2024 Season Review | Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL: Romain Bardet says goodbye with incredible Tour de France stage win, but what happened to Fabio Jakobsen?

As we continue our series of season reviews, it's time to turn our attention to Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL. The 2024 season was a year of both challenges and successes for the team, but we’d say they’re going in the right direction. With a mix of seasoned pros and emerging talents, they have made steady progress and picked up their fair share of results on the World Tour. Let's delve into their campaign in 2024, examining their performances, standout moments, and what they need to work on going forwards.

Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL, originally known as Team Sunweb, has its roots in both the Netherlands and Germany. Managed by Iwan Spekenbrink, the team has built a reputation for nurturing young talent and prioritising group success instead of putting all their focus on one rider. Over the years, they have celebrated important results, including Tom Dumoulin's victory at the 2017 Giro d'Italia and big wins both in the grand tours and in the classics.

In 2024, the team finished 16th in the UCI World Rankings, climbing one place from their position at the end of 2023. They accumulated a total of 9,646.6 points and secured 22 victories, a solid achievement that highlights their growth and potential going forwards. This upward movement in the rankings is always a positive, so let’s take a look at how they managed it.

They are definitely not a team built for one-day races, and that showed as they didn’t pick up many classics results. However, the spring season had its share of highlights for Team Dsm-firmenich PostNL, and the team got some points on the board early.

The team's first win of the season came courtesy of Oscar Onley at the Santos Tour Down Under on Stage 5. This victory not only kick-started their season but also highlighted Onley's potential as a rising star going forward, and his win got the ball rolling for the team in 2024.

Fabio Jakobsen was a big name signing for the team last winter, and he secured his first win in their colours at the Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye. In fact, the race in Turkey proved to be a brilliant outing for the team. They dominated the event, winning five stages and clinching the overall General Classification with Frank van den Broek, which gave the team 150 UCI points. Adding to their list of victories, Casper van Uden triumphed at Rund um Köln, where he sprinted to the win. Meanwhile, Emīls Liepiņš became the Latvian national road champion, a proud moment for both the rider and the team.

In the classics, while not their strongest suit, there were commendable performances. Oscar Onley secured a third-place finish at the Gran Premio Miguel Indurain, showing that he could have what it takes in future one day races. Fabio Jakobsen, though primarily known for his sprinting in stage races, managed a respectable seventh place at Omloop van het Houtland, contributing valuable points to the team’s tally.

The standout moment of their spring season was undoubtedly Romain Bardet’s sensational performance at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Finishing second, only behind the unstoppable Tadej Pogagar, Bardet earned the team 200 points, their biggest haul of the year. His remarkable ride in one of cycling’s most famous Monuments showed to everyone that the Frenchman still had it and was still a threat in the big races.

The Grand Tours are the pinnacle of the cycling calendar, and Team dsm-firmenich PostNL approached them with high hopes, particularly with some big names in their squad. Starting off at the Giro d'Italia, the team had a mixed experience. While they didn’t secure any stage wins, Romain Bardet once again showed he was in good form for the summer by finishing ninth in the General Classification, earning 160 UCI points. His performance in the mountains was solid, and he remained a fixture in the top ten throughout the race.

On the other hand, the team faced challenges with Fabio Jakobsen. Brought in with the expectation of competing for sprint victories, Jakobsen was noticeably absent from the front at the Giro's sprint stages. He struggled significantly on the climbs, often falling far behind, which seemed to sap his energy for the flat stages where he was expected to excel. This lack of form was baffling, especially given his pedigree as a sprinter who has won a Tour de France stage five Vuelta a España stages to his name.

Thankful for Bardet's reliable performance, the team looked ahead to the Tour de France with hopes of stage wins, but they can’t have been ready for what the first stage had in store for them. As reported in the team press release, Bardet delivered perhaps the best moment of his career on Stage 1. Bardet launched a late attack that caught the peloton off guard, and he was supported by his teammate Frank van den Broek to win the stage, leading home a Team dsm-firmenich PostNL one-two finish. This victory not only awarded the team 100 UCI points but also meant Bardet held the yellow jersey for the first time in his career, a dream start to his final Tour.

Unfortunately, Fabio Jakobsen's struggles continued at the Tour. Once again, he was unable to contest the sprint finishes effectively, raising further concerns about his integration into the team in his debut season with them, and the team will still be scratching their heads heading in to 2025.

At the Vuelta a España, Pavel Bittner secured an important win in a sprint finish on Stage 5, stunning the field by outsprinting riders like Wout van Aert and Kaden Groves. This victory was a remarkable achievement for the young rider and gave the team their second grand tour stage win of the year. The team will be hoping it’s Bittner’s first of many.

Amidst the Grand Tours, the emergence of Max Poole was a promising development. Poole showed some serious talent and potential throughout the year, and at just 21, the British rider has plenty of time to develop. He could definitely become a key figure for the team going forward, and he’s certainly one Team dsm-firmenich PostNL will want to secure a long term contract with soon.

So, the team’s Grand Tour season was a real mixed bag. While Bardet provided moments of brilliance, the underperformance of Jakobsen highlighted areas that require attention in 2025. The importance of Grand Tour success cannot be overstated, and Jakobsen simply must rediscover his best next year, to make sure the team picks up more wins.

In the transfer market, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL have been pretty quiet so far but perhaps they’re already content with their current squad. One of the most notable developments is Romain Bardet's announcement that he will retire after the 2025 Critérium du Dauphiné to transition into gravel racing. Bardet's looming retirement marks the end of an era for the team, and he is truly modern day French cycling legend. It’s a justice to his career that he managed to go out with a yellow jersey in his collection, and he certainly deserved it.

Additionally, Patrick Bevin ended his professional cycling career, and his retirement prompts the team to focus even more on nurturing their young talents and possibly looking for new signings who can fill the void left by experienced riders. Overall, the team appears to be prioritizing internal development over aggressive recruitment. This strategy aligns with their long-standing philosophy of fostering young riders and building a cohesive unit capable of achieving sustained success.

Romain Bardet was undoubtedly the standout rider, delivering exceptional results, including a second place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and his memorable stage win at the Tour de France. He lead the team forward when they most needed him, and his Tour stage win will be a part of highlight reels for years to come. We salute you Romain.

But there’s no denying that the struggles of Fabio Jakobsen in his first year with the team was a significant concern. As a rider brought in for stage wins as one of the fastest men in the peloton, his lack of form impacted the team's overall points haul come the end of the year. Addressing whatever the factors are behind his performance issues will be essential for the team's ambitions in the upcoming season.

The emergence of young talents like Pavel Bittner, Oscar Onley, and Max Poole offers a silver lining to Jakobsen’s struggles, and their development could signal a bright future for the team. Fostering and holding on to these talents is absolutely crucial going forward.

As they move into the new year, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL will need to find away to fill the gap left by Bardet, and make sure they get all their best names firing on all cylinders. But overall, there’s no doubt that there were some very special moments for Team dsm-firmenich PostNL in 2024.