Van der Poel said this week that he wants to stay with Alpecin-Premier Tech until retirement, but when that day comes, the team will have to figure out how to replace its linchpin.
Kristof Ramon
This week, the special guest on the podcast for health tech brand Whoop was none other than Mathieu van der Poel: eight-time elite cyclocross world champion, former road world champ, and eight-time Monument winner. And his appearance will no doubt leave his team bosses breathing a happy sigh of relief, for now.
Noting his pretty much lifelong association with Alpecin-Premier Tech, the team where he’s spent his entire career from his days as a junior, Van der Poel said it’s simply where he fits and feels a strong sense of loyalty to founders Philip and Christoph Roodhooft. “I think that’s because of my personality and how I am,” he said. “I function best when I’m with people and friends I trust. The Roodhooft brothers feel more like family and friends than that they are my bosses.”
Alpecin-Deceuninck’s rise is unprecedented
“I really don’t know what we do differently,” says co-founder Philip Roodhooft.
The team, he added, had supported him in good times and bad, “Those are things I don’t forget. It will be nice if by the end of my career I probably stop at the same team where I started.”
The earliest that will happen is after the 2028 season, when Van der Poel will be 33 years old and can try in Los Angeles for the Olympic medal that eluded his grasp in Paris. And while that feels a long time from now, the Roodhooft brothers are doubtless thinking about it, or 2029 or whenever Van der Poel opts to step away from competition. And they should, because the single biggest problem they face is what Alpecin looks like without its star rider when that day finally comes – something for which no answer appears ready.
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