Alpecin-Deceuninck has found a new main sponsor. Premier Tech commits to the team and presented the collaboration in Antwerp. Prior to the performance, Philip Roodhooft traveled to Canada to finalize the agreement.
Objectives and ambitions
The Canadian company links clear sporting goals to the collaboration. One of the spearheads is the 2026 world championship in Canada, where Mathieu van der Poel must play a leading role. During the presentation this was explicitly mentioned as an important goal.
In addition to that world championship, there was a lighter moment when Jean Bélanger mentioned his personal dream race. “Winning Lombardy would be nice,” Sporza quotes him as saying. He thus indicated that the Italian autumn classic is also high on his wish list.
Response from team management
The Roodhooft brothers responded wittily to that statement. “Then he will have to stay on board for a few more years,” he said. Their response made it clear that the sponsor’s ambitions cannot simply be realized.
With Van der Poel, the team has a rider who has already won several monuments and championships. Yet Lombardy is considered a race that is usually dominated by specialists with explosive climbing capabilities. Names such as Pogacar and Evenepoel are often mentioned.
Read also… Van der Poel’s return: national coach immediately expresses doubts ›
The new agreement with Premier Tech strengthens the financial and sporting basis of Alpecin-Deceuninck. The partnership should enable the team to achieve both short-term success and ambitious longer-term goals.
