Coffee, wine and finally super contract: how Premier Tech became sponsor of team of Mathieu van der Poel

Alpecin-Deceuninck had presents for the team's fans on Friday. For at least the next three years, the Belgian formation of the Roodhooft brothers will continue under the name Alpecin-Premier Tech and thus the continuity of the team is firmly guaranteed. What should you know from the presentation of the new sponsor in Antwerp?

Where other teams were opportunistic, Premier Tech CEO Jean Bélanger got a human feel for the Roodhooft brothers. 'Philip stayed in touch. A coffee, a wine, an appjemet asking how things were going. Without imposing himself. So you build a relationship and that gave Alpecin the edge over some other teams, who also approached me in recent weeks.'

'We have known each other for a number of years and have always had interesting discussions. Premier Tech has been in cycling for twenty years, and it is a great pleasure to enter into a partnership with one of the top teams and increase our presence in cycling.Not only with a men's team, but also the women's team and other disciplines.This fits with our long-term vision in cycling," Bélanger points out.

It previously exhibited that long-term vision with Israel and a year of Astana. 'We have been active in cycling for 20 years, but above all we have been passionate about our industries, our markets, our customers and our team members since 1923. We want all these stakeholders to be excited and proud to be associated with Premier Tech,' it sounded at the time when announcing that move.

So a month later, it commits to Alpecin and the Redheads. A cycling-minded company, then, confirms Bélanger. 'We want to give young athletes from Quebec and Canada the chance to develop. In ice hockey they don't need that, but for cyclists from North America we still have to build some bridges.'

So, starting in 2026, Mathieu van der Poel will ride around with Premier Tech on his chest, which in recent months has made headlines in the Netherlands mainly as the name sponsor of Sylvan Adams' "problem team" Israel. On Nov. 7, the company immediately distanced itself from that team, despite promising to continue with a new identity.

Premier Tech itself was founded in New York in 1923 by two German immigrants and nationalized as a company in the early 1930s to become Canadian. In those early years it did peat mining, among other things, but over the years it began to focus more and more on mostly innovative sectors.The company, which invariably went through billion-dollar sales in recent years, also went international. 

Philip Roodhooft began the press event in Antwerp on Friday with an honest story. 'We have had our work cut out for us over the past twelve or thirteen months to find a replacement for Deceuninck. There were several scenarios on the table with Deceuninck and Canyon, because there were interesting options for 2027.'

'At some point Premier Tech emerged as a long-term option. We signed a three-year contract, with an option for three more years,' Roodhooft proudly noted. 'We are still not the richest team, but with this budget we are still competitive in the areas where we want to be. What is also important is that the budget with Premier Tech continues to grow. That's very important to us, that we know we're going to stay competitive.'

'We remain a Belgian team and our roots are very important, just as Canadian roots are for Premier Tech,' Roodhooft said. 'The young kids in Canada are somewhat more attracted to gravel mountain biking than road cycling because there are fewer and fewer road races. We want to create momentum and this ecosystem fits perfectly with that, which I would also like to give the Roodhoofts credit for,' confirms Bélanger, who is very enthusiastic about the brothers' multi-disciplinary approach and the visibility it ensures throughout the year.

2026 is a very important cycling year for Canada, as the World Road Cycling Championships will be held in Montreal next year. 'Cycling is a sport that needs more visibility in North America, as road cycling has been somewhat forgotten in Canada in recent years. I hope there is some momentum again now, also because of Magdalaine Vallieres' World Cup victory in Rwanda and with the 2028 World Cup and Games in Los Angeles coming up,' states the CEO for Premier Tech.

Bélanger puts forward the Tour of Lombardy as a race he would really like to win in the long run, but for Alpecin-Premier Tech the main thing is to build on the things the team has cleverly perfected in recent years: classic work and successful sprinters. Or, as Roodhooft puts it, "To remain competitive in the areas where we want to be.

The important thing is that Premier Tech does not interfere with programs or ambitions. 'It's up to the team where the riders ride,' Bélanger says without hesitation. 'Of course it would be great for us to win in Quebec, which is only an hour and a half from our seat, but there is no agreement that Mathieu or certain riders will ride there.The team will determine what the best races are for our riders and that's how we want to keep it. We are not going to sit in the management's chair.'

With Hugo Houle, 35 and a former Tour stage winner, a Canadian will ride for the team next year. "It is important to have a rider like Hugo, from Quebec, on the team. And I hope that in time we can welcome more people from Quebec or Canada and see them fitting in with the culture,' said the boss of the Canadian company.

Christoph Roodhooft indicates that the experienced Houle is going to have his value at critical moments in races and on the bus. The same will be true for Florian Sénéchal, who after a few lesser years hopes to find his form of say five years ago again in Belgian service. Furthermore, Alpecin-Premier Tech's always strong scouting team did some targeted reinforcements. "We are confident that we have a stronger squad than last season.

'We took a good look at who left and what we had to get back in return. A number of riders left the team for good reasons: at a certain point we were no longer able to defend ourselves,' Roodhooft refers to the financial clout of teams such as Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe (Gianni Vermeersch), Q36.5 (Quinten Hermans and Xandro Meurisse), Decathlon (Robbe Ghys), Visma | Lease a Bike (Timo Kielich) and Soudal Quick-Step (Fabio Van den Bossche).

For the sprint train, Maurice Ballerstedt was added back to the team after a year on gravel, while Lindsay De Vylder from the track, Tim Marsman from the continental Dutch circuit, Sénéchal with his experience and Gerben Thijssen as a sprinter alongside Kaden Groves and Jasper Philipsen also add a lot in that area.

Houle, the talented Intermarché-Italian Fransesco Bussato and Jonas Geens, who is making great strides, are men who can replace Hermans and Meurisse when it comes to hill work. Finally, Alpecin siphoned off talents Lennert Belmans, Aaron Dockx, Sente Sentjens and Senna Remijn from the promise team. Remijn is one of the biggest talents in the Netherlands and could go the way of Tibor Del Grosso.

On the women's side, they already struck a big blow with sprint star Charlotte Kool, to which were added Friday Omloop Het Nieuwsblad winner Lotte Claes, 27-year-old Fien van Eynde, who is riding strongly this fall, and intended lead-out Mylene de Zoete. Roodhooft says there is more to come for Puck Pieterse's Fenix-Premier Tech formation.

All in all, then, it is a joyous day for Van der Poel, Philipsen, Del Grosso, Pieterse, Kool and, above all, the structure of the Roodhoofts. 'We can invest with a long-term vision and accelerate the growth we have been pursuing for the past few seasons. This partnership with Premier Tech allows us to look forward with real ambition, knowing we have strong and like-minded partners who believe in the future we are shaping together.'

'We continue to strive for victories at the highest level, across disciplines, with both women and men,' Roodhooft indicated in conclusion. 'At the same time, we continue to develop and strengthen the backbone of our organization, because we know this is the best guarantee of future success.'