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Alpecin-Deceuninck: From cyclocross team to WorldTour climber

Belgian cycling team with steep development

Since it was founded in 2009, Alpecin-Deceuninck has developed from a cyclocross-focussed Continental team into a successful WorldTour team. With Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen as top riders, the Belgian team has celebrated numerous victories in important races in recent years. The team received its first WorldTour licence in 2023.

The Belgian cycling team Alpecin-Deceuninck has undergone an impressive development in recent years. The team was founded in 2009 under the name BKCP-Powerplus as a UCI Continental team focussing on cyclocross. In the early years, the team offered cyclocross specialists such as Niels Albert a limited road cycling programme. A turning point in the team's history was the signing of the exceptional Dutch talent Mathieu van der Poel in 2014. With him on board, the gradual rise to higher racing classes began.

In 2019, the team, which at the time rode under the name Corendon-Circus, received a licence as a Professional Continental Team. This enabled the team to take part in UCI WorldTour races. In its very first season in the second-highest racing class, van der Poel celebrated prestigious victories at Dwars door Vlaanderen and the Amstel Gold Race. These successes emphasised the team's potential for the highest category of road cycling.

Name changes and sporting successes

The German shampoo brand Alpecin became the team's new main sponsor and namesake for the 2020 season. As Alpecin-Fenix, the team qualified for mandatory invitations to all WorldTour races in the following years thanks to good placings in the UCI world rankings. In sporting terms, the upward trend continued. Alongside van der Poel, Belgian sprinter Jasper Philipsen in particular developed into a guarantor of victory.

Another name change took place with the start of the Tour de France 2022. The Belgian door and window manufacturer Deceuninck replaced Fenix as the second main sponsor. Under the name Alpecin-Deceuninck, the team successfully applied for a WorldTour licence from the 2023 season onwards, marking its promotion to the highest category of road cycling.

Broad positioning in cycling

One of Alpecin-Deceuninck's specialities is its broad positioning across various cycling disciplines. In addition to the WorldTour team, the organisation also runs a development team for young riders, a UCI Women's WorldTeam called Fenix-Deceuninck and a mixed UCI Cyclo-Cross Team and UCI MTB Team. This structure enables talented riders to develop in various disciplines.

The team's sporting management is in the hands of brothers Philip and Christoph Roodhooft. As manager and sporting director respectively, they have played a key role in the team's rise. Their concept of allowing top riders like van der Poel to compete in other disciplines has proven successful. In addition to his road victories, van der Poel has also won world titles in cyclocross and mountain biking.

Management and outlook for 2025

Alpecin-Deceuninck has put together a squad of 29 riders for the 2025 season. In addition to the established winning riders Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen, the squad also includes promising talents such as Australian Kaden Groves. With the Austrian Tobias Bayer and the German Juri Hollmann, two German-speaking riders are also represented in the team.

The goals for 2025 are likely to be just as ambitious as in previous years. In the sprints, Philipsen will be hoping for more stage wins in Grand Tours. Van der Poel is once again expected to be among the top favourites in the spring classics. The team will also try to further consolidate its position in the WorldTour and remain among the top teams in the UCI world rankings.