picnic doesn't panic despite disaster 2026
Cycling
Gijs Leemreize is the only rider combining this year's Giro d'Italia with Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes. With only one week setting apart the finish of 2026's first Grand Tour and the start of re-branded Critérium du Dauphiné, it's logical that no other riders have opted for such a schedule. In fact, not even the Picnic PostNL rider is too candid about such a change to his plans.
The 26-year-old confirms that it was not the idea all along: "Actually not, but then I broke my collarbone just before the season," Leemreize tells In de Leiderstrui. "So then I didn't have that many race days before the Giro. This period always involves a lot of racing with the Dauphiné, Suisse, Belgium."
With a long list of unavailable riders, the team management has to make sacrifices here and there. Such as fielding Leemreize for Dauphiné at last minute: "We also just need the riders right now. Then the Dauphiné came into the mix," explains the Dutch climber.
"I have to be honest, I would have preferred to do Suisse," Leemreize admits a bit of reluctancy to riding Dauphiné after tough three-week block in Italy. After all, that would have included an extra week of rest. "I've had a week of rest now. The first day wasn't really great, but now I feel somewhat okay again."
Hit a wall
The strain of riding a Grand Tour has taken its toll on Leemreize who didn't arrive to Giro in his best shape to begin with. But it was the first stage of Dauphiné - already featuring multiple ascents totalling for 3,200 meters of climbing - which really hit Leemreize like a hangover:
"Some say you should keep busy a bit between the Giro and the Dauphiné. I was really too tired to cycle. I cycled for an hour once and otherwise just rested, so you can't really... you just feel bad on the first day. That was factored in."
Gijs Leemreize in a breakaway of 2024 Paris-Nice
After a day spent in the company of sprinters and Joao Almeida in the gruppetto, Leemreize already found better legs in stage 2 - enough to sneak into a top-20. "The next day it wasn't as bad as I expected; in fact, it was even better than in the Giro," Leemreize even states.
And so it happened, as Leemreize made an attempt on Wednesday to jump into the breakaway. That did not work out for the Dutchman, which was a shame because the escapees did get their shot at victory in Montrond-les-Bains.
What's going on with Picnic?
So it happens, Picnic PostNL currently finds itself 28th in the UCI team ranking, more than 3,000 UCI points off the 18th team (Groupama - FDJ United). And as the team's leaders are dealing with inadversities, there seems to be no salvation on the horizon.
But how is the situation perceived from within the Dutch team by Leemreize?
"In itself, the atmosphere in the team is actually still good. No pressure is being imposed from the team, but I think everyone feels the pressure themselves. As everyone can see, things aren't going very well," Leemreize admits honestly.
"We simply don't have any results, so you naturally start to feel a bit of pressure. Well, pressure is a strong word, but the desire to show something for once is certainly strong," he concludes.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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