Fenix Cycling Team

Yes, he did it again! Tim Merlier adds another triumph to his wonderful 2021 season by reaching his 9^th win.

Merlier crossed first the finish line of the Benelux Tour’s fourth stage in 3 hours, 26 minutes and 29 seconds reaching the 9th position in the tour overall rank. The Alpecin-FENIX cyclist won the stage in Ardooie ahead of Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segrafedo) after an amazingfinal sprint during the last 50 meters.

“It’s really a victory for the team today because my teammates protected me perfectly from the wind and they placed me ideally in the narrow passages where everyone was very nervous,” explained the Belgian cyclist. “Suddenly, I was still fresh at the time of the sprint.”

2021 is proving to be a very special year for him and for all the Alpecin-FENIX team.

The Benelux Tour 2021 begins in the best possible way for the Alpecin-FENIX team.

Tim Merlier won the first stage of the race – 170 kms from Surhuisterveen to Dokkum – ahead of Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) and Fernando Gaviria (UAE Emirates). The Alpecin-FENIX Belgian athlete crossed the finish line first in 3 hours, 32 minutes and 20 seconds after a fantastic final sprint.

After the stage victories at Giro d’Italia and Tour the France, Mernier adds another success to his long list. Congrats Tim, keep it up!

The Alpecin-FENIX team will participate for the very first time in La Vuelta a España, that is taking place from August 14 to September 5, 2021. The 76^th edition of the most important Spanish cyclist race will start from the Burgos’s Cathedral and – after 21 stages and more than 3,000 kms – will finish in Santiago de Compostela, the capital of Galicia.

The line-up that is taking part in the competition was announced on August 5. Here are the cyclists: Edward Planckaert, Jay Vine, Scott Thwaites, Jasper Philipsen, Sachca Modolo, Alexander Krieger, Floris de Tier, and Tobias Bayer.

Thanks to the participations in Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, the Alpecin-FENIX team will complete the participation in all the three cycling Grand Tours for the first time in his history. They have already reached an important goal, of course, but we know they will do great things and we wish them well in their endeavour. Come on guys! Forza ragazzi!

It is the grace, the endurance, and the persistence of athletes like Mathieu van der Poel that inspire us. In business as in cycling, talent alone is not enough.

We aim to reach the highest levels knowing that to stay there we need passion, dedication and hard work. At the same time, we need a dedicated and professional team moved by a continuous desire to get better. We train hard in all possible circumstances to get lucky when it matters.

This approach and set of values are why we align our FENIX global brand with the Alpecin-FENIX cycling team. The team shows a similar way of working, focusing on growth and on the long term.

Van der Poel, now 26, won his first World Champion title at the age of 20. He has been on the same team for over a decade. It is a promising team that steadily works on building careers and new generations of cyclists. Their long-term approach is based on facts. At the same time, the team remains flexible and entrepreneurial.

In cycling and in business, we share a focus on getting great results consistently. But to improve, we also learn from the losses without losing sight of our goals. To quote Van der Poel, “Dreams and dedication are a powerful combination.”

Dreams do come true. In his first ever Grand Tour, Mathieu van der Poel won one stage of Tour de France and wore the Maillot jaune for 6 consecutive days. He kept his promise to his grandad, French cycling legend Raymond Poulidor, that he would wear the yellow jersey one day. Poulidor participated 14 times at la Gran Boucle but never wore the yellow jersey.

Mathieu’s first Tour de France performance is simply outstanding. The team continues to deliver solid results even after Mathieu following stage 10 stage in order to focus on the Olympic Games, which will take place in Tokyo from July 23^rd to August 8^th.

The endurance and persistence of Mathieu and Alpecin-FENIX team continues to inspire us as a group. Their approach and set of values are why we align the FENIX brand with the cycling team. We believe in passion, dedication and hard work needed to achieve success, but also a group of professionals driven by a continuous desire to improve. We are proud to support Mathieu and every member of the Alpecin-FENIX team.

On his first Tour de France, Mathieu van der Poel won Stage 2 after an impressive onslaught at Mûr-de-Bretagne, which also awarded him the coveted yellow jersey.

“I imagine how (Poupou) he would be proud of me. It’s a shame he’s not here, but there’s nothing we can do. I knew this was my last chance to take the yellow jersey, it’s amazing,” said Van der Poel after finishing the race. He dedicated this win to his grandfather, French cycling legend Raymond Poulidor, who participated 14 times at la Gran Boucle but never wore the yellow jersey.

Van der Poel’s had laid out his intentions 17 km ahead of the arrival, on the first ascent of Mur-de-Bretagne, where he managed to get precious seconds. “I gambled a little bit. I went on the first climb because I knew I needed the bonus seconds if I wanted the jersey. It was my last chance to get it,” Van der Poel said.

In the general classification, Van der Poel leads with 8 seconds followed by Julian Alaphilippe and who won stage 1. The Alpecin-FENIX team captain also leads the climber classification, which awarded him the polka-dot jersey.

As a sponsor of the Alpecin-FENIX team, we celebrate Van der Poel’s historic achievement and we are proud of the team’s performance.

Ahead of Alpecin-FENIX debut in Le Tour de France, the team is paying tribute to the French legend Raymond Poulidor, grandfather of Alpecin-Fenix rider, Mathieu van der Poel. This took place at the official team presentation in Brest, on June 24. On that occasion, the Alpecin-Fenix riders wore a cycling kit inspired by the colours that Raymond Poulidor used to wear during his entire career, the former French Mercier teams.

Between 1962 and 1976, Poulidor had competed no less than 14 times in the world’s biggest cycling race, Le Tour de France. For eight times he had finished la Grande Boucle on the podium in Paris, but without having worn the yellow jersey for a single day. Now, 45 years later, his grandson Mathieu van der Poel is set to make his debut in le Tour de France. It is now up to him to chase the yellow dream and thus personify the heritage his grandfather left him and the whole cycling world.

To show the team’s commitment to this heritage, and help children chasing their dreams, a fully dedicated website has been developed. On the webshop, fans are invited to buy a “Merci Poupou” replica shirt or cycling cap. The proceeds of this online sale will go to a charity project that support children and teenagers in sports activities.

Visit www.mercipoupou.com or download the press release to have more information about.

Mathieu van der Poel is back! During an exciting final sprint against Schachmann, Mathieu managed to sprint a second ahead to secure his fifth road victory of the season. Here’s what he had to say:

“It was a super fun stage, especially with the rainy conditions at the end. It looked a bit like a classics parcours, something that suits me very well. The team did an amazing job, making the race hard like I asked. I’m really happy to finish it off!”

Our 29 years old Belgian champion Dries De Bondt has received the Combattività Award, which stands for exceptional combativeness during the Giro d’Italia 2021. 

De Bondt was able to knock himself out in the attacking work and in between he also placed himself neatly in a chopped bunch sprint. He became 6th in the 10th stage, 4th in the gravel stage and 11th in Victor Campenaerts’ triumphal march, but above all he had a nose for brilliant escapes.

During his participation in this Grand Tour Dries never thought about quitting, which makes him proud. His perseverance and combativeness also made him the best in the intermediate sprints ranking, which got him another prize: the Traguardi Volanti. 

Next to De Gendt and Gilbert, De Bondt is the third Belgian rider who may call himself “Super Combattivo”. As a proud sponsor of the Alpecin-FENIX Cycling Team, FENIX congratulates Dries de Bondt on his titles!