Megan Jastrab extends with Team DSM

This article originally appeared on Velo News

Megan Jastrab will stay with Team DSM until at least 2025 after signing a three-year extension with the team.

Dutch rider Esmee Peperkamp has also added a further season onto her contract with the squad, having turned pro with the team last season. Peperkamp has put in some solid performances this season, including a recent 11th place finish at the Tour of Scandinavia.

Jastrab is a former junior world champion, having won the title in Yorkshire in 2019. Her professional debut last season was disrupted by illness and injury, but she has hit her stride this season with a second-place finish on the opening stage of the Tour of Scandinavia and at the MerXem Classic earlier this month.

"I love racing my bike and I'm grateful to have the support of Team DSM for the next several years to chase my goals in the sport. I'm looking forward to continuing my development with the team," Jastrab said. "I still have a lot to learn, but I believe this team will provide me with the needed resources and support in order to further my career in the best possible way."

Though she is putting more focus on the road, Jastrab is still splitting her time with the track. She was part of the team pursuit squad that finished third at the Olympics last year and took ninth in the madison. She also rode the Milton and Glasgow rounds of the track world cup in the spring.

On the road, she has been working as part of the sprint train for Lorena Wiebes. Still just 20 years old, the team believes that she has plenty more to give in the sport.

"Megan has taken some good steps so far in her opening two seasons with us. As a medallist at the Olympics she has some track ambitions for the immediate future and that's something as a team we will support her with," Team DSM coach Rudi Kemna said. "In the long-term we will focus on her road racing, taking things step-by-step as she grows as an athlete. We see her as someone with good potential for the sprints and she can also manage short hills well too.

"Alongside being a talented athlete, off the bike Megan is really switched on and a smart person, continuing her study alongside her pro career and that is something which helps her at races too, bringing that analytical approach with her to our women's program. We're looking forward to continuing working with Megan in the years to come."

SD Worx signs Bredewold and Markus

Almost a month after the team announced its first signing for 2023, Wiebes, SD Worx has added two more to its roster for next season.

The Dutch squad has looked to Parkhotel-Valkenberg to bolster its lineup for next season, snapping up Mischa Bredewold and Femke Markus. The duo joins Wiebes and Demi Vollering as alumni of the team.

Bredewold, 22, is an emerging talent in the women’s peloton and has scored some impressive results over the last two years, including second place in the youth classification at the Tour de France Femmes.

“In one or two years, we will have a new generation in the Netherlands that will set the tone. Mischa Bredewold can be part of that new generation,” team manager Danny Stam said. “She has made good steps in recent years and I think she can continue that progression in our team."

Markus, the sister of Jumbo-Visma rider Rijanne Markus, is a strong rider that will bolster the core of the SD Worx squad and support its leaders. The signing of Markus and Bredewold confirms the strong relationship between SD Worx and Parkhotel Valkenberg manager Raymond Rol.

“Parkhotel Valkenburg offers young girls a sophisticated program where they can develop well. We have close contact with Rol about the steps these mostly young girls take. When they are ready to take a step up, Rol informs us. The past has shown that these riders can then take the next important step with us,” Stam said.

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