Continuing to build for next year, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL are happy to announce that they have extended contracts with Romain Combaud, Sean Flynn and Niklas Märkl; three established riders in their Men’s program. Combaud has penned a contract for another year in 2025, while Flynn and Märkl have extended through to the end of 2026.

Romain Combaud
 

After spending all his earlier career riding for French teams, Combaud made the jump and joined Team dsm-firmenich PostNL ahead of the 2021 season. Settling in well and gelling with both riders and staff, his personable character has shone through, and he has continued to grow in the now almost four years with the team. A true team player, Combaud is always more than willing to give his all for his teammates, working tirelessly in support of the team’s finisher with some strong riding; whether that be pulling hard on the front of the bunch, or helping with the younger riders. He’s also made his Grand Tour debut, completing both a Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, in his time so far with the team; the latter of which he was part of that incredible 2023 team time trial victory on the opening stage.

Click here for quotes from Combaud and coaching staff.   

Sean Flynn

Coming from a multi-discipline background, Flynn made the transition to road racing in 2021 and rode well at the U23 level before joining Team dsm-firmenich PostNL for the 2023 season. His opening year with the team saw Flynn learn the ropes as he adjusted to WorldTour level racing but impressive displays in the classics and strong support as a teammate saw him make his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a España later in the year; where he played his part in the team time trial victory on stage one and the sprint stage later in the race. 2024 saw Flynn start the season in good form where he took a strong second on the opening day at Haut Var and a “what could have been feeling” if it wasn’t for a crash on the second stage when he was in a good position. Since then, he’s supported the team ably and recently showed great legs during the Tour of Denmark where he was part of the engine room on the opening TTT win, helped the squad to two sprint wins in the lead-out and took ninth on GC himself after a solid week of racing. He further backed that up with 11^th overall at the Deutschland Tour, before supporting compatriot Oscar Onley to second on GC at the Tour of Britain, a race where Flynn also ended tenth in the final standings.

Click here for quotes from Flynn and coaching staff. 

Niklas Märkl

A long-standing member of the team and its structure, Märkl attended one of the early talent days ahead of joining the Development program in 2018. After coming through the ranks, he turned professional in 2021 and hasn’t looked back since. Developing year-on-year he’s proven to be a valuable teammate in the early season classics and one-day races, whilst also supporting the team’s goals in the sprints as part of the lead-out. 2023 saw him make his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d’Italia where he played an important part in the stage 17 sprint success, along with several other strong rides throughout the season. This campaign has seen Märkl continue in that manner, providing good support in the lead-outs to help the team’s finishers get the best results possible.

Click here for quotes from Märkl and coaching staff.