If there's one squad in the 2023 WorldTour with a focus on youth, it's Team DSM, who employ 22 riders aged 25 or under at the start of the new season.
The philosophy of developing their own riders from promising youngsters to stars has served the Dutch team well in the past, with a long list of riders including Marcel Kittel, Tom Dumoulin, John Degenkolb, Warren Barguil, Jai Hindley, Michael Storer, and Marc Hirschi travelling that path before moving elsewhere.
That hasn't changed this year, either, with Dutch climber Thymen Arensman transferring to Ineos Grenadiers after a breakthrough Vuelta a España and Danish all-rounder Søren Kragh Andersen off to Alpecin-Deceuninck following a few years of stagnation.
In 2020, Team DSM won 16 times and ranked as fifth in the world, with three Tour de France stage wins, La Flèche Wallonne plus two podium spots at the Giro d'Italia. This year, they start the season with none of the riders who accomplished those lofty achievements, and following two seasons in which they've ranked 21st and 20th in the world.
Their 2022 UCI points haul of 4,711 was bettered by both relegated squads, Lotto-Dstny and Israel-Premier Tech, and they stood above only Astana Qazaqstan among WorldTour teams.
This year, the scorers of 2,137 of those points have moved elsewhere, as Arensman, Kragh Andersen and Nikias Arndt transfer away. 2023 could be a make-or-break year for the DSM model.
"Yes, we lost already a lot of names that we developed in the past," team directeur sportif Roy Curvers told Cyclingnews late last year. "But we lost also a lot of names that started with us as no-names, and then developed and became really good riders with us, scoring really good points.
"We have to take steps with a young group of guys. You cannot rush to put them on the highest podium or in the races that give the highest points. But I think when these guys develop three years more, they will score more points every year. And in that way, we will not be so afraid that in three years we are again facing relegation."
In response to recent hardships, the team has leant into their philosophy harder than ever before, recruiting eight neo-pros, meaning they start the year with only four riders aged 30 or more.
Two of those veterans – John Degenkolb and Romain Bardet – are undoubtedly the team's biggest stars, though it's the Frenchman who will be relied on to bring in the big results in 2023. Bardet's great goal for the season is a Tour de France stage win and "the best GC result possible" as he aspires to a race akin to Geraint Thomas's podium last July.
It's not out of the question with the 32-year-old looking a real contender at the Giro before falling ill and then taking sixth at the Tour. Degenkolb, meanwhile, has Monument wins on his palmarès but now looks to be sliding into a mentorship role, with no WorldTour wins to his name since the 2018 Tour.
What of the youngsters, then? There's plenty of promise around the roster, though they may be needed to step up sooner rather than later.
24-year-old sprinter Alberto Dainese is top dog following the departure of Cees Bol. The Italian made his breakthrough last season with a stage win at the Giro d'Italia in Reggio Emilia, also recording a Tour de France podium two days from the end.
Those were his two podiums of the year, though, and both he and the team will be looking to take another step – and take more victories – in 2023. Australian second-year-pro Sam Welsford will be their other sprinter to watch after taking a stage win at the Tour of Turkey and podiuming Scheldeprijs last year.
Climbing-wise, Bardet aside, it will be up to the likes of Andreas Leknessund (23, won the Arctic Race of Norway), newcomer Harm Vanhoucke (25, fifth at Turkey), and 20-year-olds Oscar Onley (third at the CRO Race) and Marco Brenner to step up. Norwegian Leknessund is very highly rated and looks like the man most likely to make a big leap in 2023 and neo-pro Onley is certainly one to watch after his big breakthrough as a stagiaire last year.
The Briton, who went wheel to wheel with Jonas Vingegaard in Croatia, looks the most race-ready of the team's cadre of new professionals, though with all of them aged between 19 and 22 it's hard to put any pressure on them to perform right away at WorldTour level.
Instead, it's the likes of Leknessund, fellow third-year pro Kevin Vermaerke (22), and second-year racers Welsford and Marius Mayrhofer (also 22) who will be hoping to make progress this season.
Elsewhere, Patrick Bevin is the sole 'experience' signing of the off-season. The versatile 31-year-old New Zealander turned pro in 2016 and joins off the back of arguably his best season with a stage win at the Tour de Romandie and the overall at the Tour of Turkey. The Giro d'Italia is in his plans for 2023.
All in all, then, it’s more of the same for Team DSM this season. They're more reliant than ever on performances from their ever-growing list of young talents, though, and after two disappointing seasons, it looks more imperative than ever to start the new three-year points cycle off well.
Will their continued betting on youth keep drawing dividends?
Riders to watch in 2023
- Romain Bardet – focused on the Tour de France
- Does John Degenkolb have one last big Classics win in him?
- Can GC hope Andreas Leknessund take the next step?
- 20-year-old neo-pro Oscar Onley has already battled with Jonas Vingegaard
