Mathieu van der Poel’s Corendon-Circus team announce new sponsors and rebrand

Mathieu van der Poel’s Corendon-Circus team have undergone a change of sponsorship and a rebrand for the new season.

The Belgian-registered team will now race under the name Alpecin-Fenix from 2020, as travel company Corendon and sports betting group Circus step back from their sponsorship.

German hair product brand Alpecin joins the Professional Continental team as a headline sponsor, after ending its sponsorship of WorldTour outfit Katusha-Alpecin at the close of 2019.

Fenix is an Italian interior design company specialising in high-tech materials.

The squad are also racing in a new kit, swapping the white and red design for a navy kit.

Alpecin-Fenix will continue racing on Canyon bikes while their kit will be made by clothing brand Kalas, who also provide apparel for British cycling.

Corendon-Circus were the dominant force in cyclocross, while also punching above their weight on the road and in mountain biking with Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel leading the charge in all three disciplines.

Van der Poel, the current CX world champion and winner of the 2019 Tour of Britain, started 2020 with a bang as he won the first cyclocross race of the new year in Baal.

The team also took victory in the women’s race with Ceylin Alvarado and in the under-23 men’s race with Antoine Benoist.

In 2020, the team will be racing a host of Classics, including Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, giving Van der Poel his first chance at a full Classics run.

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Alpecin-Fenix have also added to their talent for next season, with Alexander Richardson joining from Canyon-DhB, Scott Thwaites from Vitus Pro Cycling and Petr Vakoč from Deceuninck – Quick-Step.

The team have been pursuing an invite to a Grand Tour, particularly the Vuelta a España, but it looks as though they may miss out on a three-week race this year.