DSM-Firmenich and the search for a (Dutch) top sprinter? "The guys we have now are also making progress"

Finally, on Tuesday, the decision was made: Team DSM will operate as Team DSM-Firmenich from the Tour de France and Giro Donne onwards, as a logical consequence of the merger between the Dutch DSM and Swiss Firmenich.

Iwan Spekenbrink, CEO of the cycling team, expressed his pride regarding the merger: "The merger between two leading companies is a major milestone for a powerful new force in the field of health, nutrition, and performance. As a cycling team, our goal is to bring progress to the lives of our people, both on and off the bike. It is inspiring to be able to do this as Team DSM-Firmenich."

In the Tour de Suisse, IDLProCycling,com approached team manager Pim Ligthart with this theme. He mentioned that the rebranding, which was still pending at the time, would not directly affect the team's vision and operations. "That will change very little, as far as I know. The companies have indeed merged, but as far as I know, it won't play a role, for example, in terms of the roster of riders."

DSM team leader Ligthart: "Already have good sprinters"

Spekenbrink recently confirmed that DSM-Firmenich is searching the transfer market for a sprinter for next year. Olav Kooij and Fabio Jakobsen are mentioned as possible options for the team, but Ligthart does not want to delve too deeply into that at the moment. "Perhaps a sprinter will join us next year, but who will that be? I will leave that question unanswered for now. I think we are only allowed to say something about it starting from August 1st."

Team DSM is already having a good year on multiple fronts, which is why, according to Ligthart, a new sprinter is not even necessary. "Is it important for the identity of the team to have an additional (Dutch) sprinter? Not that much, I think. We are and will remain an international team, and we already have good sprinters in our ranks."

"These guys will continue to grow," Ligthart refers to the development of riders like Sam Welsford, Casper van Uden, Pavel Bittner and Marius Mayrhofer. "We'll see if another top sprinter will join, but I know that the guys we have now will also continue to make progress."

Tom van der Salm (Twitter: @TomvanderSalm)