Gaia Realini heads for 'new adventure' with Picnic-PostNL, but can climber rejuvenate her career? – Analysis

Gaia Realini has announced that she's departing Lidl-Trek for a move to Picnic-PostNL next season.

The Italian had spent the past four seasons with Lidl-Trek, with both her and the German team agreeing to end her contract a year early this winter. Now, she's on the move to Dutch squad Picnic-PostNL, she announced in an Instagram post.

"After four years with Lidl-Trek, it's time to start a new chapter. Thank you for all the experiences and moments we shared," Realini wrote.

"I'm happy to announce that I will join Picnic-PostNL for next season, a team that has believed in me from the very beginning and our first conversations.

"New colours, new goals, and plenty of motivation to give my best. Ready for this new adventure!"

After joining Lidl-Trek from Italian squad Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria, Realini had impressed during her first two seasons with the team. She emerged as a top climber, taking podium finishes at the UAE Tour, La Flèche Wallonne, La Vuelta Femenina, and Giro d'Italia in 2023.

Meanwhile, a fifth place at the Tour de France Femmes was her highlight of 2024. She hasn't hit those heights in the past two seasons, however, after suffering a fractured elbow in early 2025.

Her top stage race result of the past two seasons came this September with a 10th-place finish at the Faun Tour Femmes.

Realini is the sixth rider to leave Lidl-Trek for 2027, joining cyclo-cross world champion Lucinda Brand and under-23 world time trial champion Felicity Wilson-Haffenden among notable names on the outgoing list as former Tour de France Femmes champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney heads their incoming transfers.

She is, to date, the only confirmed addition for Picnic-PostNL this off-season, while Pfeiffer Georgi, Megan Arens, Rachele Barbieri, and Elise Uijen are on the way out.

Dani Ostanek

Picnic-PostNL have endured a dire season in 2026 with no wins for the women's team, just three for the men's, and recent reports alleging a "culture of fear" and an "unsafe working situation" across the Dutch squad.

2027 hardly looks bright either, as the most notable name on the women's squad, Pfeiffer Georgi, heads to UAE Team L'IMAD, while their brightest young star, Megan Arens, has left for AG Insurance-Soudal.

They did overhaul their team for 2026 with eight new additions (Arens included), so it can be said that this was something of a transition year. They'll need results next season, however.

The team will hope Realini can slot in as a leader and points-getter, despite her struggles in the past few seasons. There have been some positive results this year, including that 10th place in France plus eighth at Les Praeres and 12th on the Angliru at La Vuelta.

That's a long way from her series of stunning breakthrough rides in 2023 and 2024, but at 25 there's surely still time for her to reach that level once again. Picnic will be betting on that; we'll have to wait and see if that bet pays off.

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