Who?

David Dekker, A.K.A SneakerDave.

David joined the Academy ahead of the 2020 season which was also his last in the U23 ranks. He landed a spot onto our program after seizing five wins in 2019 including the U23 Dutch Road Race title. 

 

 

His first and only season at the Academy was a very successful one. Straight from the gate, David showed the world what he was capable of and seized the win in our season opener, Ster van Zwolle, as well as in Dorpenomloop Rucphen. In between these two races, David put together another impressive performance in La Samyn, in which he finished in third place against a WorldTour-filled start list. After the pandemic and with a WorldTour contract under his belt, David showed his team player skills and acted as the trusted lead out man of Jordi Meeus, repaying his commitment at the early part of the year. 

 

 

Such a strong season start made him the hottest U23 property in the market, with several team knocking at his door for a WorldTour contract starting in 2021. Jumbo Visma offered David the best and better-suited development plan for the future as well as the chance of growing and improving on and off the bike. Already in his first WorldTour stage race, the UAE Tour, he was actively fighting for stage wins, which brought him to secure the Points Jersey of the race. A few months later he was selected for the Giro d’Italia as the trusted lead out man of Dylan Groenewegen. Sadly, crashes and injuries have been regular in David’s first two years at Jumbo, but he will be back to his best.