Picnic PostNL has made some remarkable transfers for the upcoming season. Two weeks ago, you could read on WielerFlits that the Dutch WorldTeam is signing the 22-year-old Frenchman Henri-François Renard-Haquin from Wagner-Bazin-WB. The team boss there is Christophe Brandt, and he explains to us why his protégé fits well in the WorldTour.
It’s clear that the name Henri-François Renard-Haquin stands out. However, he didn’t immediately attract attention through his results. It was only in 2019—as a first-year junior—that he started racing road events. Due to COVID-19, he barely raced in 2020, and he even missed his first year (2021) as an U23 completely. That was because of a serious accident. One early morning, he was hit by a car, suffering three skull base fractures, two broken cervical vertebrae, and a broken middle finger. A seven-hour operation was necessary to help him. After eight days in hospital and two months bedridden, he even had to relearn how to walk during rehabilitation.
“He doesn’t have the conventional story like the other pros,” Brandt says. “His environment wasn’t focused on cycling. Henri-François had to work hard to create a vision for himself. That’s why it took longer for him to surface. On top of that, another major accident caused him to be out for a long time twice. That’s why he’s a late bloomer. He had been on our radar for some time but then disappeared. Then I met him and he told his story. We understood that and saw his potential, but he had never had 100% of a chance to show it. That’s why we signed him.”
Classics Rider
Brandt worked with the Frenchman last year and sees that at Picnic PostNL he can mainly add value in the classics squad. “But he’s also someone who can pick his stages in a stage race—it’s really quite a free spirit. Henri is also a good team player who can give 100% for the team. You just don’t see that when a team isn’t strong enough to make a difference, which, to be honest, was often the case with us. He still has a lot to learn about nutrition. Henri is still too heavy. But he has the capacity to perform if he’s at his ideal racing weight. He needs to mature. In a strict environment, he still has a lot of room for progress.”
According to the ex-pro, Renard-Haquin has the right mentality to develop into a solid professional rider. “He’s typically French, so to speak. Those guys tend to come down from the clouds quickly, then get back on the ground just as fast. When things go well, you hear him a lot. When things go badly, he’s more quiet. He’s not much of a talker but knows the race. He knows what he needs to do but doesn’t yet have the personality to say it out loud. He needs to gain more confidence. Also, he isn’t consistent enough yet to be a pro. But that’s normal. What I mean is, he doesn’t yet know which details can help him perform better.”
Brandt (far right) next to Renard-Haquin earlier this year – photo: photo press agency Cor Vos
“In my view, he definitely has the capabilities to race in the WorldTour,” Brandt continues. “If they guide Henri-François well and he can learn from more experienced riders, he will follow those examples. He’s a bit of an old-school rider, so to speak. He rides on instinct rather than data. Henri-François is a rider for the Flemish classics, the shorter climbs. He’s not slow, but he’s not very fast either. I don’t think they will quickly make a real winner out of him. But he is someone who takes his chance. When he’s in a breakaway, he often gets the farthest. In that sense, I compare him to Taco van der Hoorn.”
An Old Fox
According to his team leader this year, Renard-Haquin is someone who is invaluable to a team leader. Those kinds of riders are exactly what Picnic PostNL is always looking for. But Brandt is not surprised that he ended up with the Dutch team. “Melvin Rullière is now a team director at Picnic PostNL, but before that, he worked with him for years at CC Étupes. I suspect Melvin is a bit of a fan. I get it. Henri-François has shown in multiple races with us that he has a huge engine. So if he’s well guided and can adapt to the team, Renard-Haquin will quickly be efficient for them.”
The arrival of the Frenchman raised quite a few eyebrows. Unfairly so, Brandt believes. “Just like in football, cycling is increasingly about data. Data only tell part of the truth. Henri-François has race instinct. He has the intuition to sense where things will happen in the race. That intelligence can’t be quantified by data or values. That’s why, to me, he’s a bit of an old-school rider. Henri-François knows his craft. He must be able to prove himself without needing to produce results. You have talents who win ten races in the U23 ranks. But it’s very hard to turn those riders into domestiques. Yet, you need those.”
