Courting Bjorn Koerdt – Developing the next talents at Team Picnic PostNL

Walking through the corridor of the team hotel, you might hear a chirpy and loud Yorkshire accent talking away to his teammates – well, you’re in luck, you’ve stumbled across Bjorn Koerdt.

Reflecting on 2025

It’s been a whirlwind of a few years for the young British rider who until 2024 was riding at the club level with the well-established CC Étupes in France before becoming a stagiaire with Team Picnic PostNL later that year. He then joined the Men’s program full-time in 2025, riding some of the biggest races on the WorldTour calendar, including a Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a España.

Looking back on that first year with the team, Bjorn says that the main thing he has taken from it is “to have a lot of trust” in everything and everyone around him.

“It’s a lot more of a team environment than I was used to, so working with each other, trusting your coach and trainer, trusting your teammates in the race. Even if you have an off day, you know that you have put in the work and that you’ll be good again soon.”

That hard work resulted in Bjorn lining up for the Vuelta in Torino towards the end of last season, and on stage three of that race he took a strong ninth place in the uphill kick to the line, while also impressing in other stages too.

“That first Grand Tour was always going to be special. Obviously the top ten was a highlight but also on some other days when maybe the results don’t show so much, I could also feel like I have really developed – I was pretty surprised on some days with my climbing.”

Making the next steps

A “grafter” as people in the UK would say, Bjorn isn’t afraid of putting in the hard yards to achieve his goals and aid his development as a rider; with a big step-up in his training since joining the team.

“I noticed a big difference in my training, just with the load and everything you have to do at this level as the races are a lot longer and harder. But I think the team eased me into it really well and we’ve continued to make small steps, and it seems to be paying off well.”

It’s particularly interesting because up until the end of 2023, Bjorn didn’t have a power meter equipped on his bike for when he was training or racing – something that happens a lot more regularly than you might think, despite the seemingly hyper-professionalisation of junior racing.

But just how do you go about recruiting and developing a rider that maybe misses the “normal” path to professional cycling? We caught up with Team Picnic PostNL Data Expert, Sjors Groot, and Trainer Coordinator, Steve Benton to find out how that whole process worked.

Unearthing new talents

A smart man who knows his way around numbers and coding, Sjors has been with the team for almost ten years and is one of the key people behind the scenes that help with analysis of potential new riders across the team’s three programs.

“The riders will add me to their training platform so I can see their data. From that I will analyse it and if there is something interesting, I will send it to the rest of our scouting group.” Sjors explains.

“Bjorn’s case was intriguing as he only had two files on there when we first saw his data, because he didn’t have a power meter, so we couldn’t see how he performed consistently in training or in a fatigued state. However, from the two rides that were on there, one of which included some tests, we could look at his fresh power numbers and they impressed us; which highlighted at a lot of untapped potential and room for development with Bjorn.

“He joined us in a stagiaire in 2024, and from there we could build a broader profile of who he is a rider and start to further look into his training; and that’s where our training group comes into it.”

It’s training season

Now a part of our Men’s program, you might expect that after conducting some normal winter tests such as 20-minute efforts or LT1 thresholds, that Bjorn would go onto a full-blown proper training program immediately. However, as Trainer Coordinator Steve points out, it’s important to not rush the process; especially when someone is still new to training with power.

“We look firstly to how a rider has trained in the past and their racing history as a starting point. Then the number one thing we do in the first six weeks to two months is to really get the riders to understand and provide feedback with Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE). As much as we are very detail oriented as a team with using data, we also think it is important that riders don’t lose that feel of the bike; and even when following our training programs that they should be able to cultivate feedback for their coaches and trainer.

“Once Bjorn did that we investigated where those intensities land. After a short period of time, we did some tests with him to then marry up how he is feeling to what the power meter and the HR fields are telling us.

“It’s about finding that subtle balance and getting the right information in terms of feedback. We have a lot of historical data from over the past ten plus years on what type of training can work for a certain type of rider which is of course of great use.

“It’s not about closing any doors, being open, and as a team being fully informed about Bjorn to give him the best possible training and develop together.”

2026 goals

With that in mind, Bjorn is optimistic about the 2026 season with the team, coming off a good winter despite a “few ups and downs with illness”, as he proudly proclaims that it’s the best he’s “ever felt in January.”

Pinning a number on for the first time this week at the AlUla Tour has already seen Bjorn active in making the echelon splits on the flatter opening stages – with an eye on the hilly and steep finishes to come where he will get to test his legs.

“It’s my first time properly going for a GC result and to have the full support of the guys and the team for that is pretty cool. I don’t want to really put any pressure on it number wise as a lot can happen in the desert, but I would be happy with a top ten. Mostly though I just want to give my best and after the race we will have more of an idea of where I am at.”

Looking ahead to after his trip into the desert with the team, Bjorn has a pretty simple goal.

“This year I just want to keep progressing and developing, making steps forward with the team.”

We’re sure to be watching Bjorn’s progress with interest over the coming season, and hopefully you learned a bit more on how we approach training and development as a team!