Team Picnic PostNL

Deutschland Tour – Race Report

Deutschland Tour
August 20, 2025
Vincent Bodet
Vincent Bodet
Romain Combaud
Romain Combaud
John Degenkolb
John Degenkolb
Enzo Leijnse
Enzo Leijnse
Thom van der Werff
Thom van der Werff

23rd August – Stage 3: Arnsberg – Kassel

Another day over the hills in Germany saw a hard and fast day of racing. After a flurry of attacks in the peloton, Enzo Leijnse made the break of the day for Team Picnic PostNL. Initially given a gap of over three minutes and 30 seconds, the pace in the peloton dramatically increased with over 100 kilometres to go and Leijnse’s advantage plummeted. Eventually he was caught by a drastically reduced peloton with around 50 kilometres to go, where the race then settled down somewhat. Trying to take an opportunity and hope that other teams looked at each other, Leijnse tried a daring attack in the last 15 kilometres to try and break free, but unfortunately he was closed dow quickly. Ultimately, he would lead the team across the line in Kassel as the reduced bunch fought it out for the win.

Leijnse said: “The plan today was to get in the early break to try and get deep into the final. We got caught early by a really small bunch at that point. With just under 20 kilometres to go I tried to go on a flyer but unfortunately I got chased down quickly by the bunch. We will give it a go again tomorrow.” 

Results

  • 45.212/H
  • 175.7KM
  • 2720M
  • Stage
  • General classification
  • Points classification
  • Youth classification
  • Mountains classification
  • Teams classification
Pos.RiderTeamTimePoints
1WÆRENSKJOLD SørenUno-X Mobility3:53:10.000-
2JEANNIÈRE EmilienTeam TotalEnergies,,-
3WATSON SamuelINEOS Grenadiers,,-
20LEIJNSE EnzoTeam Picnic PostNL,,-
44BODET VincentTeam Picnic PostNL10:56.000-
45COMBAUD RomainTeam Picnic PostNL,,-
80DEGENKOLB JohnTeam Picnic PostNL16:09.000-
87VAN DER WERFF ThomTeam Picnic PostNL,,-

22nd August – Stage 2: Herford – Arnsberg

Stage 2 of the Deutschland Tour from Herford to Arnsberg delivered a dynamic and challenging day of racing. Shortly after the start, a five-man break formed, featuring Vincent Bodet for Team Picnic PostNL. The break quickly built an advantage, and Bodet rode aggressively throughout, pushing the pace alongside Emils Liepiņš and Jonas Rutsch after dropping two German companions on the third of four categorised climbs. On the final climb, Rutsch launched a solo attack, while Bodet was caught by the peloton come onto the final finishing circuit. With 18 kilometres remaining, the last breakaway rider was reeled in, setting the stage for a late attack of the day’s favourites. Narváez claimed the stage victory, while John Degenkolb led Team Picnic PostNL across the line in the bunch sprint.

After the stage, Bodet said: “The goal today was to get into the early breakaway. I went with four other riders after 20 kilometres, and we rode at a strong pace to maintain a good gap on the peloton. I tried to save energy to stay away as long as possible, but unfortunately we were caught on the final circuit, with 20km to go. Despite a minor crash in the middle of the stage, I felt really good on the bike today. It’s a great motivation for the next stages and races.”

Results

  • 42.737/H
  • 190.3KM
  • 2399M
  • Stage
  • General classification
  • Points classification
  • Youth classification
  • Mountains classification
  • Teams classification
Pos.RiderTeamTimePoints
1NARVÁEZ JhonatanUAE Team Emirates - XRG4:27:10.000-
2SHEEHAN RileyIsrael - Premier Tech,,-
3WÆRENSKJOLD SørenUno-X Mobility,,-
11DEGENKOLB JohnTeam Picnic PostNL0:14.000-
53COMBAUD RomainTeam Picnic PostNL2:13.000-
57VAN DER WERFF ThomTeam Picnic PostNL,,-
62LEIJNSE EnzoTeam Picnic PostNL,,-
86BODET VincentTeam Picnic PostNL7:33.000-

21st August – Stage 1: Essen – Herford

After the fast blast around the streets of Essen in the prologue, the peloton took on the first road stage of the Deutschland Tour on Thursday afternoon, with a 200 kilometre route to Herford. Despite some climbs in the finale, the day looked destined to come down to some form of bunch sprint, especially with the peloton controlling the breakaway. Team Picnic PostNL did a great job to look after each other and keep other safe, coming into the final few kilometres with John Degenkolb and Thom van der Werff to the fore. It was a hectic finale and Degenkolb got detached from Van der Werff, but the young Dutchman produced a good turn of speed and fought through the chaos to take ninth place at the line – his first ever Pro level top ten finish.

Van der Werff expressed: “The boys did a really strong job bringing us in position in the final and keeping us out of the wind. The run into the sprint was really hectic, and me and John lost each other in the last two kilometres to go. We discussed this morning that if that happened then I should go for it in the sprint, so I made a split second decision to give it a go. It’s nice to manage to get my first top ten in a pro race here. We’ll see what the next days bring us.”

Results

  • 43.863/H
  • 202.6KM
  • 1333M
  • Stage
  • General classification
  • Points classification
  • Youth classification
  • Mountains classification
  • Teams classification
Pos.RiderTeamTimePoints
1BRENNAN MatthewTeam Visma | Lease a Bike4:37:08.000-
2MILAN JonathanLidl - Trek,,-
3VAN POPPEL DannyRed Bull - BORA - hansgrohe,,-
9VAN DER WERFF ThomTeam Picnic PostNL,,-
20DEGENKOLB JohnTeam Picnic PostNL,,-
83BODET VincentTeam Picnic PostNL,,-
92LEIJNSE EnzoTeam Picnic PostNL0:39.000-
98COMBAUD RomainTeam Picnic PostNL3:12.000-

20th August – Prologue: Essen – Essen

The Deutschland Tour got underway late on Wednesday afternoon with a short three kilometre long prologue around the streets of Essen. Featuring some tight turns coupled with powerful straight sections, it was set to be an explosive start to the race. After a long time out and spent on the road to recovery from injury, John Degenkolb made his return to action and was roared on by his native home crowds. It would ultimately be Vincent Bodet, from Development program, who would set the team’s best time on the day come the finish.

Speaking after the stage a clearly delighted-to-be-back Degenkolb said: “It feels really nice to be back racing. It’s been a long time in which I had to work really hard and fight the right spirit and strength, not only in the body but also in the head, to stay focused. To make my comeback at the Deutschland Tour, which is basically my home race, is something very special. I think was a solid ride in the end in the prologue. It’s good to get rolling now and day-by-day get better into that race rhythm again. Hopefully I soon can be valuable for the team again and that’s basically the goal of this week and the rest of the season. Performance and results for me aren’t a focus, I just want to build up from here and not forget to enjoy every moment; because that’s what I missed a lot – racing my bike with my team.”

Results

  • 52.891/H
  • 3.1KM
  • 64M
  • Prologue
  • General classification
  • Points classification
  • Youth classification
  • Teams classification
Pos.RiderTeamTimePoints
1WÆRENSKJOLD SørenUno-X Mobility3:31.800-
2WATSON SamuelINEOS Grenadiers0:00.520-
3HALLER MarcoTudor Pro Cycling Team,,-
41BODET VincentTeam Picnic PostNL0:09.820-
55LEIJNSE EnzoTeam Picnic PostNL0:11.630-
64VAN DER WERFF ThomTeam Picnic PostNL0:12.540-
77DEGENKOLB JohnTeam Picnic PostNL0:14.020-
89COMBAUD RomainTeam Picnic PostNL0:16.400-