Alpecin-Deceuninck thriving after difficult start to the season: "At the beginning of the year there were some doubts"
Cycling
Alpecin-Deceuninck flew to a massive result at Paris-Roubaix. After a slow and difficult start to the season, they only took their first win at Tirreno-Adriatico. In the space of a month the Belgian team has taken several World Tour wins including two of the three monuments, as Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen rode to a one-two this afternoon at Paris-Roubaix.
“We had a lot of confidence for this race. The plan was to be in the top fifteen with three, so I think we succeeded well," Jonas Rickaert said in the velodrome of Roubaix. He was inside the team's plans to attack early on, and was a key piece to keep the team ahead of the competition in the race's flat first half. "If you are with three men out of thirteen, then you are among the strongest teams."
Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen then rode to a very strong performance, taking an incredible win. After winning Milano-Sanremo the Dutchman wins his second monument of the year, with Jasper Philipsen astonishingly riding to a second place, beating an unlucky Wout van Aert who punctured towards the end. “We took control from the start. That was our strength here, always at the front and never in trouble. You just force that, that you are in the front with three. That is really a great performance from the team."
Not only do World Tour points flow in, but so does the success in the classics. The team were criticized early in the year on social media for their lack of results, but they have completely turned that around. "Getting a one-two here is very nice. What Jasper does is also very strong. He's also doing really well. At the beginning of the year there were some doubts, but we have now cycled them away," Rickaert concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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