Team Picnic PostNL

What Team Picnic PostNL does

Team Picnic PostNL is a Dutch professional cycling organization operated by SMS Cycling BV and headquartered in Deventer, Netherlands. It fields three registered competitive programs — a Men's UCI WorldTeam, a Women's UCI WorldTeam, and a UCI Continental Development (U23) program — competing internationally across the UCI calendar including the Tour de France, Tour de France Femmes, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a España, One-Day Classics, and World Championships. The team's identity and operations are anchored by two title sponsors, Picnic (online supermarket) and PostNL (Dutch postal services), supplemented by co-sponsors dsm-firmenich and Nalini and other commercial partners.

The team's core technology is its high-performance protective race wear, co-developed with Nalini and dsm-firmenich, integrating Dyneema fibers into bib shorts and sprint suits. The sprint suit was validated at the TU Delft wind tunnel, demonstrating a 5-watt aerodynamic benefit while providing crash protection up to 45 km/h. The Keep Challenging Center, opened in 2019 in Sittard, functions as a residential training and development campus combining coaching, equipment testing, research, and personal development for young riders — a pipeline that produced 6 of 8 riders at the 2025 Tour de France.

Revenue is generated principally through title and co-sponsorship deals, supplemented by merchandise sales through the team's e-commerce storefront, race prize money across UCI circuits, and licensed consumer products (protective race wear available to amateur cyclists via Nalini). The team maintains direct fan engagement through social media, an active content website, and a media/press centre for broadcast and editorial partners. The organization is privately held, with no public listing, and is governed by UCI licensing, Velon membership, and MPCC anti-doping compliance.

Name

Team Picnic PostNL

Legal name

SMS Cycling BV

Website

https://teamdsmfirmenich-postnl.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Team Picnic PostNL is a Dutch professional cycling organization operating Men's UCI WorldTeam, Women's UCI WorldTeam, and U23 Development programs, serving fans, broadcasters, and title sponsors (Picnic and PostNL) via elite racing, branded merchandise, and proprietary protective race wear technology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Cycling Services

NAICS

Sports Teams and Clubs (711211), Spectator Sports (71121)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Individual-Sport Clubs & Teams (Cycling Teams, Athletics/Track Clubs, Swimming Clubs, etc.) (MPAKABAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bike Apparel, Helmets & Protective Gear Retail (CRAMAHAC), Athletics Fundraising, Sponsorships & NIL Support (EDALAIAN)

Keywords

• Professional cycling team
• UCI WorldTour racing
• Cycling team sponsorship
• Protective cycling apparel
• Athlete development program

Headquarters

HQ city

Deventer

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Title and Co-Sponsorship Revenue: Team Picnic PostNL is primarily funded through title and co-sponsorship deals. The team name reflects its two principal sponsors: Picnic (online supermarket) and PostNL (Dutch postal service). Additional sponsors include dsm-firmenich and other commercial partners who fund the team's operations, rider salaries, equipment, and race participation across UCI WorldTour, Women's WorldTeam, and Continental circuits.
2. Merchandise and Licensed Product Sales: The team operates a branded merchandise store (teampicnicpostnl.store and teamdsmfirmenich-postnl.store) selling Team Picnic PostNL branded clothing, accessories, and equipment. Protective race wear is also available for amateur cyclists through Nalini's shop.
3. Race Prize Money and Performance Winnings: The team generates revenue through competitive race prize money across UCI WorldTour, Women's WorldTeam, and Development circuit results, including stage wins at Grand Tours, one-day Classics victories, and overall classification wins.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Team Picnic PostNL operates a multi-program professional cycling organization competing at the elite UCI WorldTeam level through three racing programs: Men's UCI WorldTeam, Women's UCI WorldTeam, and a Development/U23 program. The team fields riders in Grand Tours, Classics, and World Championships, develops talent through the Keep Challenging Center training campus in Sittard, and co-develops proprietary protective race wear with Nalini and dsm-firmenich. Revenue is generated primarily through title and co-sponsorships (Picnic and PostNL), supplemented by team-branded merchandise sales and UCI race prize money.

Product overview

Team Picnic PostNL operates as a multi-program professional cycling organization comprising three core teams: the UCI WorldTour Men's Program, UCI Women's WorldTeam, and a Development (U23) Program. The team develops and sells high-performance protective race wear through a partnership with Nalini, including bib shorts and sprint suits with integrated protective fibers. The organization maintains its Keep Challenging Center in Sittard as a residential training facility for athlete development. Merchandise is available through the team store.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Men's UCI WorldTour Program The UCI WorldTour men's professional cycling program competing in Grand Tours (Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a España), one-day Classics, and World Championships for cycling fans, sponsors, and event organisers globally.
• Women's UCI WorldTeam Program The UCI Women's WorldTeam program competing in Tour de France Femmes and the women's professional cycling circuit, providing elite women's racing competition for fans, sponsors, and event organisers globally.
• Development (U23) Program The U23 development program nurturing young cycling talent toward WorldTour level through coaching, athletic development, core stability training, research, equipment testing, and personal development at the Keep Challenging Center in Sittard.
• Protective Race Wear High-performance cycling apparel with integrated protective Dyneema fibers developed in partnership with Nalini and dsm-firmenich, providing cut-resistance and crash protection (up to 45 km/h impacts) for professional and amateur cyclists.
• Aerodynamic Sprint Suit Benchmark sprint suit co-developed with Nalini and dsm-firmenich, integrating protective Dyneema fibers while delivering a 5-watt aerodynamic advantage validated in TU Delft wind tunnel testing, with crash protection valid up to 45 km/h impacts.
• Keep Challenging Center Residential training facility in Sittard, Limburg combining living environment with high-end performance support including coaching, equipment testing, research, core stability training, and personal development for early-twenties development riders.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6 of 8 riders at the Tour de France came from the Development program, meeting the team's 2025 ambition set in 2019
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Trees for AllminorOthers · 1 January 2010Trees for All is a Dutch charity of which Team Picnic PostNL has been a proud ambassador since 2010. Nature is at the heart of the team, and they compensate the CO2 emissions generated by their complete organisation via Trees for All, offsetting the environmental impact of their operations.
• NalinicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNalini is the world's most premium cycling apparel brand and the team's official partner for protective race wear development. The team stepped away from a traditional commercial model to accelerate integration of protective Dyneema fibers into more items of race wear. Nalini's MOA Lab works with the team's in-house R&D and Aerodynamics specialists to develop a wider range of high-performance protective race kit, with the sprint suit launched as a benchmark for both aerodynamics and crash protection.
• dsm-firmenichcoreStrategic or Co-development Partnerdsm-firmenich is a science group and long-standing partner of the team in developing protective race wear. The collaboration began in the early years of the protective fabrics project in the mid-2010s. dsm-firmenich's science group collaborated with the team and Nalini to develop the Dyneema-integrated sprint suit, with testing at TU Delft confirming aerodynamic performance benefits.
• VeloncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeam Picnic PostNL is a member of Velon, a joint venture of professional cycling teams. Through this membership, the team shares information on content accessed and use of interactive elements with Velon. By accepting cookies on the team website, visitors give consent for personal data to be shared with Velon for the creation of joint group profiles.
• Dutch Food Valley Cycling TeamminorOthersFor U23 Development races such as the Hel van het Heuvelland, Team Picnic PostNL teams up with Dutch Food Valley Cycling Team for the day, combining squads to compete in the U23 road series.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lidl-Trek: UCI WorldTour team operating both men's and women's programs. Comparable dual-program structure and similar reliance on corporate title sponsorship from consumer-facing brands.
• Movistar Team: Spanish UCI WorldTour team operating both men's and women's programs. Comparable dual-gender structure and similar reliance on a single corporate title sponsor.
• INEOS Grenadiers: British-registered UCI WorldTour team with significantly larger budget. Comparable in competing at the highest level of professional road cycling for Grand Tours and Classics, with similar sponsorship-funded business model.
• EF Education-EasyPost: UCI WorldTour team with a Development program and a focus on international talent development. Comparable in operating youth development initiatives alongside the elite program.
• Team Visma-Lease a Bike: Direct Dutch competitor operating a UCI WorldTour men's program with a parallel development structure. Most directly comparable peer given shared Dutch base, WorldTour license, and structured talent pipeline approach.
• Soudal Quick-Step: Belgian UCI WorldTour team with a long history of competing in one-day Classics and Grand Tours. Comparable sponsorship structure and direct competition in major UCI events.
• Groupama-FDJ: French UCI WorldTour team with corporate insurance and financial services sponsorship. Comparable corporate-backed structure and direct competition in WorldTour racing.
• BORA-hansgrohe: German UCI WorldTour team with similar corporate sponsorship base. Directly competes in the same WorldTour races and shares comparable revenue model and headcount scale.
• Alpecin-Deceuninck: Belgian UCI WorldTour team with sprint-focused identity. Comparable WorldTour operations and similar title sponsorship structure with two commercial partners.
• UAE Team Emirates-XRG: UCI WorldTour team with a title sponsor from a corporate parent. Directly comparable in operating at WorldTour level across Grand Tours, with substantial sponsorship backing and similar competitive intensity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/picnicpostnl
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@teampicnicpostnl
• Facebookfacebook.com/teampicnicpostnl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/teampicnicpostnl
• Instagraminstagram.com/teampicnicpostnl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Team Picnic PostNL