Team dsm-firmenich PostNL under review: Mistake with Jakobsen, but few teams with more potential

On paper, the Dutch formation did not have many winners for one-day races on board, which showed in competition. Casper van Uden won in Rund um Köln, and Emīls Liepiņš became the Latvian national champion on the road. That was it. However, that doesn't tell the whole story because there is potential in the classics group. Nils Eekhoff finished fifth in Kuurne and, in the fall, eighth in the Münsterland Giro.

Pavel Bittner was second in the Grand Prix Criquielion, Oscar Onley was third in the Gran Premio Miguel Indurain, and Van Uden was second in the Heistse Pijl after Cologne. Add to that Fabio Jakobsen's second place in Nokere and seventh place in Omloop van het Houtland, and you will obtain quite an excellent results package. The most beautiful result was, of course, that of Romain Bardet in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The Frenchman again showed that he belongs at the top of the world in this work, with second place behind Tadej Pogacar.

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For a team that consistently competes in at least one grand tour a year for a GC, Bardet's ninth-place finish at the Giro d'Italia was okay. The Frenchman did what he always does all year anyway: compete. Fifth in the Tour of the Alps, a stage win, and one day of yellow in the Tour de France... The team must have been satisfied. Of course, that doesn't quite apply to Onley and Poole, the two top talents who are the future of the GC team. They both suffered physical problems, which prevented Poole from following up a seventh-place finish at the UAE Tour, and we'll never know where Onley's fourth-place finish at the Tour Down Under could have led further.

Nevertheless, Poole proved himself with a second place in the Tour of Burgos and, subsequently, his unrelenting attacking spirit in the Vuelta a España. He finished among the first three on four occasions. He won his first career stage in the Tour de Langkawi and immediately added the GC. Despite three (!) collarbone fractures in six months, Onley showed that he has GC legs, as demonstrated by finishing eighth in the Tour of Switzerland and tenth in the Tour of Poland.

The stage races were flavored by Team dsm-firmenich PostNL, mainly by stage victories. Onley uphill in Down Under, Van Uden in the AlUla Tour, three stage wins by sprint wonder Tobias Lund Andresen in Turkey (where Frank van den Broek took a stage and the overall victory), Van Uden twice more in the ZLM Tour, twice Bittner in Burgos and twice Andresen in Denmark (plus one in Croatia). Bittner additionally captured a Vuelta stage victory.

Major absent from the team's list of achievements is intended leader Jakobsen. The Dutchman was brought in with lots of buzz but only hit the mark once in Turkey. In the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, he was constantly behind uphill and thus failed to make an impact in the sprints. He had been working on the sprint train for months. But Jakobsen became too much of a sprinter because of that and too little of a good climber. And that leaves you at a disadvantage in 2024. Quite a mistake...

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Team dsm-firmenich PostNL came from a barely sufficient score last year and showed more than an improvement in 2024. The young stars they relied on delivered perhaps more often than hoped. At the same time, the former stars lagged a bit here and there. With a 6.7, the team can move forward with much more to gain in 2025...

They haven't been very active because they simply didn't need to be. Almost the entire 2024 selection is still under contract in 2025. Patrick Bevin ended his career, while Liepiņš is moving to Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team. Martijn Tusveld is not on the payroll for 2025, although he has not yet found a new team. Only Bjoern Koerdt (20) and Robbe Dhondt (20) were welcomed to the team.

Incoming: Robbe Dhondt (training team) and Bjoern Koerdt (CC Étupes)

Outgoing (provisional): Patrick Bevin (quits), Emīls Liepiņš (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) and Martijn Tusveld (not yet known)

Bardet will continue for another six months and thus will carry the pressure on his shoulders until his farewell in the Criterium du Dauphiné. Poole and Onley should step out of his shadow after that. The two Brits showed their incredible potential numerous times, but physical problems also meant that we still have a long way to go.

For the sprint, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL has the intended leader with Jakobsen, who will want revenge after a wasted 2024. Plenty of guys will be waiting to take over with Andresen, Bittner, and Van Uden if he fails. Andresen and Bittner mainly do that after a difficult final, and Van Uden also in bunch sprints.

We are watching Nils Eekhoff for the classics because when will that quality from the U23 days finally shine through? John Degenkolb is happily carrying on and still seems to have the legs to compete for a result. For the classic spring, we further mention Bittner, who may become the sensation of the coming year after his breakthrough in 2024. No pressure...

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Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email: [email protected])