It’s already time for La Grande Boucle
We are almost there. The Tour de France 2022, one of the awaited cycling Grand Tours of the year, starts from the roads of Copenaghen in Denmark. The 109th edition of the La Grande Bouclecomprises 21 stages over the course of 23 days. After 3,328 kms the riders will close the path with the final stage of Paris, the 24th of July.
The eight riders representing the newly renamed Alpecin- Deceuninck team are Van der Poel, Dillier, Krieger, Plankaert, Philipsen, Van Keirsbulck, Sbaragli and Gogl. While for the Austrian Michael Gogl this is his fifth Tour, it will be the first for Alexander Krieger and Guillaume van Keirsbulck.
For Mathieu van der Poel, the captain, is the second participation and he’s ready to repeat the great performance of the 2021 edition, where he wore the yellow jersey for six consecutive days. He dedicated the second stage victory to his grandfather, French cycling legend Raymond Poulidor, who participated 14 times at La Gran Boucle but never wore the yellow jersey. It was a very touching moment, and we can’t wait to see what Alpecin- Deceuninck riders will do during the 2022 edition.
FENIX® to continue supporting Alpecin-Deceuninck
As Alpecin-FENIX becomes Alpecin-Deceuninck, starting July 1st, FENIX will continue to support the UCI ProTeam as an official partner.
FENIX became the second naming sponsor of the team in January 2020. In the following years, Alpecin-FENIX showed great and sustained development. Now, we are proud to see them continue to grow towards their World Tour goal. With the sponsorship change, the FENIX logo will be now visible on the back of the bib shorts.
“We look back to a very successful sponsorship over the past years and want to thank the entire team – cyclists and support staff – for the great achievements, but also the pleasant and professional cooperation.
Our FENIX brand has significantly benefited from this,” said Matthijs Schoten, CEO Broadview Holding in a statement.
“The team has showed a strong development in this period, and we are proud to see it making the step towards the World Tour, the top league in cycling. That is why we are pleased to make room for a new key sponsor to support this development. We will however remain actively involved to continue to support this successful team in its journey towards a leading position in the peloton.”
Merlier sprints to the second Belgian Title!
Tim Merlier is the 2022 Belgian men’s elite national road champion after a thrilling final in the Middelkerke race. This is his second national title, after winning it in 2019 in Ghent (East Flanders).
Merlier closed the 208.7-kilometre race in Middelkerke with a terrific sprint among a large group of 30 riders. He crossed first the finish line in 4 hours 20 minutes and 49 seconds just ahead of Jordi Meeus (BORA-hansgrohe) and his Alpecin-FENIX teammate Jasper Philipsen, who was in the competition for the victory till the very end of the race.
Both the Alpecin-FENIX riders deserve the congratulations of all the team. We are eager to see the new challenges but now it’s time to celebrate the Merlier’s victory!
Maurice Ballerstedt is the 2022 German U23 ITT champion
On Friday, Alpecin-FENIX Pro cyclist Maurice Ballerstedt won the 2022 German U23 Individual Time Trial National Championship in Marsberg. The 21-year-old rider covered the 27.5 km course in 37 minutes and 19 seconds, finishing ahead of Tobias Buck-Gramcko (Rad-Net Rose Team) and Hannes Wilksch (Hannes Development Team).
Winning the U23 ITT national title was of Ballerstedt’s goal after he finished second in the 2021 championship. According to the specialized press, the course in Marsberg was probably the most difficult time trial course in recent years.
“It was a balancing act,” said Ballerstedt after the race. “You weren’t allowed to throw everything out at the beginning, you had to divide up your strength. Climbers and time trial specialists both had a chance today. You just had to manage the last few kilometers and roll to the finish line.”
De Bondt sprints to victory on stage 18 of Giro d’Italia 2022
Dries de Bondt wins the 18th stage of the Giro d’Italia 2022 after a thrilling final sprint against other four riders. The Belgian cyclist of the Alpecin-FENIX team crossed the finish first in 03 hours, 21 minutes and 21 seconds, just ahead of the Italian Edoardo Affini, Magnus Cort Nielsen and Davide Gabburo.
The 18th stage of the Giro d’Italia – 156 km from Borgo Valsugana to Treviso – was the last chance for the sprinters to have their day and Dries took this opportunity to win his first stage of the Giro d’Italia.
“I can’t believe it, it really was a dream, but since I started cycling I had dreams and those dreams became goals. I achieved those goals and then I started dreaming bigger. Last year I raced the Giro as a national champion and this year I had the goal of winning a stage. I pulled it off and it’s just amazing,” the 30-year-old added.
This is not a dream Dries, this is real. Congratulations!
Stefano Oldani wins the stage 12 of Giro d’Italia 2022
After 204 kms, from Parma to Genova, Stefano Oldani crossed first the finish line of the stage 12 of Giro d’Italia, the longest of the 2022 edition. The Italian cyclist of Alpecin-FENIX won ahead of Lorenzo Rota (Intermarché) and the Dutch Gijs Leemreize (Jumbo-Visma) thanks to a fantastic final sprint.
Oldani’s win was a second of the race for the Alpecin-Fenix teamafter the first stage’s victory of Mathieu Van der Poel and the first of his professional career. “It was not easy. I knew Rota, my friend, was also fast so I had to watch out,” the 24-year-old told after the race. “Leemreize also looked like he wanted to anticipate, so it was not easy to manage, but in the end I did it.”
Congratulation Stefano! Great Job!
Van der Poel arrives to Italy in “Rosa”
The cyclists of Giro d’Italia 2022 are traveling to Italy for the four stage of the competition and Mathieu Van der Poel, the leader of the general classification, is coming to Italy wearing the pink jersey.
“I hope to take the pink to Sicily, then we’ll see what happens,” Mathieu said on Saturday after the second stage of Giro d’Italia. And he achieved his target. The captain of the Alpecin-FENIX team won the first stage of the Giro, from Budapest to Visegrad. He carried out and excellent performance in both the individual time trial, closing in second position and in the third stage (17° place), where he defended the first place in the general classification and the Maglia Rosa.
On Tuesday, the fourth stage of the Giro d’Italia will run from Avola to Etna, 172 kms in the wonderful east side of Sicily with a summit finish. Van der Poel is a sprinter and this specific route might be more adapt to the climbing specialists but, quoting Mathieu, we’ll see what happens.
Back-to-back stage victories for Alpecin-FENIX at the 4 Jours de Dunkerque
Alpecin-FENIX closed six intense days of racing at 4 Jours de Dunkerque, in northern France, with two stage wins from Lionel Taminiaux and Gianni Vermeersch. For both, this was their first victories of the 2022 road season.
Taminiaux crossed first the finish line of stage 4 in a spectacular bunch sprint in Aire-sur-la-Lys, ahead of Stanislaw Aniolkowski (Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB) and Gerben Thijssen (Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert Matériaux). This was his second career victory.
The next day, it was Gianni Vermeersch who rose to the highest spot of the podium. The Alpecin-FENIX rider proved to be the strongest of a small group of sprinters to take stage 5 in Cassel, an area where he often trains. “So happy with the victory,” wrote Vermeersch on an Instagram post. “After my crash in Strade Bianche and getting influenza before (Milano) Sanremo, I was not having the best shape during Spring season. I kept working and the reward is there!”
Well done guys!
Samuel Gaze wins the short track in the UCI Mountain Bike Word Cup
New Zealander cyclist Samuel Gaze made a great return to the top level of the mountain bike discipline after a knee surgery. In the short track at Mountain Bike World Cup in Albstradt, Germany, Gaze crossed first the finish line in 21 minutes and 29 seconds ahead of the French Jordan Sarroun and the Swiss Nino Schurter.
The 2022 Albstradt race is his third short track World Cup win. Coincidentally the only one rider had stood on top of the XCC podium in Albstadt for three consecutive editions is his teammate Mathieu van der Poel (2019, 2020 and 2021), who is currently at the Giro d’Italia.
Gaze took up the Alpecin-FENIX tradition and at the end of the race said: “I’m privileged to be wearing this jersey. Mathieu obviously just won the first stage of the Giro to wear pink. That success is contagious.”
We hope that this positive vibe continues through the next Alpecin-FENIX challenges!
MATHIEUUUU VAN DER POELLLL!!!
The Giro d’Italia 2022 started in the best possible way for the Alpecin-FENIX team thanks to the wonderful victory of its captain Mathieu Van der Poel.
In the first stage, 195 kms from Budapest to Visegrád, Mathieu crossed first the finish line in 04:35:28 ahead of the Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay and the Spanish Pello Bilbao, conquering the first “Maglia Rosa” of the 105° edition of Giro d’Italia and of his professional career.
The route run completely flat across the Hungarian lowlands, only to rise in the final 5 kilometres, perfect conditions for a sprinter like Van der Poel. He didn’t disappoint and made a powerful final sprint to win the stage.
What a great race Mathieu! Congratulations!
