'You try to survive' – Esmée Peperkamp adds her name to the criticism of the culture at Picnic-PostNL

After spending five seasons with Picnic-PostNL, Esmée Peperkamp has added her voice to those criticising the management and support structures at the Dutch team.

In an interview with Dutch broadcaster NOS, Peperkamp said her health and form deteriorated during her time with Picnic, described the medical support at Picnic as "substandard" and alleged she was told to train through injury.

She also stated that all the riders and staff she worked with have contractual clauses preventing them from publicly criticising the team, even after they have left.

Peperkamp alleged the team is guilty of negligence, saying: "You are never listened to and that things are decided for you that are ultimately not good for you."

Now in the middle of a two-year deal at VolkerWessels, Peperkamp arrived at what was then Team DSM in 2021, aged 23, as a promising climber. She left at the end of the 2025 season with only six top-10 placings to her name.

Peperkamp was one of several riders NOS spoke to anonymously in their original story about the culture of the team, but she has now decided to go public, so she can both help others and explain her continuing poor health.

"My health is still deteriorating because I still do not produce enough hormones," she told NOS. "I haven't had a period since 2021, and I have RED-S, relative energy deficiency in sport. I contracted that during my time at DSM and later at Picnic-PostNL."

"Whether you got your period, for example, was never a question. It was never checked whether my hormone levels were in order, even though there are annual health checks. This could have been prevented."

After suffering a concussion at the 2024 Vuelta a Burgos, she alleged she was left unsupported, adding: "They handled it very casually. For example, they left it up to me whether I would train the next day."

Peperkamp also explains that she suffered from irritable bowel syndrome and a lactose intolerance, which meant she struggled with the nutrition provided by the team, though she was not allowed a substitute.

"I became very sick. So nauseous that I couldn't eat anymore. I was vomiting too. I could feel sick for days and therefore ate very little. I just had to get used to it, they said. I sometimes had kind caregivers who gave me bottles with regular isotonic drink, or water.

"You try to survive, to get yourself noticed by other teams, to keep your dream alive."

Having moved to VolkerWessels this season, Peperkamp has not raced since failing to finish Liège-Bastogne-Liège in April.

While Peperkamp is one of several former riders to have criticised the team, others have come out in support, with John Degenkolb questioning why voices like his were not included in NOS’s reporting.

In response, the team have appointed lawyer Professor Marjan Olfers to lead an independent enquiry into the team’s culture. Olfers has a long history working in professional sport, leading the investigation surrounding Michael Rasmussen’s presence at and exclusion from the 2007 Tour de France

Picnic-PostNL issued the following statement to NOS: "We regret that a member of our team experienced matters such as those you describe. As previously announced, we will have an independent investigation conducted into this matter.

"For various reasons, we cannot comment on individual cases as outlined by the NOS. Firstly, it concerns an anonymous complaint, making it difficult for us to respond specifically.

"In addition, we do not share information about individual team members with third parties, even when we suspect who is involved. This policy is partly aimed at safeguarding the privacy of the (former) riders mentioned by you, as well as the privacy of the many team members, on and off the bike, who work or have worked together (intensively), and thus to prevent them from feeling unsafe due to the sharing of such information."

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