Alpecin-Deceuninck goes for stage wins (and green?): who will support Philipsen and Van der Poel in the Tour?

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.

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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.

Mathieu van der Poel
Jasper Philipsen
Jonas Rickaert
Kaden Groves
Emiel Verstrynge
Xandro Meurisse
Silvan Dillier
Gianni Vermeersch