Adding to their Men’s program, Team Picnic PostNL are thrilled to announce two new Dutch additions to the team. Both Frits Biesterbos and Timo de Jong are set to wear the two-striped jersey through the 2027 campaign.
Frits Biesterbos
Apeldoorn native Biesterbos is a late comer to the road racing scene, having previously focused predominantly on mountain biking at a younger age and in the U23 categories. 2024 saw Biesterbos take some good results and wins on the Dutch national racing seen which saw him get a stagiaire contract with BEAT Cycling Club for the second half of the year, and he ultimately joined them fully for 2025. Continuing his development, two second places in Slovenia in March kick started his year well. In July, Biesterbos took his first podium place in a .1 level event with second place on the final day time trial in the Sibiu Cycling Tour, just a few hundredths of a second behind the day’s winner. His autumn campaign saw several tricky one-day races on the menu, but Biesterbos showed his staying-power by finishing in the top 25 in each of the five Belgian races. However, the two highlights of his season came on home Dutch soil where he won the Dutch gravel national championships in Aalten before going on to be part of the national team at the World Championships. There, he impressed many by sticking with seasoned and strong WorldTour pros over the challenging Limburg terrain – ultimately going on to take a brilliant silver medal and second place.
Biesterbos said: “Joining Team Picnic PostNL feels like a natural next step for me. The team’s long-term vision and sustainable way of developing riders really stand out. There’s a strong focus on helping riders grow step-by-step and constantly improving everything around the team. You can see that success here often comes from riders who have been part of the system for years, and that shows it truly works. I’m really looking forward to being part of that journey myself. I’m still quite new to the road scene, so together with the team I want to find out what kind of rider I really am and what races suit me best. So far, I’ve done well in hilly races, but I’m always eager to learn and listen to the people around me; that’s what’s helped me develop quickly so far. My goal is to keep improving and contribute to strong results as a team. On the bike, my technical skills are probably my biggest strength, coming from my mountain bike background and off the bike… I make a pretty good cappuccino!”
Team Picnic PostNL head coach Rudi Kemna added: “It might look opportunistic that we signed Frits right after the Gravel World Championships, but in reality, he was already on our radar much earlier in the year. We first noticed him during the Belgian 1.1 and 1.2 races where he rode against our team, and that’s where he really caught our attention. Before the Gravel Worlds we had already reached out to his management, because we could see the potential straight away. He’s a punchy rider with an explosive kick on short efforts, and his background in mountain biking has given him great endurance and strength. We believe he can handle the harder races too. Not just in Flanders, but also in the Ardennes and possibly in shorter stage races. It’s going to be a real journey of discovery with him. He’ll race a wide and varied program to find out where his true strengths lie, and we’ll make sure he has the time and structure to grow steadily. His results at the Dutch and World Gravel Championships only confirmed what we already saw: a rider with the potential and engine to go very far with us.”
Timo de Jong
Born in Goes on the Zuid-Beveland in Zeeland, De Jong’s journey to the professional ranks has been one of perseverance and a never-give-up attitude. Plying his trade with VolkerWessels Cycling Team for the past six seasons, De Jong has impressed on the challenging Dutch racing scene alongside some strong performances on international events throughout Europe. 2025 has been a stand-out year for the tall and powerful Dutchman, who claimed a stage win and second place overall at the Olympia’s Tour in March while in July could raise his arms in the air at Midden-Brabant Poort Omloop. Those results secured him a stagiaire contract with Team Picnic PostNL for the second half of the year, where he gained valuable experience and proved to be a strong teammate in multiple Pro level races. De Jong’s crowning glory was at the recent Tour of Holland where riding for his current team, he beat strong opposition after a big day out in the breakaway to take the win on the VAM-berg, on his way to take seventh place overall on GC.
De Jong expressed: “After my stagiaire period with Team Picnic PostNL, it was a really easy decision to stay. From the very first day, the way I was welcomed by both riders and staff gave me a great feeling, and it immediately felt like the right place for me. I’m looking forward to helping the team achieve great results together and to keep developing myself as a rider. I see myself as a classics-type rider with good positioning skills, and I think my race insight is one of my main strengths. I want to use that to support my teammates at the key moments and make a real difference in the races that matter.”
Team Picnic PostNL head coach Rudi Kemna added: “We got to know Timo during his stagiaire period this season, and that experience confirmed what we already thought: he’s an incredibly smart and skilled racer. His race intelligence and technical ability really stood out, which made it an easy decision to bring him on board full-time. We see him playing an important role in the classics and in the lead-out. His ability to read races and make good tactical decisions will be a big strength for our team.”