Alpecin-Deceuninck under review: Success formula with only Van der Poel and Philipsen remains risky

Alpecin-Deceuninck dominated the spring of 2023; in 2024, it was arguably even more dominant. Wherever Mathieu van der Poel started, he won or competed for the win. Jasper Philipsen took another big step in his development as a classics specialist, with victory in Milan-Sanremo (his first Monument) as the absolute highlight. Van der Poel's lead-out and work in La Primavera showed that the team's two top riders complement each other perfectly.

After the win in Sanremo, Philipsen also celebrated victory in Brugge-De Panne in Belgium, and then it was time for the wonder legs of the world champion. In his rainbow jersey, Van der Poel raised his hands again in the Tour of Flanders and for the second year in Paris-Roubaix. An epic double preceded by a win in the E3. And then he was narrowly beaten in Gent-Wevelgem by Mads Pedersen. To top it off, Van der Poel finished third in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, something not considered possible easily.

With Timo Kielich's win in the Volta NXT Classic, a victory for Gianni Vermeersch in Dwars door het Hageland and Stan Van Tricht's unexpected victory in the Coppa Bernocchi in the fall, others also shared in the one-day joy at Alpecin-Deceuninck. Philipsen topped his season in style with a win in the Sparkassen Münsterland Giro. Not quite as many wins as in the fall of 2023 (when Philipsen competed with Tadej Pogacar for most wins of the year), but at the big events, the Matje-Jasper duo was always in the mix. After all, in the national colors, Van der Poel became world champion at the World Gravel Championships and took bronze at the World Championships on the road.

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At Alpecin-Deceuninck, they don't have a GC rider but a very talented puncher who impressed in one-week races. Axel Laurance could match Philipsen and Van der Poel in 2024 with four wins. Adding up the wins of this trio, they rode 17 out of a total of 26 team wins, not counting national races. It is, therefore, quite a blow for Alpecin-Deceuninck that 23-year-old Laurance is leaving for INEOS Grenadiers.

With a stage win in Etoile de Bessèges, a stage and overall win in the Tour of Norway, and an awe-inspiring WorldTour stage win in Catalonia, Laurance showed his potential. It was necessary, too, because if Van der Poel and Philipsen were not present, it was sometimes tricky. Quinten Hermans in the Basque Country, Jensen Plowright twice in the Tour of Qinghai Lake, and Kaden Groves' almost standard stage wins in the Vuelta a España, three this year.

All in all, hunting for stage wins; in that respect, you could also say the year has been successful. Philipsen won another three in the Tour de France, but he missed out on the green points jersey due to a disqualification. Three stage wins in the Tour and Vuelta are solid anyway. Only in the Giro d'Italia was success lacking. Philipsen also won stages in the Tirreno, Baloise Belgium Tour and Renewi Tour. Van der Poel was successful on the Luxembourg Tour.

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Last year, the editors of IDLProCycling.com gave the Belgian formation of Christoph and Philip Roodhooft a 9.6, and this time, it is a 9.0. It's excellent, but the team does not have a World Road title this time. The big stars performed again through a carefully designed program.

Alpecin-Deceuninck has yet to present the selection for the new season, but normally, the formation revolves even more strongly around Van der Poel and Philipsen. The Belgian was presented with a new contract to keep him on board, so Laurance's demands could not be met. That was a conscious decision, leaving the Frenchman to INEOS Grenadiers.

It doesn't stop there. Søren Kragh Andersen, who did not fare well in 2024, is moving to Lidl-Trek, and Nicola Conci will race for Astana Qazaqstan. With the retirement of Ramon Sinkeldam, four riders are thus already gone. There has been no announcement of new arrivals; they are usually presented simultaneously. Is there a top rider among them? Perhaps, although the Roodhooft brothers usually won't have millions ready, otherwise Laurance might have stayed....

New arrivals: Not yet known

Leaving (provisional): Axel Laurance (INEOS Grenadiers), Nicola Conci (Astana Qazaqstan), Søren Kragh Andersen (Lidl-Trek), Ramon Sinkeldam (retires)

It sounds unbelievable, but the men to watch out for are the two gentlemen who already carried the team in 2023 and 2024. The results highlighted Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen as the two big stars. That's nice and evident, especially with the duo getting along well and willing to compromise a bit for the other.

The downside is the "what if"-question: what if one of the two drops out? Of course, as a team, you can't have a policy on that, but the riders replacing Van der Poel and Philipsen may not be as strong as they once were. Young, full of potential, but a few will have to step it up.

So far, however, there is no contingency. Van der Poel competed less than ever in 2024 and focused purely on big events. The risk of crashes or setbacks is much less, and it also pays off with victories. Philipsen usually cycles much more but invests more in a good base for the big races. A winning formula, even in 2025?

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Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email: [email protected])