Warren Barguil has defended the management of his team Picnic PostNL after it announced an independent investigation into workplace culture and conduct after a damning piece was published by NOS Sport and In De Waaier earlier in the week. He said the reporting that prompted the review had damaged the team while it searches for sponsors.
"Unfortunately, a recent article has hurt us very badly, particularly during this already delicate period when we are fighting for the team's future and looking for sponsors," the Frenchman wrote in an Instagram post on October 17. "I am not here to judge this article, but to tell you my story with this team."
The allegations arose from a months-long investigation by NOS Sport and In De Waaier based on confidential conversations with 71 current and former riders and staff. They described fear of the team’s management, restrictions on feedback and an unsafe working environment. The team said it did not recognise the overall picture, but on October 15 it promised an independent, professional review.
Why Barguil went back
Barguil originally joined the team back in 2012 as a trainee when the team was called Argos-Shimano. He then turned pro with the team and won two stages of the 2013 Vuelta a España in his first season. In 2017, racing as Team Sunweb, he won stages of the Tour de France to Foix and to the climb of the Izoard as well as taking the mountains classification. He also won the most combative rider award.
"In 2017, I ended my contract for 2018 before the Tour de France. And yet, although I was injured and leaving for the following season, the team placed its complete trust in me to be at the start," he wrote. "At the time, Iwan had told me: 'You'll come back.' And I came back. If the management had been toxic, I would never have returned."
Sunweb sent Barguil home from the 2017 Vuelta after seven stages, saying his approach to racing did not match the team's objectives. He then spent six seasons at Fortuneo-Samsic, later Arkéa-Samsic, the team he first rode for as a trainee back in 2011. His return to general manager Iwan Spekenbrink's team was announced on August 14, 2023, on a contract running to the end of 2026.
"As in any company, there are rules and duties. Whether people like it or not, we are not on holiday at Club Med," he wrote. "As far as I am concerned, this framework and these demands have helped me grow as a man."
All this largely negative public attention is coming after another tough season for the team, with the men’s squad managing just three wins across the season. Casper van Uden took stage 5 of the Tour of Türkiye, Pavel Bittner won Paris-Chauny and Frits Biesterbos took stage 2 of the Tour of Guangxi. Biesterbos's win was his first as a professional and the team's first in the WorldTour this year. He followed it with second place on stage 3, which put him in the overall lead, and fourth on stage 4. The women's team has not won a race this season.
"It has been a difficult season for me and for the whole team. Fortunately, the end of the season allowed us to breathe a little, particularly thanks to the superb victories of Frits and Pavel, which already had us looking positively towards 2027," Barguil said.
Both teams hold WorldTour licences for 2026 only. Extending them into 2027 and 2028 depends on financial conditions the UCI has not made public. On October 9, a spokesperson denied reports that the men's team would voluntarily drop to ProTeam level, and said preparations continued for 2027 in the WorldTour.
The team's own statement on the culture review referred to the same pressure: "We have made a commitment to do everything we can to secure the future of the team and, in doing so, preserve jobs within professional cycling."
