Van der Poel’s Alpecin-Fenix invited to Paris-Roubaix
Assuming his team selects him for the roster, Mathieu van der Poel will have his shot at Paris-Roubaix this April.
As a member of the second-division Alpecin-Fenix team, the three-time cyclocross world champ can only race in events to which his squad has received a wildcard bid. Fortunately for van der Poel and his aspirations of making his mark on the pavé this year, the Belgian ProTeam was among the six second-division squads named in Paris-Roubaix’s team selection announcement on Monday.
Alpecin-Fenix is one of four teams receiving a wildcard bid this year. The others are B&B Hôtels-Vital Concept, Nippo Delko Provence, and Arkéa-Samsic.
Total Direct Energie and Circus-Wanty Gobert are the other ProTeams that will be in attendance, having secured automatic bids to join the 19 WorldTour teams after finishing 2019 placed highly in the team rankings.
Mathieu van der Poel sporting his new Alpecin-Fenix kit. Photo: Carla Vos/Cor Vos © 2020
A Roubaix start in April would mark the van der Poel’s debut in the event. He enjoyed a highly successful campaign across a handful of Classics starts last year, winning the GP Denain, Dwars door Vlaanderen, Brabantse Pijl, and the Amstel Gold Race and finishing fourth at the Tour of Flanders and Gent-Wevelgem. His team did not receive an invite to Roubaix in 2019.
If he makes the start this year, the 25-year-old Dutchman will be racing towards being the first ever second-division rider to win the event since the inception of the ProTour.
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