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New York Times
27-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Why are one of the best teams at this year's Tour de France struggling to find a new title sponsor?
'I mean, what can I say?' Alpecin-Deceuninck team boss Philip Roodhooft asked the evening before Saturday's stage 20 of the 2025 Tour de France. 'It's extremely stressful. It overshadows everything. It has an impact — the way you experience this race, the way that you live — it's all completely different when you're in this situation. You're insecure.' Advertisement Few teams have managed to have a more impressive Tour this year than Alpecin-Deceuninck. In the first half of the race alone, the Belgian squad won two stages through Jasper Philipsen and Mathieu van der Poel, with the latter wearing the leader's yellow jersey on two separate occasions. After Philipsen's race-ending crash on stage three, Van der Poel went close again by finishing second behind Tadej Pogacar on stage four in Rouen, before a thrilling escape with teammate Jonas Rickaert ended within 750m of the line on stage nine. Yet throughout, the team have been racing through uncertainty. Though they boast two of the world's best bike racers, unless they find a new title sponsor, the team's long-term future is in serious doubt. Even as Philipsen and Van der Poel lifted their flowers at the Grand Depart three weeks ago, Roodhooft's mind was elsewhere. He co-owns and runs the team with his brother Christoph — loosely, Philip concentrates on the business side, Christoph on the racing. This is a team they built themselves. 'It's a pity, it's sad, but this is entrepreneurship,' Philip says. 'It has consequences. It's a lot easier to enjoy it and be emotional when you're not this deeply involved.' Cycling is not like football. Manchester United are not dependent on shirt-front sponsor Snapdragon for their survival. Chelsea have begun several seasons without a principal partner's logo on that same piece of prime marketing real estate. Barcelona famously did not take the shirt-sponsorship shilling until 2011. But these clubs make millions through revenue streams such as television rights and match-ticket sales. Cycling, by contrast, is generally shown on free-to-air TV, and the world's top teams receive no share of the lucrative broadcast deal struck by the Amaury family, owners and organisers of the Tour. Advertisement It means the existence of any cycling team is dependent on sponsorship. This is why their names are constantly changing — for example, the Picnic-PostNL of this year's Tour were called Team dsm–firmenich PostNL when they raced in the event a year ago, and Lotto were Lotto-Dstny. Over the years, the peloton has been graced by such names as Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni Androni Giocattoli (windows and toys), Linda McCartney Racing Team (vegetarian food), and Swatt Club (clothing). Alpecin-Deceuninck is a partnership between a shampoo brand and a windows and doors manufacturer. The former has sponsored the team since 2020, the latter for the past three years, but Deceuninck announced at the beginning of the season that it had opted not to extend its deal. Philip Roodhooft immediately got to work, searching for a new title partner. Should he fail, the team's future is in question. 'We will be able to continue next year with a good team and good set-up, but it's not an ideal situation, and it's not a sustainable situation,' he explains. 'If you lose 20 per cent of your turnover from your budget, it's a bad thing, but you can overcome it. But if you lose 50 or 60 per cent — you're done.' They are not the only team struggling. Kevin Vauquelin's Arkea-B&B Hotels squad's survival is in serious question, with both sponsors set to leave from next season. Two of Alpecin-Deceuninck's fellow Belgian teams, Lotto and Intermarche-Wanty, are set to merge because of the sport's financial difficulties. 'We're in discussions with some companies, but we need to find a match that suits both us and the company,' Philip says. 'Nothing is concrete; there is nothing until there's a signature. We can talk about numbers — an 80 per cent chance, a 20 per cent chance, a 95 per cent chance — but what's the use of 95 per cent, thinking it's going somewhere, and then the deal collapsing just before the finish line? I'm realistic with that. It's only done when it's done.' Advertisement There are deadlines to meet — for official filings to the governing UCI, for practical details such as kit design, but in many ways, those do not matter to Roodhooft. 'Let's say the deadline is in mid-September, and there's nothing by then. What do you do then? Stop working on it? No. So, is there a deadline? I mean, there is, but it's irrelevant, in a sense.' But from the outside, it is difficult to understand how Alpecin-Deceuninck find themselves in this position. In a sport which is high-profile enough for several teams to be owned by nation states, how can one of its most successful squads — boasting one of its best riders in Van der Poel, one of its best sprinters in Philipsen and a long list of wins — be struggling to find a partner? 'We have good results, attractive riders, and an attractive team,' Philip replies, 'and we are having concrete discussions. But it's still difficult. 'One, it has always been difficult. That's the first thing. Secondly, the economic situation does not help — we're not in a crisis, but there have been many better moments for companies. And third, the geopolitical situation doesn't help. We have wars going on, discussions about extra taxes for European companies working in the United States. And extra taxes are one thing, but the situation is that they don't know whether it will be a 10 per cent tax rise today and tomorrow, 60 or 70 per cent. 'It all creates uncertainty — and it's quite clear that uncertain situations lead to an attitude where people and companies tend to wait.' Another factor is that the team is co-owned by the brothers. In cycling, one recent trend has been for the sponsors to own their squads; EF, Decathlon and Cofidis are all examples, while it was announced this week that Trek had sold part of the Lidl-Trek team to its supermarket-chain co-partner. And unlike the situation at several teams, such as Israel-Premier Tech or Q36.5, the Roodhoofts are not in the position of being the sort of wealthy benefactor who can pour further money into the team if there is a sponsorship shortfall. Advertisement 'Very few teams are in the position that Christoph and I are in — owning and managing the team; that's a special situation,' Philip explains. 'I'm not saying it's a disadvantage, but it creates a different environment. Some (potential partner) companies like that, others see it as more difficult because they want a share of the capital. 'We have to be careful about the opportunities that are being presented — it needs to be reliable, it needs to make sense, and that all makes it uneasy. Is it a pleasant situation at this point? Not really. But it's good to see that we are still attracting real interest.' Philip has been a fleeting presence at this Tour, dashing between the race and meetings across Europe. Both are related to the sponsorship search — it dictates his life. As he speaks to The Athletic on Friday night, he is en route to Paris — one day earlier than other teams will arrive in the capital for Sunday's final stage — to have talks with another company. 'For the past six or seven months, I've been talking with riders, talking with agents, I've had races, I've had the daily business, but we've had to shift those further backwards in terms of importance,' he says. 'We have to give priority to the co-sponsor — that's normal.' With uncertainty past 2026, rider recruitment and retention appear to be particularly challenging elements. Philip says that with Van der Poel, Philipsen and Australian sprinter Kaden Groves committed long-term, their core is stable, while they have been able to offer contracts to several young prospects. While needing to avoid being frivolous, a base level of spending needs to remain — 'You can't have it affect everything, because if the perfect partner arrives tomorrow, or in a month, or in two months, then of course we will still need to have a competitive team,' Philip says. Despite the distractions, his team have continued to be competitive throughout this year's Tour. Advertisement In many ways, the race is the world's biggest mobile ad break — a constantly shifting billboard of team jerseys, hoardings and interview backdrops. An event founded in the early 20th century to help sell more newspapers, teams these days use it to sell themselves, with the smaller ones often launching attacks during its stages to secure television time for their sponsors. Will the stage wins and yellow jersey stints make an impact for Alpecin-Deceuninck? 'I don't think we needed this Tour de France to make it clear that we can make an impact as a team,' Philip replies. 'But does it help? Of course it does. I always tend to say that sporting performance is a necessity — if you're not performing, I have no idea how you can get to a point where a partner is willing to step in.' 'Plus, our performances (such as Van der Poel's doomed but heroic escape to Chateauroux in stage nine) show a mentality that says something about the DNA of the team. There was no stage win, but the impact was big once again. It's appealing to the public, and that often makes it interesting to companies. 'And obviously, there are still two stages left. Hopefully, there is still some more to come.' The next morning, Groves gets himself in the break to Pontarlier. Stage 20 was bumpy and filled with climbing, a day for the puncheurs and classics specialists — like the absent Van der Poel, who withdrew from the race through illness earlier in the week. Groves can climb far better than most sprinters, but even Christoph, his own directeur sportif, did not think Saturday was a day for him. Yet when a crash wiped out half the breakaway with 27km remaining, Groves found himself at the front alongside just Frank van den Brouck and Jake Stewart. As his rivals marked each other, the Australian accelerated away. By the time he reached 500m to go, Groves' lead was almost a minute. He was visibly in tears. The 26-year-old has spent most of this Tour in service to Van der Poel and Philipsen, despite his pedigree as a nine-time stage winner at the two other Grand Tours — the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a Espana. When he finished second to Jonathan Milan in Laval (stage eight), it appeared his opportunity had disappeared, at least until the final day's racing on the streets of Paris. But Saturday nights are always better for a celebration. From the window of the team car as the finish line approaches, Christoph holds up three fingers, one for each of their stage wins at this year's Tour. Just up the road, a triumphant Groves sits up in the saddle and raises his arms, Alpecin-Deceuninck clear across his chest as he is the first man home. Victory. And the money-shot for their sponsors. 'Will this help the search?' one reporter asks Christoph as he strides off to see his riders. The team boss shrugs and makes a face. 'Too difficult to say.'
Daily Mail
24-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
JONATHAN BROCKLEBANK: Glasgow hosted a glorious Games - but bringing them back now feels like a terrible mistake
A kind of magic typically descends on Scotland when it hosts world sporting events. I am a veteran of several Open championships at St Andrews and, at each one, I've fallen under the spell. Seve Ballesteros holing his 12ft putt on the 18th to clinch the title in1984? I was greenside, watching the ball hesitate on the lip of the cup and then finally drop, prompting ecstasy from the Spaniard. He later described it as happiest moment of his life. It was one of the most unforgettable in mine. Some moaned about the road closures but it's the magic I remember about the UCI Cycling World Championships when they hit Glasgow two summers ago. In the 160mile men's road race Dutch cyclist Mathieu van der Poel hurtled into a crash barrier in the Merchant City after opening up a commanding lead. 'Someone call an ambulance' was my first thought. His first one was getting back on his damaged bike and hanging on for victory. Bewitching viewing. So were the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 11 years ago. I was among the 60,000 at the opening ceremony at Celtic Park – a delightfully bonkers spectacle of dancing tea cakes and Scottie dogs in tartan coats leading out the teams from each participating nation. The late Queen was there; the Red Arrows too. Rod Stewart and Amy Macdonald duetted on Rhythm of My Heart together. Susan Boyle, bless her, did Mull of Kintyre. I was too caught in the moment to consider how all this was playing elsewhere, but I gather a UK audience of nine million tuned in for the BBC's coverage, while the estimated worldwide audience was one billion. On the streets of Glasgow the games were inescapable. A volunteer army of more than 12,000 helpers – known as Clyde-siders – saw to that. Fine by me. In a few weeks it would be the independence referendum that was inescapable. Here was a welcome chance for the city to stand as one before facing the sorry task of dividing itself in two. I struggle to think of a single occasion in the past when Scotland has not been enriched by the arrival of elite sports men and women on its shores. Why then, does the return of the Commonwealth Games to Glasgow next summer feel like a terrible mistake? Why does it bring groans rather than tingles of anticipation? And why does the same sense of listlessness seem to afflict the BBC which, last time around, cleared its schedules for such unpromising spectacles as weightlifting from the Armadillo and bowling from Kelvingrove Park? A year out from the Games, the Beeb has not yet committed to showing anything at all. And, I'm sorry to say, I kind of get it. In 2014 the athletics were hosted by Hampden Park, our national stadium. Twelve years later they are heading for Scotstoun stadium which, even with added temporary seating, will have a quarter of Hampden's capacity. There will be just 10 core sports and a total of four venues. In 2014 there were 17 sports and 16 venues. Yes, these are a scaled down version of the Games, everyone involved has readily admitted ever since Glasgow contrived to find itself the only candidate for staging them – but they will still be magic. Really? They are beginning to sound like a school sports day. I wonder if attending them won't feel rather like showing up for a wake and swapping wistful memories of the deceased. Remember 2014 when the world's fastest man Usain Bolt stood in the rain in the east end and – allegedly – delivered the verdict that whole shebang was 'a bit sh*t'? How fervently we took issue at the time. Sure, it may have lacked the wallop of the Olympics or the World Cup Finals but it was a sporting feast nonetheless. Our stadiums were filled. Our hearts were full, our voices hoarse. This time around? I cannot imagine being in any position to disagree with the sprinter's original assessment. You may remember that the Australian state of Victoria was slated to host the 2026 Games until it pulled out in July 2023. State premier Daniel Andrews – a republican – said he was not prepared to spend up to £3.6 billion on a '12 day sporting event'. 'I've made a lot of difficult decisions in this job,' he added: 'This is not one of them.' The 2022 Games were held in Birmingham after Durban in South Africa – the only bidder for the event – was ruled out due to financial constraints. The 2030 Games? They were supposed to be heading for Alberta in Canada but, a month after Victoria ditched plans to host next year's games, Alberta got its cancellation in early for following edition. Are we getting a pattern here? Is every Commonwealth country but Britain waking up to the fact the games are past their sell-by date? I'm lukewarm at best about the return of the Games not only because, by financial necessity, they will be a pale imitation of the 2014 version. It's also the fact no-one else on the planet wanted them. Victoria was prepared to hand over £100 million to Glasgow just to be shot of them. How deafening the silence from potential hosts when Mr Andrews delivered his bombshell in 2023. All around, great Commonwealth nations sitting on their hands, avoiding gazes, waiting for some muggins UK city to blink. As a sports lover, it depresses me to say it, but I wish Glasgow had sat on its hands too. If these games are to survive – and I doubt they will – then the least they require is a level of desire among nations beyond our shores to host them. That's a big ask in the 21st century. Don't forget this is an event which began life in 1930 as the British Empire Games and did not drop the word 'empire' from its name until 1970. Queen Elizabeth II may not have seen it this way – she treasured the Commonwealth – but the competing nations in this quadrennial fixture owe their right to participate to history which not all of their populations now celebrate. It's because of this history that Canadian athletes compete but USA ones do not, that practically the whole of Europe is a no show. Here in the UK our attachment to the Games is, I suspect, of a different nature to that of other Commonwealth nations – and not simply because we are the daddy. We enjoy the fact that England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland compete as separate nations rather than Team GB as they do in the Olympics. For those of a Nationalist, republican bent, it may be the one thing the Games have going for them. But I wonder if the time has come for us to worry less about keeping the Games on life support and focus more on their reputation outside the UK. Are they a thing of value or a diplomatic chore? Do top-flight athletes in Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Jamaica still see them as relevant to their careers or might they have come round to Mr Bolt's way of thinking? I don't say it should be the latter but, if it is, it's time to let go.
NBC Sports
22-07-2025
- Health
- NBC Sports
Mathieu van der Poel pulls out of Tour de France with pneumonia
MONTPELLIER, France — Mathieu van der Poel has withdrawn from the Tour de France ahead of Tuesday's stage up to the Mont Ventoux as he suffers from pneumonia, his team said. The versatile Dutchman, who wore the yellow jersey and won a stage during the opening week of the race, experienced 'symptoms of a common cold over the past few days,' his Alpecin-Deceuninck team said a few hours before Stage 16. Van der Poel's condition worsened 'significantly' during Monday's second rest day and was taken to an hospital in the southern city of Narbonne with a fever for further examinations. 'Medical tests revealed that Mathieu is suffering from pneumonia,' the team said. 'In consultation with the medical staff, it was decided that he can no longer continue the race. His health is the top priority, and rest and recovery are now essential.' Van der Poel will now rest for a week before further medical examinations determine the next steps in his recovery, his team added.
LeMonde
22-07-2025
- Health
- LeMonde
Tour de France: Dutch rider Mathieu van der Poel pulls out due to pneumonia
Mathieu van der Poel has withdrawn from the Tour de France ahead of the stage up to the Mont Ventoux as he suffers from pneumonia, his team said on Tuesday, July 22. The versatile Dutchman, who wore the yellow jersey and won a stage during the opening week of the race, experienced "symptoms of a common cold over the past few days," his Alpecin-Deceuninck team said a few hours before stage 16. Van der Poel's condition worsened "significantly" during Monday's second rest day and was taken to a hospital in the southern city of Narbonne with a fever for further examinations. "Medical tests revealed that Mathieu is suffering from pneumonia," the team said. "In consultation with the medical staff, it was decided that he can no longer continue the race. His health is the top priority, and rest and recovery are now essential." Van der Poel will now rest for a week before further medical examinations determine the next steps in his recovery, his team added.
The Hindu
22-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Van der Poel out of Tour de France with pneumonia
Mathieu van der Poel has been forced to abandon the Tour de France due to pneumonia, his team Alpecin–Deceuninck said on Tuesday. The 30-year-old Dutchman was 62nd in the Tour standings after stage 15. 'Mathieu had been experiencing symptoms of a common cold over the past few days. Yesterday afternoon, his condition began to worsen significantly ...,' Alpecin–Deceuninck said in a statement. 'Medical tests revealed that Mathieu is suffering from pneumonia. In consultation with the medical staff, it was decided that he can no longer continue the race. His health is the top priority, and rest and recovery are now essential.' Stage 16 of the Tour, a 171.5km ride from Montpellier to Mont Ventoux, begins later on Tuesday.
