Team DSM extend contracts with Megan Jastrab and Esmée Peperkamp

Team DSM are happy to reveal that they have extended contracts with Megan Jastrab and Esmée Peperkamp to their Women’s program. Peperkamp will ride in the team’s colours through 2023, while Jastrab will wear the jersey until at least the end of 2025.

Megan Jastrab (USA)

Still only 20 years old, 2019 junior world champion Jastrab has settled in well upon joining Team DSM in 2021. After a year of little racing in 2020, a combination of illness and injury plus a focus on the Tokyo Olympics and track ambitions there, saw Jastrab’s debut with the team delayed until the middle of the year. Yet, that didn’t deter the American youngster and in her first stage race at the Simac Ladies Tour she rode brilliantly in support of the team’s goals; with a dogged fighting performance in the last hilly stage a particular stand out. This season has seen Jastrab once again ride strongly to help the team’s finishers, and she’s played a role in ten Team DSM victories. Following on from her first Grand Tour experience at the Giro Donne, Jastrab fully seized the opportunity of being the team’s sprint finisher at the recent Tour of Scandinavia; taking a superb second place on the opening day; which she followed up with second at MerXem Classic – and a glimpse of her talents for the future.

Jastrab said: “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. 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.”

Team DSM coach Rudi Kemna added: “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. 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.”

Esmée Peperkamp (NED)

Starting the sport of cycling relatively late, Peperkamp has found her feet well after joining Team DSM at the beginning of 2021 and has proven to be a valuable team member in her professional career so far. Often found working selflessly at the front of the peloton, helping to chase back the day’s breakaway and setting up the team’s finisher. A strong rider on a variety of terrain, 2022 has seen Peperkamp grow even more as a rider; claiming her first UCI podium with third in the prologue at Baloise Ladies Tour before recently going on to claim her first Women’s WorldTour level stage top ten finish with eighth at the Tour of Scandinavia; a race where she also finished 11^th overall while helping the team each day.

Peperkamp said: “Currently I’m having a difficult period after crashing during a race, which resulted in a complicated collarbone fracture but luckily, I get all the support I need to fully recover from the team. I am very happy that Team DSM has trust in me and wants me to work with them for another year. I feel at home in the team and I am looking forward to starting to race again with this young and ambitious squad and hopefully achieve a lot of great results together. In the last year I gained a lot of experience in riding in the peloton in a more efficient way and with more confidence. Next year I would like to improve my climbing qualities and TT skills even further with the team.”

Team DSM head coach Rudi Kemna added: “Esmée is a true team player, and she is always willing to give her all for her teammates, which is an incredibly valuable characteristic. In her two years with us so far, she has developed a lot as a rider and we see that she has a big engine; capable of strong pulls on the front of the bunch – whether that be on the flat or on the climbs. As she’s still relatively new to the professional peloton, we think there is more room for Esmée to grow even further with the help from our coaches and team of experts and we’re looking forward to continuing on that journey together.”