{"id":295239,"date":"2025-11-19T17:04:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T17:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/295239\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T17:04:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T17:04:09","slug":"brennan-magnier-he-fits-right-in-with-that-group-alpecin-deceuninck-hopes-for-breakthrough-with-dutch-ace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/295239\/","title":{"rendered":"“Brennan, Magnier… he fits right in with that group” Alpecin-Deceuninck hopes for breakthrough with Dutch ace"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alpecin-Deceuninck<\/a> can look back on yet another exceptional year. With stars Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen, the Belgian outfit once again delivered a series of top-level victories \u2014 but much of the credit, it must be said, also belongs to the Roodhooft brothers, Christoph and Philip. The duo turned 2024 into another success story, though there are still some uncertainties heading into the new season.To sum up: Van der Poel won Milan\u2013San Remo, Paris\u2013Roubaix, the E3 Saxo Classic, and a Tour de France stage. Philipsen also struck gold at La Grande Boucle, adding three stage wins in the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a<\/a> later in the year. Even Kaden Groves contributed with several strong performances. Another unforgettable year for Alpecin-Deceuninck \u2014 but do the Roodhooft brothers take credit for it?Christoph sees their role as limited. “Though small things can make a big difference in the end,” he tells Het Laatste Nieuws<\/a>. “Within the team atmosphere, we make sure everyone feels comfortable and maintain the right balance. We expect a lot, but also give some freedom. We embrace defeats and put them into perspective \u2014 \u2018alright, it is what it is, and we move on\u2019. Maybe that\u2019s our greatest achievement.”<\/p>\n

Philip, however, sees it differently. “I actually think our contribution is quite significant,” he said. “We\u2019ve built something solid \u2014 a well-oiled machine where everyone pushes each other to a higher level. Of course, that machine needs to keep running and be managed. We can\u2019t afford to say, \u2018It\u2019s fine if things ease up a bit,\u2019 because that attitude inevitably spreads to the rest.”<\/p>\n

Continue reading below the photo!<\/p>\n

\"mathieuCo-sponsor yet to be confirmed: \u201cWe\u2019re nervous every day\u201dThe team is in a strong position heading into 2025, but Deceuninck will end its sponsorship, leaving a vacancy for a new partner. One thing is certain \u2014 it won\u2019t be Premier Tech<\/a>. “We\u2019re nervous every day,” Philip admitted with a laugh. “But that\u2019s balanced by the knowledge and conviction that we\u2019re doing things right. If you keep that up long enough, results will follow.”<\/p>\n

Matching last year\u2019s results will be no small task. “The question is: does it have to be better?” Christoph wondered. “Even if it\u2019s the same or just a little less, that\u2019s still okay. Of course, there are always areas where we can grow. But sometimes you have to be content with what\u2019s going well \u2014 without saying \u2018that\u2019s enough\u2019. That\u2019s something different, because it still has to last.”<\/p>\n

Continue reading below the photo!<\/p>\n

\"mathieu\u201cWe came out stronger this transfer window\u201d<\/p>\n

In terms of transfers, Alpecin-Deceuninck has mostly said goodbye to riders so far \u2014 Gianni Vermeersch, Quinten Hermans, and Timo Kielich are leaving the team. Yet the Roodhooft brothers seemed to confirm that Maurice Ballerstedt, Lindsay De Vylder, Matteo Busatto, Gerben Thijssen, and Jonas Geens are all set to join.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear the management sees no reason for concern. “We actually came out of the transfer window stronger \u2014 cheaper and better,” said Christoph. “Maybe Meurisse\u2019s departure hurts a bit, but if Maurice Ballerstedt can rediscover his old form next spring, that\u2019ll solve a lot. He already rode for us in 2024 before stepping away from the sport \u2014 now he\u2019s back.”<\/p>\n

The team is also counting on younger riders to step up. “We\u2019re looking forward to the continued development of Tibor Del Grosso<\/a>,” Christoph added about the young Dutchman, who has already showed great things at the highest level. “At 22, he\u2019s already competing at the level we aim for.”\u00a0Philip agreed: “Brennan, Magnier… he fits right in with that group.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alpecin-Deceuninck can look back on yet another exceptional year. With stars Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295240,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[163185,64,63,169409,784,169408,85,169407],"class_list":{"0":"post-295239","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-alpecin-deceuninck","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-christoph-roodhooft","12":"tag-cycling","13":"tag-philip-roodhooft","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-tibor-del-grosso"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}