Team Sunweb has announced that it has signed current Junior World Champion American Megan Jastrab for the next two seasons.The 18-year-old was unable to race this season due to a coronavirus outbreak, but in 2019, she will compete in European junior races to She proved her ability, winning the Trofeo Binda and Healthy Aging Tour and finishing second at the Ghent-Wevelgem Junior.
A multiple-time junior national champion, Justlove has also excelled on the track, winning the omnium at the 2019 Junior World Track Championships in addition to numerous national titles. She found success at the elite level, winning a stage at the Redlands Bicycle Classic in 2019, but was denied entry to the Colorado Classic that year because UCI rules do not allow 17-year-olds to compete at the 2.1 level.
She entered the UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire as the odds-on favorite and raced from the front of the pack to an impressive victory.
Just Love, who turns 19 in January, will be out of the junior bracket but will retain her world title after the UCI cancelled the junior race at the 2020 World Championships due to travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus. She will take on her first full elite season in Sunweb in 2021, teaming up with compatriot Colin Rivera.
"Team Sunweb is one of the best women's teams and I've always dreamed of racing on the World Tour. I'm very excited and motivated to start racing here."
"I think Team Sunweb has a great program with a clear support structure to help riders achieve their goals. Team Sunweb has a great group of riders and I look forward to learning from each of them. I also look forward to improving and learning from racing at the World Tour level. It has always been a dream of mine to race at this level, so I am very grateful and excited to be given this opportunity."
Hans Timmermans, director of Team Sunweb, said the team was impressed with Yastrab in his first year as a junior in 2017. He said, "Megan stepped up to the junior ranks in 2019 and showed her strength with impressive wins throughout the year, including becoming world champion in Yorkshire. Despite not racing on the road this year, she continued to develop and was named to the US Olympic Long Team.
"We see Megan primarily as a sprinter, but she has many qualities that will make her a strong classic rider in the future. Our initial focus will be to develop all of her qualities and make her transition to World Tour racing as smooth as possible.
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