'I didn't agree with their way of working' – Ellen van Dijk critical of Picnic-PostNL management but says she didn't experience culture of fear

Former Time Trial World Champion Ellen van Dijk has shed light on the management culture within the Picnic-PostNL team after the leadership was accused of creating a culture of anxiety and fear.

Van Dijk spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons with the team when it was called Sunweb, and described the management structure as "special", saying their methods contributed to her leaving the team after her two-year tenure brought 10 victories.

However, she does not recognise the culture of fear exposed in an extensive recent report from the Dutch public broadcaster NOS, though she accepts it might have existed.

"They have a strong opinion on how to work with riders, and they really believe in their approach. And for them, it's only that way that works," Van Dijk told Cyclingnews.

"There's a lot written about an anxiety culture, and I never experienced it that way. The management wanted you to listen to them, but I never was scared of them. I mean, if I wanted to say something, I would say it. But maybe if you're a younger rider, you can experience that.

"I just didn't experience the anxiety they are they are writing about, and for me that's a that's an important nuance to it. Maybe some people did experience that, but I didn’t."

'We were not a perfect match'

During an investigation into the team, NOS and the podcast In der Waaier spoke to 71 current and former riders and staff members, revealing accusations of a culture of fear and a "form of tyranny", with some staff leaving the organisation feeling traumatised.

The report further spoke of a lack of support for riders’ mental welfare and a management culture that feared losing control of its staff and was unwilling to allow riders any room outside the organisation’s decision-making.

Van Dijk’s time at the time came in the middle of a storied career that saw her take 71 victories, including three World and four European time trial titles. With Sunweb, her 10 race victories contributed to almost a third of the team’s total, but she left after two years, joining Lidl-Trek where she now works as a coach after retiring at the end of the 2025 season.

Though the team have a reputation for recruiting younger riders, Van Dijk was 29 when she joined, with one world title and victories at the Tour of Flanders and the Boels Ladies Tour GC already on her palmarès. The equally established and mature Lucida Brand arrived at the same time.

"I had quite some discussions with the management, they have a special way of working, and it didn't always fit my way of working, I kind of knew when I signed there that they are like that, but it was a bit more than I expected and yeah, we were not a perfect match together.

"But elite sports, being at the top level, it is really hard, and you need a special character for that. I think in this team, let's say, the characters that are less suited for pro cycling, they are offended a bit more easily, maybe.

"I think it's kind of part of the job that sometimes at the highest intensities, the highest emotions, people say things which are not okay, and then it depends on how sensitive you are at that moment. Sometimes it really hurts, and sometimes you think 'I don't care'. But it's a complicated subject for sure."

Harder for the youngsters

Picnic-PostNL has always had reputation for recruiting younger riders across its two WorldTour teams and that certainly applied to the women’s team, the 17 women on their 2026 roster averaging only 23 years of age. This has advantages and disadvantages, according to Van Dijk. On one hand riders are developed, but on the other they lack the maturity to challenge poor practice.

"I think they were really good for young riders to develop them and to guide them in the process of developing," she said. "I didn't agree with their way of working, but that's why I left, and maybe I had a bit of an easier position because I already had my place. It’s definitely easier than when you are young and you still are fighting for your place in cycling."

Van Dijk’s time with Sunweb was a hugely successful period for both the men’s and the women’s rosters. On the men’s side Tom Dumoulin was at the height of his powers, winning the GC at the 2017 Giro d’Italia and four stages across the two years, while other riders took multiple stages at the Tour de France among the 31 wins in the two years.

In the same period the women’s squad bagged victories at the Tour of Flanders, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the Ride London Classique and Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta among their haul of 29 wins. And both teams won the now defunct Team Time Trial World Championships in 2017.

"That was a surprise, and I wouldn't say that was because of their structure, I think; it was because of many things together," Van Dijk said of that success.

"But they got the confirmation that their way of working was going well, and from what I heard after that year it only became more strict because they started to believe in it even more."

Since the allegations emerged the team have appointed a prominent Dutch sports lawyer to lead an independent commission.

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