Philipsen wins the final stage of Tirreno-Adriatico

After the fantastic spectacle of last Wednesday – where Jasper Philipsen sprinted to win Stage 3 thanks to van der Poel’s lead-out – yesterday the Belgian rider reached a second victory during the final. Also this time, the support of his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate was decisive.

The overall race of Tirreno-Adriatico was won by Primoz Roglic, but with these two sprint victories Philipsen conquered the spotlight for next Saturday’s Milan-San Remo.

“We managed to be in a really good position thanks to all the motivation we had from the previous sprint stage – we knew we were able to do it again. The team and Mathieu again did an amazing job,” Philipsen said.



Fantastic victory of Philipsen thanks to Van der Poel’s lead-out

On Wednesday, the last 20 kilometres of Stage 3 of Tirreno-Adriatico 2023 was a rare spectacle. After a predictable battle disputed over almost 200 kilometres between the big ones of the different teams, the unexpected lead-out of Mathieu van der Poel brought Jasper Philipsen to victory. Paved his way by the Dutch teammate, Philipsen could end the race with a great sprint of 150 metres, making Alpecin-Deceuninck achieve its first victory of the season.



The fantastic La Vuelta of Jay Vine

Jay Vine, the Australian rider of Alpecin-Deceuninck cycling team and 2020 Zwift Academy winner, is performing very well at La Vuelta 2022. Thanks to the two stages victories and other good placings, he is the current leader of the KOM classification with 40 pts ahead of the teammates Robert Stannard Jimmy Janssens, who is fourth.

Vine won stage 6 of La Vuelta, his first victory as a pro rider and his first in a Grand Tour. A very tough 181.2-km-long course, from Bilbao to San Miguel de Aguayo, that ended with the ascension of Pico Jano, a 12.6 kilometre-long climb. Through an intense fog, Jay Vine crossed first the finish line in 04 hours and 38 seconds, ahead of Remco Evenepoel, the current leader of La Vuelta general classification. It was an unexpected and epic victory!

Two days later Vine was able to win the stage 8 closing the race ahead of the Spanish rider Marc Soler. It was another race for the climbers: 153,4 kms from Pola de Laviana in Asturias to Colláu Fancuaya at 1,080 meters. Another impressive performance for the Australian.

La Vuelta is not finish yet and there are other mountains stages. We can’t wait to enjoy the next challenges.



Robert Stannard wins the Tour of Wallonie 2022

It was a fantastic Tour de Wallonie for Robert Stannard who, thanks to his consistent performance, won the 2022 edition. What a great result for the 23-year-old Australian rider of Alpecin–Deceuninck!

The 2022 edition of the Tour de Wallonie, was held in the Belgian region of Wallonie from July 23th to 27th. On the Belgian roads, Stannard collected a third place on the initial stage, 174.4 kms from Templaux to Huy, , a fourth place on stage 2 and a wonderful second place on the last stage from Le Roeulx to Chapelle-lez-Herlaimont just behind the Belgian rider Bakelans.

Stannard’s performance let him lead both the general classification and the points classification. He also won the young rider classification. We couldn’t ask more from the young Alpecin–Deceuninck rider!



The final stage of Tour de France 2022 went to Philipsen

Jasper Philipsen sprinted to victory on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, for the final stage of Tour de France 2022. The Alpecin–Deceuninck rider crossed first the finish line in 02 hours, 58 minutes and 32 seconds, ahead of Dylan Groenewegen (Team BikeExchange – Jayco) and Alexander Kristoff (Intermarche – Wanty – Grobert Materiaux).

This was the second victory for Philipsen in the Tour de France 2022, which was an extraordinary edition for the young Belgian rider. In addition to the two stages victories, he achieved a third place on the third stage from Vejle to Sønderborg in Denmark and two second places on stage 4 (Dunkerque-Calais) and stage 19 (Magnoac-Cahors).

Philipsen finished second in the points classification. We are all very proud of the Alpecin–Deceuninck riders’ performances. We can’t wait to follow the next challenges of the team.



Philipsen sprints to an historical first victory on Tour de France

Stage 15 of Tour the France was the race of the first times. Jasper Philipsen won his first ever stage at La Grande Boucle. It was also Alpecin-Deceuninck first victory in the edition of the Tour.

After eight top 3 results (2021 and 2022), the Belgian rider crossed first the finish line ahead of Wout van Aert, the leader of the points classification. Philispen won the stage 15 – 202.5 kms from Rodez to Carcassonne – thanks to a powerful final sprint proving once again that he is  one of the best sprinters in road cycling.

It was his first time on Tour and Philipsen was understandably emotional in the post-race interview. “It makes it super unbelievable,” he said of his previous misses. “I know what losing is like in the Tour de France. I was close many many times. That it worked out today is incredible. I can’t believe it.”

Congrats Jasper. You deserved this victory!



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.



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!