Sander SteinsAt just 23, Megan Jastrab has already lived several lifetimes in cycling. From the rainbow bands of a junior world champion to Olympic bronze in Tokyo, she carries the aura of someone destined for the front of the race. Her sprint has bite, her positioning instinctive; she’s the rider you notice in the chaos of a flat finish, elbows sharp and eyes locked forward.
The Californian’s rise has been meteoric but not accidental. She dominated the junior ranks, winning world titles both on the road and the track, before stepping into the World Tour with DSM. Since then, the milestones have stacked up: podiums at Brugge-De Panne and Gent-Wevelgem, her first pro win at the Tour de Gatineau, and a growing reputation as a rider who thrives when the stakes are highest.
Yet Jastrab is more than her palmarès. She’s intent on shaping the sport’s future, launching a fundraiser to ensure young American women can afford to race the world championships in Rwanda. It’s a gesture rooted in gratitude… an acknowledgment of the support that carried her through the precarious leap from junior to pro.
She showed her grit again at the 2025 Simac Ladies Tour, where she claimed third overall, just over a minute behind the dominant Lorena Wiebes. The key moment? A tense 10 km individual time trial at day 5. Jastrab had to defend her GC standing against the surging Zoe Bäckstedt, who delivered one of the rides of the week. By the end of the race, both riders were locked on exactly the same cumulative time. In stage racing, however, ties aren’t left hanging… placings are decided by a strict set of tie-break rules. Jastrab’s consistency across the week tipped the balance, elevating her to third overall, while Bäckstedt was relegated to fourth despite matching her on time. It was a reminder that in cycling, resilience and regularity often count as much as brilliance.
Fast, fearless, and forward-thinking: Megan Jastrab is not just sprinting for the line. She’s sprinting for cycling’s next generation.
Photos: Sander Steins / EWC
