Mathieu van der Poel’s team will have a new name next year.
Kristof Ramon, Cor Vos
Seven years after English-language commentators first began struggling with the pronunciation of Deceuninck, and four years into its sponsorship of Alpecin-Deceuninck, the Belgian company is calling time on its stint as the title sponsor of a top-tier cycling team.
Alpecin-Deceuninck and Fenix-Deceuninck officially announced the end of that arrangement on Thursday. On the one hand, the news is merely confirmation of what was previously announced in March. On the other hand, the final word comes rather late in the year, after rumors that Deceuninck might actually continue as a title sponsor, with its name present in team filings for UCI licenses in October.
Alpecin-Deceuninck’s rise is unprecedented
“I really don’t know what we do differently,” says co-founder Philip Roodhooft.
According to a statement, “Deceuninck will remain involved as a partner in a supportive role within both teams,” but apparently that partnership is not quite at a level that earns the company the honor of naming rights anymore. As such, this season will mark the end of Deceuninck’s four-year stint as a title sponsor of the team of Mathieu van der Poel, a partnership that began after three years of the company co-title sponsoring Deceuninck-Quick Step.
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