After leaving Israel-Premier Tech in November, Canadian company Premier Tech has joined Alpecin as the new co-title sponsor of Mathieu van der Poel's team for 2026, replacing Deceuninck, it was announced on Friday in Antwerp.
Now renamed as Alpecin-Premier Tech, their WorldTour Women's team will also change name with the same new title sponsor to Fenix-Premier Tech.
The new agreement has confirmed the Belgian WorldTour team's future, with a three-year partnership being signed until 2028, with the option of an additional three years following that. Alpecin also extended its stay for two more years – with an option for a third – yesterday evening.
Alpecin has been the title sponsor since 2020, while Deceuninck came on board in 2022 after ending its title sponsorship with QuickStep to replace Fenix when the team made the jump up to WorldTour.
While Deceuninck has stepped down as title sponsor for 2026 onwards, the Belgian window and door maker will continue to support the team owned and managed by brothers Philip and Christoph Roodhooft.
"We are truly pleased to welcome Premier Tech as our co-title partner. This new partnership is a powerful sign of confidence in our project and in the way we operate, and it helps prepare us for the future," said the Roodhooft brothers.
"This commitment gives our organisation the continuity and stability needed to keep building in a sustainable way, across all parts of our structure, and for both our men’s and women’s teams.
“With Premier Tech joining Alpecin at the top of our partner pyramid, we can invest with a long-term vision, strengthen our performance pathways, and accelerate the growth we have been pursuing in recent seasons. We will continue chasing victories at the highest level, across disciplines, with both women and men."
The announcement comes after Premier Tech ended its partnership with Israel-Premier Tech in the Autumn, saying it was "untenable for us to continue as a sponsor" following the widespread protests against the team's participation at races such as the Vuelta a España – as a result of Israel's armed conflict in Gaza.
They've since rebranded as NSN Cycling Team with a joint takeover from two companies.
Premier Tech, too, have moved on, already joining French team St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93 as a major sponsor – but not title sponsor – for the next two seasons.
"This partnership reaffirms our ambition to be at the highest level of the sport and confirms our long-term commitment to cycling," said Jean Bélanger, President and CEO of Premier Tech.
"We are joining forces with one of the most successful teams, with renowned athletes such as Mathieu van der Poel, Jasper Philipsen and Kaden Groves from the men’s team, as well as Puck Pieterse and Charlotte Kool from the women’s team. The team’s diversity, experience and depth will allow us to accelerate building bridges across all levels of the sport while sparking new talent."
Alpecin-Premier Tech also announced former Tour de France stage winner Hugo Houle as a new signing from another team for the 2026 season, with the only three confirmed new arrivals so far all coming from their development team. Prior to today, they only had 19 riders confirmed on their roster for the coming season, but they have now confirmed their full squad.
Van der Poel and sprinter Jasper Philipsen will remain the two lynchpins for the coming season, with versatile fast man Kaden Groves and rising star Tibor Del Grosso also set to play key roles in 2026. On the women's side, Puck Pieterse remains a top star for the coming years, and sprinter Charlotte Kool will also step up into a leadership role having joined mid-season from Picnic PostNL.
