{"id":331320,"date":"2025-12-08T00:24:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T00:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/331320\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T00:24:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T00:24:18","slug":"how-the-whole-alpecin-premier-tech-deal-went-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/331320\/","title":{"rendered":"How the whole Alpecin\u2013Premier Tech deal went down"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a sport where long-term stability is rare and sponsorship battles are often fought in silence, brothers Philip and Christoph Roodhooft have once again managed to steer their program into calmer waters. The architects behind the Alpecin teams \u2014 home to stars such as Mathieu van der Poel and Puck Pieterse \u2014 have secured the future of their structure by extending Alpecin\u2019s involvement and bringing Quebec-based Premier Tech on board as a new naming partner beginning in 2026.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a significant move, especially with Deceuninck reducing its commitment. And it didn\u2019t come easily, according to Dutch media.<\/p>\n

Premier Tech, which recently cut ties with Israel\u2013Premier Tech, was one of the most pursued sponsors in the sport this year. INEOS Grenadiers, Soudal\u2013Quick-Step, EF Education\u2013EasyPost, Astana, Picnic\u2013PostNL and even the women\u2019s team St Michel\u2013Pr\u00e9f\u00e9rence Home\u2013Auber93 were all linked to the company at various points. Yet it was the Roodhoofts who ultimately won the trust of Premier Tech CEO Jean B\u00e9langer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s definitely relief,\u201d Philip Roodhooft said, \u201cbut mainly joy and pride that we\u2019ve managed once again to connect an important company to our project for the long term. Everyone knows it\u2019s not easy \u2014 not for us, and not for many other teams. There have been a lot of interesting conversations these past months.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hugo Houle on his new team: Alpecin\u2013Premier Tech<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

According to Roodhooft, discussions stretched longer than expected, to the point that the team briefly explored bridge solutions for 2026 built around Deceuninck and bike supplier Canyon. But when Premier Tech decided to commit, things fell into place quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the end, Premier Tech was the perfect solution,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re a company that thinks long-term and shares our culture and values.\u201d<\/p>\n

A relationship that made everything easier<\/p>\n

When word emerged that the Roodhoofts\u2019 personal connection with B\u00e9langer played a decisive role, Philip didn\u2019t deny it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve known each other for a while, and that does make things easier,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t need weeks just to understand who the person is on the other side of the table. This kind of commitment involves large sums of money and a long horizon. If you barely know each other, it becomes a much harder story from the sponsor\u2019s perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, switching briefly into Dutch, that B\u00e9langer also appreciates the hands-on way the brothers run their team. \u201cChristoph and I are very close to the day-to-day operations. I think that\u2019s something he recognizes. Patience is a virtue \u2014 sometimes things fall into place, sometimes they don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

A budget lift \u2014 and a clearer runway<\/p>\n

With Premier Tech\u2019s arrival, the team will see a modest budget increase in the first year, but the significant growth is built into the years that follow.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s important for staying competitive,\u201d Roodhooft said. \u201cWe\u2019ll have a bit more, but the upward trend in the contract is what really matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does that mean calmer years ahead?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had an incredibly busy year,\u201d he laughed, \u201cbut I wouldn\u2019t say the next ones will be calm. That\u2019s not realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n

What this says about cycling in 2025<\/p>\n

The hunt for a major sponsor dragged on for months \u2014 something several WorldTour teams are facing as budgets swell and the sport\u2019s financial model remains fragile.<\/p>\n

But Roodhooft cautions against writing cycling\u2019s obituary.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt hasn\u2019t been easy in the past either,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople overlook the fact that Tudor came into the sport, that Decathlon and Red Bull came in, that Lidl expanded its support. As a whole, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s so bad. But yes, the model isn\u2019t obvious. It never has been.\u201d<\/p>\n

He points out that disruption can also create openings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen things get more difficult, opportunities appear. Look at the Unibet Rose Rockets. In 2020, we had Mathieu van der Poel and Tim Merlier and still didn\u2019t get Grand Tour invitations. Now Unibet can\u2019t be left out of the Tour. If you can put together a good budget and tell a good story, you can climb very quickly in this sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

The billionaire question<\/p>\n

Of course, the WorldTour is increasingly influenced by state backing and billionaire ownership \u2014 something fans often debate.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s true,\u201d Roodhooft acknowledged. \u201cPeople have their opinions, but it\u2019s a business model. It brings security and stability for some teams. But yes, it can also depend on the wishes of one person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alpecin\u2013Deceuninck (soon to be Alpecin\u2013Premier Tech) remains one of the few major teams still operating in a more traditional model: owner-led, without a single wealthy patron to plug financial gaps.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the advantage \u2014 and the disadvantage,\u201d he said. \u201cBudgets keep increasing, and with that the risks get bigger if you don\u2019t find the right partners. We\u2019ve always believed it would work out, and it has.\u201d<\/p>\n

The future of the model<\/p>\n

Which is better \u2014 the classic model or the billionaire-backed one?<\/p>\n

\u201cOne doesn\u2019t exclude the other,\u201d Roodhooft said. \u201cIt can work this way, absolutely. But as a sport, we need to explore every initiative that could make cycling\u2019s business model more stable. We have to keep working together to make that future possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

As well as Premier Tech coming into the fold, another Canadian has joined the squad. Former national champion and Tour de France stage winner Hugo Houle is now part of the team. He joins Noah Ramsay, who rides on the Continental outfit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a sport where long-term stability is rare and sponsorship battles are often fought in silence, brothers Philip…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":331321,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[145954,49,48,635,75501,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-331320","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-alpecin","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-cycling","12":"tag-hugo-houle","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/331321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}