Team DSM-Firmenich had a complicated season. All of it's three sprinters - who got all World Tour wins - leave at the end of the year. The team has had Romain Bardet, Andreas Leknessund and it's main hope Max Poole bring in points to stay afloat at World Tour level for the time being.
UCI ranking 2023: 9102 (18th)
Victories (World Tour): 10 (5)
Top riders in UCI rankings: Romain Bardet (50th)
Rating - 5
Rúben Silva (CyclingUpToDate): 3. DSM was 18th, the last survivor, in the UCI rankings this year. It's not a surprise, a season where the points seemingly come randomly. Marius Mayrhofer's win at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, Andreas Leknessund's surprise pink stint and GC run at the Giro d'Italia and a few minor GC results from Romain Bardet and Max Poole in a few stage-races. Alberto Dainese and Sam Welsford have victories to their names but throughout the season they lacked consistency, much to the lack of a good leadout. Elsewhere there just isn't much quality to score big points, there isn't another rider quite mentionable. The complete absence of Patrick Bevin was not what they hoped for with one of their main signings.
Kieran Wood (CyclingUpToDate): 6. This was a year that was so close to being something special. Just 11 wins, five of them at World Tour level with Alberto Dainese taking a pair of Grand Tour stage victories, things could have easily been so much more. Top-10 finishes at the likes of Giro d’Italia through Andreas Leknessund, the Tour de Romandie through Max Poole, Tour de Suisse and Paris-Nice through Romain Bardet and the ZLM Tour with Sam Welsford, DSM were always there or thereabouts just missing that killer instinct.
Ondřej Zhasil (CyclingUpToDate): 5. A mediocre year for a mediocre team. Three Grand tour stages are not the worst result ever. John Degenkolb's resurrection at classics was refreshing, while Romain Bardet's struggle not so much. With Fabio Jakobsen's arrival, something needs to change. Soon.
Juan Larra (CiclismoAlDia): 5. A difficult season for DSM with few victories and difficulties in scoring UCI points but with an outstanding Alberto Dainese who was able to give them victories in the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España. The likes of Romain Bardet took a step back from previous years and contributed less than expected. Sam Welsford had a few creditable wins.
Jorge Borreguero (CiclismoAlDia): 5. Their victory in the inaugural team time trial of the Vuelta a España is the most memorable of a Team DSM-Firmenich, which, however, can't be said to have had a very remarkable year, even though they have achieved five victories at World Tour level.
Victor Gonzalez (CiclismoAlDia): 4.5. Several honorable results but very few victories, insufficient to give Team DSM-Firmenich a passing grade, but they come close.
Filipe Pereira (CiclismoAtual): 5. Team DSM-firmenich was also a very under the radar squad. However, they've managed to win the right races, not many, but the right ones, namely trough an inconsistent Alberto Dainese who got a stage win out of a Giro and Vuelta which were both being underwhelming for him until that point. Sam Welsford also had an amazing begining to his season, fading out a bit after March. Other than that, a remarkable Giro top 10 with Andreas Leknessund and a few days in pink (plus one in red) really make this an alright season for a team that is trying to find itself and have a good chance at that next year with the arrival of Fabio Jakobsen.
Carlos Silva (CiclismoAtual): 7. Dsm was lost in the peloton. Their overall classification reflects the bad season they have. Romain Bardet is a complete fiasco.
Ivan Silva (CiclismoAtual): 5. 3 stage wins in Grand Tours including the controversial TTT in Vuelta a España and 2 sprint victories by Dainese. Also worth mentioning the win in Cadel Evans Great Ocean Race and a top 10 in Giro D'Italia.
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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