WORLDTOUR

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!

The first day at Boucles de la Mayenne 2021 ended with a great victory for Philippe Walsleben. The Alpecin-FENIX German athlete crossed the finish line first in 3 hours, 59 minutes and 45 seconds ahead of the Spanish cyclist Diego Rubio (Burgos-BH).

It was a very intense race – 175 kilometres long – with many sprints on the way. At 10 kms to the finish line only these two athletes remained head to head. The Walsleben performed the crucial acceleration gaining the necessary distance from Rubio to win the stage.

A wonderful performance for our athlete and a great satisfaction for the Aplecin-FENIX team. Congrats Philippe!

Tim Merlier won with a sprint  the second race of Giro d’Italia, that went from Nichelino to Novara  for a total of 179 km.

At the end of a tough race, the Alpecin-FENIX belgiam cyclist crossed the finishing line in 4 hours, 21 minutes and 09 seconds ahead of Giacomo Nizzolo. He made an outstanding  come back at the end.

Merlin dedicated his victory to Wouter Weylandt, a Belgiancyclist who died ten years ago after a crash at the Passo del Bocc hill.

As a proud sponsor of the Alpecin FENIX Cycling Team we are happy to present you the lineup for Giro d’Italia, which kicks off in FENIX’s home region next week! Since this will be the first ever Grand Tour of this team we wanted to announce the lineup via a unique lineup presentation. Discover the 8 Alpecin FENIX riders for the 2021 Giro d’Italia in the video.

His first race as a professional cyclist for Alpecin Fenix. He finished 2nd by just one tiny second after “a week that went way better than excpected.” Here’s what he had to say after the race, it’s definitely worth the read!

“I didn’t really know how this Tour of Turkey was going to unfold. We were really hoping for a good result on stage 5, but I had never raced in a bunch this big, and with teammates that I’d never met before. I put a bit of pressure on myself to perform. But that wasn’t the only thing that the team came here for. We came here to win bunch sprints with Jasper. So, learning how to position in the bunch and how to help in the final of sprints was all new to me.”

“Finishing second by one second is heartbreaking. I never stopped believing. Our sports director Frederik Willems over the radio and Jasper himself kept saying throughout the race ‘we go for the split in the final, we’re going to throw the kitchen sink in the last 3 km.’ I was in a really good position heading into that final 360 degrees corner, but got pinched in the wrong spot and came down.”

“I think it’ll take a little bit of time for it to sink in. But I think that shows how much the team was committed to try and go for the win. I think the biggest surprise of the week was just how much that I didn’t know. Like, there’s just so many nuances to moving around in the peloton and reading the rhythms and the ebbing and flowing of the race. And when and where to position yourself in different situations, on climbs, on flats, on descents. There’s lots to pay attention to, and I’ve just started to learn really. I can’t wait to the next bike race.”

Jasper Philipsen was over the moon with his powerful sprint victory at the Scheldeprijs, where he finished off some great team work!

“I’m really proud of this win. It means a lot to me! The team has been doing really well and was amazing today. I was confident in my sprint, and Jonas Rickaert and Dries De Bondt did an incredible job in the final kilometers.”

Mathieu Van der Poel finished 2nd in the Ronde van Vlaanderen after an intense battle with K. Asgreen in the final kilometers.

With Gianni Vermeersch (7th) we have another #AlpecinFenix rider in the top 10!

Mathieu Van der Poel:
“Kasper Asgreen deserved to win today. He was the strongest rider and always managed to answer my attacks. Obviously I’m very disappointed, I would have loved to win back-to-back.”

Gianni Vermeersch:
“I’d love to trade my 7th place for a win of Mathieu!”

Thumbs up to Jonas Rickaert for helping Merlier the entire day and doing an excellent leadout and to Edward Planckaert for his day at the front.

Tim Merlier took his 3rd win of the season today in Bredene Koksijde Classic, number 7 for AlpecinFenix in 2021! Here’s what he had to say after the race! “After the Kemmelberg, I thought we’d quickly close the gap with the leaders, but we had to trail them for over 100 km. I knew that if we managed to join them, I’d still have good legs for the sprint.”

“I started sprinting early. I had to, because if they came full speed behind me, it would have been over. Then I looked behind me. It was a reflex; I know I shouldn’t do it. I saw there was a small gap and quickly resumed sprinting. I’m very happy with this nice win!”

He really had to dig deep for this stunning solo victory! Here’s what Mathieu Van der Poel had to say after his 2nd stage win at the 2021 Tirreno Adriatico.

“I attacked so early because I was cold. With that rain it was really cold. I felt good at that moment, but the last 20 km were really hell to me.”

“I was completely at my limit on the final climb. I was just riding to the finish line as fast as I couls, hoping it would be enough to win.”

“It’s still one week until Milano-San Remo. I hope to be recovered by then.”