Fenix Cycling Team

It was the road season ending episode that we imagined for the Alpecin-FENIX team: a thrilling victory for one of our riders.

Xandro Meurisse won the Giro del Veneto with an impressive sprint ahead of Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates). The Italian race was held after a 9-year-hiatus in the cycling classic scene. It  was a very exciting competition, undefined till the very end when the Belgian rider arrived first after 03:54’:11’’.

Meurisse’s victory closes an outstanding 2021 road season for Alpecin-FENIX. It also sets the tone of the team for the recently started cyclo-cross season.

Celebrations were a bit bittersweet given the fact that Giro del Veneto was Petr Vakoc’s last professional cycling race. After a seven-year-old career, the former Czech champion decided to retire from the professional competitions to focus on new challenges. It’s been a pleasure for all of us to watch Vakoc rise and come back stronger. A huge “In bocca il lupo” on your future endeavors Petr.

The Sparkassen Münsterland Giro, 188.5 kms from Enschede (DE) to Munster (DE), was the last race of Philipp Walsleben as a professional cyclist. He crossed the finish line in 21^st position in 4 hours, 14 minutes and 5 seconds, after a thrilling race won by the British Mark Cavendish.
On August 5th, during the stage four of the Tour of Norway, the German rider announced his retirement from professional cycling. He went on winning that race, his second victory of the season  after the great success in the opening stage of the Boucles de la Mayenne in France.
Born in Potsdam in 1987, Walseben started his career as professional cyclist in 2002 and has been a part of Alpecin-FENIX team since the 2009 (formerly named BKCP–Powerplus). He competed professionally in road racing but it was cyclo-cross the specialty where he won Under-23 World Championship title in 2009 and the German national title on six occasions. After almost 20 years of professional races he announced his  retirement.

Thanks for all the energy and the commitment to the Alpecin-FENIX team Philipp. We wish you good luck in all  your new challenges!

While 2021 UCI Road World Championships in Flanders, Belgium, ended with the success of the French cyclist Julian Alaphilippe, we are very proud for the performances of our four Alpecin-FENIX team riders that took part in the competition: Oscar Riesebeek (Netherlands), Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands), Silvan Dillier (Switzerland), and Petr Vakoc (Czech Republic).
The Alpecin-FENIX’s captain Mathieu van der Poelwon the sprint of a small chasing group in the race and finished 8^th.
“I would have loved to have been in slightly better shape here. But I think I can be proud of the results,” said van der Poel in statement after the race.
Petr Vakoc close Flanders 2021 in the 32 position and Dillier in 45 position.
We congratulate all our riders who gave it their all at the 2021 UCI Road World Championships.

What a great streak for Jasper Philipsen, who won the 71° edition of Paris-Chayny 2021  reaching four wins in a row. The Belgian cyclist of Alpecin-FENIX crossed first the finish line of the 205.6 km race from Margny-lès-Compiègne to Chauny ahead of the Italians  Alberto Dainese (Team DSM) and Andrea Pasqualon (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert).
The streak of four victories in a row–Koolskamp in Belgium, Eschborn-Frankfurt in Germany, and GP Denain and Paris-Chayny in France–confirms the fantastic moment for Philipsen and makes him one of the strongest cyclist ever in his category.
His next challenge, as well as for Mathieu van der Poel and Tim Merlier, is the great classic Paris-Roubaix. We wish them well in their endeavor!

The Bra-Bra specialized – FENIX Gran Prix will take place on September 26^th. The amateur cycling competition starts and ends in Bra, Piedmont, where Arpa Industriale and the FENIX Factory are located.
The event reaches its 28° edition and, for the first time ever, it will take the official name of Bra-Bra specialized – FENIX Gran Prix, thanks to the sponsorship by Arpa Industriale and the FENIX brand.
Every year more than 2500 amateur cyclists take part in the event. The participants can choose trough three different courses: Bra-Bra corto (distance 66.77 Km, elevation 304 m), Bra-Bra MedioFondo (109.82 km, elevation 560 m) and Bra-Bra GranFondo (161.08 km, elevation 610 m). All the courses go through the beautiful landscapes of Langhe and Roero, a UNESCO World Heritage  area known for its amazing hills and fascinating vineyards. The area has been home to Arpa Industriale headquarters since its foundation in 1954. Here is where the company designs its high-quality surfaces for interior design and FENIX innovative materials. Always aligned with the cycling sport spirit and values, we are proud to be sponsor of the Bra-Bra specialized – FENIX Gran Prix.

Stage 3 of the Skoda Tour de Luxembourg – 189.3 km from Mondorf-les-Bains to Mamer – was really an exciting race that ended with Alpecin-FENIX cyclist Sacha Modolo finish first and ahead of Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën) and Eduard-Michael Grosu (DELKO).

This was the Italian rider first win after three tough and long years and he couldn’t be more happy about his outstanding performance. “I’m out of words. I’m so happy with this win! I’ve been waiting for it for years and I don’t hope for it anymore. But the team continued to believe in me, for which I’m really grateful! This one is for my family, for my wife,” said Modolo. “The team was amazing, and I had an incredible lead-out. They really did a very good job! I gave it my all in the last 200 m.”

Modolo underlined the commitment of the team. Modolo’s win is also Alpecin-FENIX first ever stage victory  s at the Tour de Luxembour.

We thrilled for him and the team. Congrats Sacha. Keep going guys!

Mathieu van der Poel, Jasper Philipsen and Tim Merlier will attend the edition number 118 of Paris-Roubaix as confirmed by the Alpecin-FENIX.

The famous competition – also know as the Hell of the North for is strenuous route – will take place on October 3^rd starting in Compiègne, north of Paris, and ending at the Vélodrome André-Pétrieux in Roubaix. The riders will have to cover a distance of 259 km with 30 sectors of pave covering (55km). Paris-Roubaix was inaugurated in 1896, making it also one of the oldest bike races in the world. Last year the race was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic so there is a great expectation for the 2021 edition.

Paris-Roubaix is for sure one the most fascinating bike races and we are as excited as our cyclists to participate. The countdown has started, the Queen of Classics is coming!

Mathieu van der Poel comes back to the competition after the Tokyo Olympic Games injury and comes back to win. The Alpecin-FENIX captain crossed first the finish line of the Antwerp Port Epic race ahead of Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) after a crushing final sprint. At the third position we find another Alpecin-FENIX cyclist, the Belgian Tim Merlier. What a great performance for Alpecin-FENIX team!

It was an important test for Mathieu which skipped the Benelux Tour but opted to race in Antwerp to see if he would be fit for the UCI Road World Championships in Flanders and the postponed Paris-Roubaix.

“It’s nice to win. I missed some important goals but I am happy to be back,” Van der Poel said. “The back gave some problems in final hour but it didn’t bother me as normal. I am relieved. I have to wait to see how I react but this race isn’t like Roubaix or Worlds. We’ll decide this week.”

Welcome back Mathieu!