Team DSM manager Iwan Spekenbrink has confirmed that he is looking to sign a top-level sprinter for the 2024 season, with Olav Kooij and Fabio Jakobsen among the potential candidates.
"It is true that we are currently looking at a sprinter who can achieve victories for sure," Spekenbrink told De Telegraaf.
"We can put together a great sprint train, but we don't have the finisher at the moment. Top sprinters can also see that in every sprint, our riders deliver our sprinter to where they themselves are or to where they would have liked to be. It's a collaboration that can bring a lot to both parties."
DSM's current roster includes Alberto Dainese, who has claimed bunch sprint wins at the past two editions of the Giro d'Italia, and Sam Welsford, who scored a brace of sprint victories at the Vuelta a San Juan in January.
Some notable sprinters are out of contract at the end of 2023, including Kooij, who is expected to leave Jumbo-Visma in search of greater opportunities, and Jakobsen, who is joined by Tim Merlier at a Soudal-QuickStep squad increasingly oriented around Remco Evenepoel's Grand Tour aspirations.
21-year-old Kooij has claimed four wins in 2023, including a stage of Paris-Nice, while Jakobsen has notched up 41 professional wins, including victories at the Tour de France, the Vuelta a España, Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne and the European Championships.
Other fast men out of contract at the end of 2023 include Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe), Giro d'Italia maglia ciclamino Jonathan Milan (Bahrain Victorious) and Dainese.
DSM, which is set to rebrand to DSM-Firmenech this month after a corporate merger by the title sponsor, have lost a succession of leaders in recent seasons, including Jai Hindley and Thymen Arensman, but Spekenbrink insisted such departures only gave more space to emerging talent, including the British duo of Max Poole and Oscar Onley, both in action at this week's Critérium du Dauphiné.
"They have everything to reach the top in terms of talent, personal characteristics, top sport experience and a whole range of skills, so we very consciously signed them early for the long term," Spekenbrink said.
"The fact that riders like Thymen Arensman, Jai Hindley and Michael Storer have left also means that there is room for other riders, because we always give young talent that space."
Norwegian rider Andreas Leknessund is the latest rider to break through at the Dutch squad. The 24-year-old wore pink for five days and finished eighth at the recent Giro d'Italia and has been heavily linked with a move to Uno-X for 2024.
