"Van der Poel wins the Tour of Flanders and Philipsen wins Paris-Roubaix" - Alpecin-Deceuninck outline goals for 2024

Alpecin-Deceuninck had another very successful season in 2023, proving further that they are so much more than just a team built around supporting Mathieu van der Poel. After winning awards at the Kristallen Fiets, Philip and Christoph Roodhooft outlined their goals for 2024.

"We have been achieving good results for a number of years, even without Van der Poel. I think it will be more noticeable to the outside world this year," Alpecin-Deceuninck's management duo told HLN following the ceremony in Belgium. "In recent years we have won a lot with Tim Merlier. Last season, after Van der Poel's abandonment, we also won stages in the Tour de France."

Although Mathieu van der Poel remains their biggest star, proving they are more than just a one-man team has been a big part of the journey. Jasper Philipsen in particular has excelled this year with the Belgian sprint star now World Tour leader for most victories in 2023 after taking his 18th win of the season in the Tour of Turkey.

Among those victories for Philipsen were four stages and the Green Jersey at the Tour de France. "This green jersey belonged to Philipsen and Van der Poel. We won stages and the green jersey with a very complementary and strong team. At the highest level of cycling we have shown that we have matured as a team," say the Roodhooft brothers.

Yet still, there are things missing and more success to target in 2024. "We are still missing the Tour of Flanders this year. Of course we wanted to win these races, but the plan was to spread that out a bit. Matching this will be extremely difficult. Doing better becomes almost impossible," they conclude with the main goal being; "That Van der Poel wins the Tour of Flanders and Philipsen wins Paris-Roubaix."