The Netherlands-based WorldTour team Picnic PostNL found themselves in the spotlight at the end of last year when their top rider, Oscar Onley, bought out his contract to join Ineos Grenadiers.
Losing Onley, who finished fourth in the Tour de France general classification, was a blow for several reasons. The 23-year-old Scotsman came up through Picnic PostNL’s development program, his UCI points secured the team’s WorldTour spot, and he could have achieved even more in major races in the future.
Yet, Picnic PostNL accepted the deal, and team manager Iwan Spekenbrink signed the agreement that allowed Onley to leave. Fortunately, the sponsors also accepted the deal and approved the logic of focusing on other future talents. The details of Onley’s transfer fee have not been disclosed, but he and Ineos Grenadiers reportedly paid a total of nearly 6 million euros.
"On a personal level, I had three or four days at the start where I thought, 'Damn, this is not what we wanted,'" admitted Spekenbrink. "When you are building something, when you have success and a very good relationship, it is always difficult. Oscar has strong morals, he is an honest man, and he always gives his all in his work, so it was good to work with him. But putting that aside – if you are constantly building teams and look at what we do – we are good at recruiting and developing riders. Two years ago, few people knew anything about Oscar. We know how to find talent and we invest a lot in it.
“What happened with Oscar is not the result of bad decisions, but the result of good decisions. It confirms the work we have done," Spekenbrink continued. "When you are successful, many riders do well. It’s like in football – if you do a good job, there are many successful people and choices have to be made. That happened with Oscar and we had to put the team's interests first. We remain ambitious and trust in our ability as a team to continue developing world-class riders and to be competitive with our existing squad in the future."
At the same time, Spekenbrink is convinced that professional cycling needs new and stricter rules to regulate rider transfers. He wants the UCI to intervene, just as he hopes for UCI intervention in matters of race safety, governance, and the long-term future of professional cycling.
Max Poole, who finished 11th in last year's Giro d'Italia, is under contract until the end of 2027, and negotiations regarding an extension will begin very soon. Spekenbrink has decided to include a significant buyout clause and fee in the 22-year-old Briton’s contract to protect his team from the "predatory" moves of rivals and agents, whom he calls "cowboys".
"We need a transfer system similar to football," said Spekenbrink, acknowledging that he supports rider transfers despite having lost Onley and other riders over the years. "In football, you can change teams, but you have to agree on a transfer fee. Right now, there are too many games being played in cycling, especially by agents. It’s chaos. Like it or not, we must have a system where, if there is an existing contract, there is also an agreed-upon fee. You don't even have to negotiate for that fee – you can go. But if the fee is not paid, the rider must stay and respect the contract."
"We need a transfer system like the one in football."
