Megan Jastrab sprints to fighting 3rd in Setmana Valenciana

Today’s second stage in Valenciana saw the peloton faced with a more demanding parcours that included some challenging climbs, before a flatter run in to the finish. Throughout the stage, moves went and came back over the climbs as the bunch thinned out. Rallying together, the team looked after sprint finisher Megan Jastrab during the day and after her dropping over the last ascent, she was able to quickly make it back.

Biding their time in the sprint finale, the team moved up brilliantly together before positioning Jastrab right towards the front of the bunch to contest the fast finish. Pushing all the way to the line, Jastrab got up to claim a strong third place and with it bounce back after yesterday’s disappointment.

Jastrab said: “The team was all in to get me another sprint opportunity today and fix our mistakes from yesterday. The first half of the race included three climbs which was challenging for me to say the least, but the girls were always there for me and the whole team gave me a lot of confidence that I could make it for the sprint. Thankfully, I was able to come back a couple kilometres after the last climb and recover before the sprint. Today we decided wait a bit longer for the lead out and made a concerted effort to move at one specific point as a whole team. It was about making sure we stayed relaxed and did it together. All the girls rode amazing today and they got me in a position where I could sprint for the win. I wish I had a little bit more left for the final, but also still very pleased with third place at my first race of the season. I’m looking forward to trying my best in the coming days to help the team out in the mountains and see what other results the team can achieve this week!”

Team DSM coach Kelvin Dekker added: “Yesterday we were struggling with the nervous bunch and lost each other completely in the final. We reflected on that together and made a plan how to do things better. We did a great job as a team all day and were able to do what we planned. Big compliments to our captain Francesca as she had a big role in this teamwork today and to Megan for getting a third place after all the hard work by the whole team.”