Alpecin-Deceuninck goes for stage wins (and green?): who will support Philipsen and Van der Poel in the Tour?
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Follow us on GoogleAlpecin-Deceuninck is ready for success in the Tour de France. On Instagram, the team announced its selection like a deck of cards. The cards have been dealt, and the team sees a strong hand. The goal is clear: they’re going all-in and want to win as many stages as possible from Lille to Paris.
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On the first day of the 2025 Tour de France, Alpecin-Deceuninck will have to lay their cards on the table immediately. Everything points to the first stage being won by a sprinter. Jasper Philipsen has already crossed the line first nine times at the Tour de France. Will his tenth victory also give him the yellow jersey in Lille? His sprint train will be there to support him.
In 2023, Philipsen won the green jersey. After Biniam Girmay won the points classification last year, Philipsen will want to reclaim it this year. However, he may face competition from Mathieu van der Poel. The former world champion showed in the Dauphiné that he can go far in the points classification, finishing second behind Tadej Pogacar.
Whether he will go for green in the Tour is not officially confirmed yet, but the route certainly suits him. For example, stage 7 finishes on the Mur de Bretagne, where Van der Poel took his first (and so far only) Tour stage win in 2021. Normally, Van der Poel is Philipsen’s lead-out, but who knows – maybe Adrie van der Poel’s son can also sprint for a top result himself.
Read more below the photo.
Philipsen was already in green on the final podium in Paris in 2023
Philipsen and Van der Poel get top-notch support at Alpecin-Deceuninck
Jonas Rickaert, a crucial factor in Philipsen’s sprint train, is also part of the lineup to lead out the sprints. Should “The Flame from Ham” be unable to sprint for any reason, Kaden Groves is another card the team can play. Normally, he will be part of the sprint train in his first Tour, but with a stage win and two second places at this year’s Giro d’Italia, the Australian sprinter has shown he is in good form this year.
The team is further completed with three other Belgians: Gianni Vermeersch, Xandro Meurisse, and Emiel Verstrynge. Vermeersch, at 32, is starting his second Tour after debuting last year. It seems this might be his last Tour with Alpecin-Deceuninck, as rumors suggest he will move to Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. The same goes for Meurisse, but the rumor mill links him to Q36.5.
Emiel Verstrynge, at 23, will be making his grand tour debut and is heading straight to France. The team is completed by Swiss rider Silvan Dillier, who at 34 years old and with five Tour appearances is the most experienced rider in the squad. In 2017, he won a stage at the Giro, but he is not expected to be going for a stage win in this Tour.
Selection Alpecin-Deceuninck - Tour de France 2025
Mathieu van der Poel
Jasper Philipsen
Jonas Rickaert
Kaden Groves
Emiel Verstrynge
Xandro Meurisse
Silvan Dillier
Gianni Vermeersch
Jasper Philipsen
Jonas Rickaert
Kaden Groves
Emiel Verstrynge
Xandro Meurisse
Silvan Dillier
Gianni Vermeersch
Read also
Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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Latest Comments
- Eight riders told to go for stages, and nobody gets one—hard to know what the plan was there. It’ll be interesting to see whether they pick a clear leader next time.bikebuffj10-11-2026
- Was Bernal’s 20th place really their best GC result? I thought he might have finished higher. Either way, it sounds like a rough Tour for the whole team.gearguru3310-11-2026
- Five days in breaks with no stage win is a painful stat. The team had chances, but they need to turn those opportunities into results.julien10-11-2026
- The Onley Vuelta example makes sense: a team with someone to rally around often looks much more cohesive. Hopefully INEOS can build on that rather than expecting a quick return to the Sky years.cadencekingm10-11-2026
- Thomas is right about the ambiguity. Eight riders all chasing stages can end up pulling in different directions, even if nobody’s deliberately working against anyone. They need a clearer plan once the GC leaders are out.robert6510-11-2026
- What a mess. The report makes it sound as though nobody properly explained the decision, and that’s hard to defend.jennifer1910-11-2026
- I’m still learning the rules: does moving left in a sprint automatically bring a penalty, or does it depend on whether the other rider is blocked? It sounds like Brand wasn’t impeded here.patriciaw10-11-2026
- A final decision still needs a proper explanation. If the federation’s complaint goes nowhere, I hope the officials at least review how they handled the riders afterwards.michael5410-11-2026
- Fair play to Lucinda for saying Marie had won fair and square. That kind of sportsmanship matters, especially after such a controversial decision.raceready710-11-2026
- Schreiber beat Brand on the road, so the jury needed to explain clearly why that slight deviation warranted relegation. Being cut off before she could give her account sounds appalling.lindae10-11-2026