Mathieu van der Poel’s Paris-Roubaix debut has been confirmed, as the race organisers have formally invited his Alpecin-Fenix team.
Van der Poel missed out on the 2019 edition of the race when his Professional Continental outfit were not given a coveted wildcard spot.
But on Monday (January 20) ASO, the company behind Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France, confirmed the list of teams racing the 2020 edition, including Alpecin-Fenix.
The 25-year-old had already announced his plans to ride Paris-Roubaix and a selection of other prestigious one-day races, but his needed a formal invite to be eligible.
He will also ride Strade-Bianche and Milan-San Remo after race organiser RCS also extended an invite to Alpecin-Fenix.
The other teams to receive wildcard invitations to Paris-Roubaix are B&B Hotels-Vital Concept, NippoDelko Provence and Arkéa-Samsic, all from France.
In line with the new UCI rules, Total Direct Energie and Circus-Wanty Gobert will also be given places as they are the leaders in the 2019 UCI ProTeams ranking.
Van der Poel has hugely ambitious plans for 2020, as he is set to defend his cyclocross World Championship title in Switzerland this weekend, then taking a rest period before focussing on his Classics campaign.
Then this summer, the Dutch superstar intends to switch disciplines again, racing mountain bikes in the hopes of taking the gold medal in the MTB race at the Tokyo Olympics in July.
Van der Poel’s status as a superstar have given a huge boost to his Professional Continental team, ensuring them invitations to some of the biggest races.
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However the team had been angling for a Grand Tour ride this season, particularly the Vuelta a España, but it looks as though they may miss out on a three-week race this year, delaying Van der Poel’s Grand Tour debut.
But he is expected to be invited to all the major Classics, including the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Amstel Gold Race (which he won in unforgettable fashion last season) and Flèche Wallone.
