Mathieu Van Der Poel Signs With Alpecin Fenix Until 2025

Sep 6, 2021
by James Smurthwaite  
The first statement of the 2021 season goes to Mathieu Van Der Poel.

The Alpecin Fenix team has announced it has signed Mathieu Van Der Poel for a further four seasons.

Van der Poel has been part of the Belgian outfit for the past ten years and will now continue to race in their colours until the end of 2025. The 26-year-old will probably have courted offers from some of the biggest teams in road cycling but probably stuck with the second-tier UCI ProTeam as it allows him the freedom to largely dictate his racing calendar as we saw this year following his withdrawal from the Tour de France to prepare for the Olympics.

Alpecin Fenix has expanded its mountain bike roster in recent years with the recent additions of Sam Gaze and Ronja Eibl, and it seems Van der Poel will continue to be a regular face at World Cups too. He confirmed in the announcement that he was planning on racing mountain bikes until at least the Paris 2024 Olympics and that one of his goals is to be the World Champion in three disciplines - cyclocross, mountain bike and road.

bigquotesI’m very happy to have signed this long-term contract with a team that feels like my second family. I’m really enjoying myself at Alpecin-Fenix. The team has developed fantastically in the last years – simultaneously with the progress I’ve been making – and are still getting better and stronger each year.
It's quite unique that I've been riding for the same team for so long and that I'll continue to do so for another four years. Who knows I will have raced for only one team in my entire career? I try not to think too far ahead but becoming world champion in three different disciplines in the coming years would be a dream come true. I’ll most likely continue to combine road cycling, cyclo-cross and mountain bike until Paris 2024.
Mathie Van Der Poel

bigquotesWe want to be a stable team and continue to grow. Mathieu is one of the pillars of our team, so it is important to have that certainty of him staying with us for four more years in order to further expand the team. Sponsors, teammates, etc. get a strong signal from him as the team leader by extending his engagement.Christoph Roodhoft


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45 Comments
  • 104 1
 I didn't see that coming. I was sure the team was going to ramp down operations and drop all their riders.
  • 23 0
 Hey now, that's a bridge too far.
  • 9 0
 Don't jump to unfounded conclusions . He might just practice confusing competitors
  • 5 0
 Clearly Alpecin-Fenix are setting themselves a high bar in competitiveness, but they've definitely gone over the bar here
  • 3 0
 Three world titles in four seasons? He won't be lumbering along!
  • 1 0
 @mi-bike: Double pun! Nice inclusion of Operation Market Garden, great movie as well!
  • 50 1
 He should aim for 4 titles, including Rampage.
  • 47 3
 But make sure to tell him that there are no landing ramps at RAMPage.
  • 6 0
 @squarewheel: Ha ha!!! Mind the gap Mathieu, mind the gap!!!
  • 1 0
 To be fair, he could build “landing ramps” and maybe have a shot
  • 32 3
 Pinkbike said they'd give me a dollar for every ramp joke/pun in this comment section. *starts deciding which Yeti to buy*
  • 4 1
 Judging by the comment section so far you will be able to buy Yeti Wink
  • 2 0
 At this point you may be able to buy the breaking new Yeti E Bike
  • 16 5
 Hopefully he remembers to ramp his training appropriately...
  • 10 0
 Thought he would have been signed by the Avengers
  • 6 0
 Good call, this will allow him to race MTB and Road for the next 5 years. Not a lot of Big WT teams would have allowed that.
  • 1 1
 sagan and pidcock disagree with this statement
  • 1 0
 @jezza169: Sagan? He's raced what one MTB race 5 years ago? Pidcock has the flexibility agreed but I dont think that means all WT teams would allow this. Most care only about the road, and would pressure him heavily to focus solely on that. AF is the team that makes the most sense for MVDP.
  • 1 0
 @scissors888: true with Sagan, dont forget that latest video of him in Andorra however .. .. . but to say not alot of world tour teams would allow is wrong - Jolander Neff has raced cx, Wout Van Aert has raced road and cx, Nino Shurter competed in National Swiss champion road races and for former team Mitchleton Scott (Orica Greenedge) .......
  • 1 0
 @jezza169: Jolanda Neff isnt really a full time member of Trek Segafredo though, shes more of a guest rider. Everyone knows she's first and foremost a MTB rider. Nino Spent one season doing two races for Orica in 2014. Hardly the same as what MVDP or Pidcock are trying to do. And I think you will see Pidcock focus more and more on the road in the future, especially if they have Grand Tour ambitions for him. There really is no outfit out there that would allow MVDP the freedom to dictate his race schedule and discipline. Wout has a good thing at JV I will agree but adding in 2 months of cross in the winter is a little easier to mesh with his goals during the road season. Do you really think Quickstep, Ineos, JV or any other World Tour team would have been okay with him leaving their TDF squad after week one?
  • 1 0
 @scissors888: I feel most of it is down to riders choice, If you look at UCI MTB rankings and look at Pidcocks Team Name you will see its blank - probably because Pinarello do not supply mtb. But if we take a look at Wilier we see they have recently launched MTB under their name - so perhaps Pinarello will follow?

bear in mind he was racing a BMC for mtb, Specialized for cyclocross and Pinarello for road .. . . ..Im intrigued what will happen for the 2022 season - ie still has race support from Ineos in terms of kit, branded paddock set up in all 3 disciplines?

Pauline Ferrand Prevot was not held back in season when she was the first ever triple world champion, and that was her goal so why would any other team not follow?
  • 1 0
 @jezza169: Yea it will be interesting to see what Pidcok rides this winter for cross. He road specialized last year because he wasn't on Ineos yet. That contract didnt start until March 1st, so he was still a member of trinity racing.

It's blank next to Pidcocks name because Ineos is not registered as a UCI MTB team. Maybe they will do that for next year or maybe they wont. We will find out next year. I hope we see pidcock continue on the MTB WC circuit as well but with no olympics next year, Ineos may not see it as worth it. They are at the end of the day, a Road WT team. If they feel mtb or Cross is a having a negative effect on Ineos road campaigns, they will reign that in.

As accomplished as PFP is, you cant compare the mens WT to the Womens WT. There is a reason until MVDP came along that talk of a Triple World champ was non existent. It's because once a WT signs a rider from the cross or mtb world, they expect that rider to be a road rider. Pidcock and MVDP are the exception to the old rule, not a new rule for other riders.
  • 1 0
 @scissors888: I get what you mean, until recent years we are not used to seeing WT riders competing in other disciplines, CX makes sense in that World Championship happens in the alternate season (albeit Tour Down Under)

I'm still in awe from MVDP Amstel Gold race from 2019, shame his 2021 season has been a long sting of unfortunalities in both road and mtb

With Olympics out the way for sure 2022/23 will be an exciting cycling season to watch
  • 6 1
 Every picture of him looks the same, Sutro Lites and a blank smirk/stare. Except the one where he was falling off the drop at the Olympics. He definitely looked more animated there.
  • 6 1
 Is there a golden parachute clause in the contract?
  • 1 0
 he will have a hard time for sure getting 3 titles, judging Pidcock success this last season!

100% xc and cx have been undoubtedly more exciting to watch these last few seasons, not just for the men!

Canyon would be proud to have a second ever 3 world title holder in one season

Can Sagan also enter the chat?
  • 1 0
 Sagan has no decent off road results since he was a Junior; until he proves he can mix it with the top guys, then I think the answer is - No. And in any case, I wonder just how much off road he'll be allowed......
  • 1 0
 @Starch-Anton: that front puncture ruined his 2016 Rio olympics for sure (don,t forget he started right at the back of the field and jumped up to 3rd by the second lap?)

Plus his Andorra video that was recently shown he still has the passion for MTB - specialized needs someone to compete in the xc field for sure, would like to see him competing in the xcc seeing as Kershbaumer are not troubling the podium positions this season, Sarrou and Sina Frei on the other had ..... pretty damn good!
  • 3 0
 Caffeine shampoo clearly still selling well!
  • 4 1
 We really need to ramp these comments up. Its funny to read them!
  • 1 4
 I thought he would of signed for a big team while he's young and collect the cash maybe just like a squirrel collects nuts so he's not trying to catch them during the winter of his career. Or try to find a new job catching the furry little criters
  • 4 1
 I don’t think he’s short of cash. Between CX appearance fees, team salary, and personal sponsors he’d be making a few million a year.
  • 9 2
 His current team is quickly acquiring the status of 'big team' and the organisation is very good at growing itself to fit around that. They had multiple victories in all grand tours of this year, with different riders, on top of MvdP's exploits on the road, CX and XC. They are ranked 6th in the road pro number of victories ranking, outperforming some 15 'world tour' teams as a second tier 'pro team'.

Also, Van der Poel already earned allmost just as much as Van Aert, who has a similar background (except for MTB) and is with an acknowlegded 'big team'. With the renewal, his contract probably is even better and these figures are always estimations. Private sponsorship allways brings in a load of cash and MvdP's marketing value is probably higher than anyone out there.

(Sidenote: The top 20 pro salary ranking contains a lot of riders that used to be good but lost their shine. I'd hate to be the employer of Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas, Peter Sagan or Greg van Aevermaet right now, to name a few)
  • 2 1
 @Mike-Jay: Lambo in garage
  • 1 0
 @rismtb: only one!!!
  • 1 0
 This is where I wish they disclosed salaries for cyclists...
  • 4 5
 Mathieu OTB
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