Alpecin-Fenix unveiled their 2021 Tour de France kit and colors, and they look to be a what’s-old-is-new-again theme.
An homage to French Cycling great Raymond Poulidor, the Alpecin-Fenix colors harken back some 45 years and look very much like the colors won by Mathieu van der Poel‘s grandfather when he rode in his final Tour de France.
At our @LeTour debut, 45 years after the last Grande Boucle of the French legend Raymond Poulidor, we want to say Merci Poupou! 💜💛
ℹ️ Check out https://t.co/2ulXaRuMcs #MerciPoupou #AlpecinFenix #TDF21 pic.twitter.com/VRrG0aL6yX
— Alpecin-Deceuninck Cycling Team (@AlpecinDCK) June 24, 2021
“Pou-Pou” Poulidor raced for team Mercier during his entire pro career which overlapped with greats Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx. Poulidor finished in second place three times, and in third place five times at the Tour. Poulidor died in November 2019.
The Mercier–BP–Hutchinson colors have been adopted by Team Alpecin-Fenix for this year’s Tour in which van der Poel will undoubtedly go stage hunting. The distinctive colors should be easy to spot from the overhead camera.
Those so inclined can purchase the limited edition Alpecin-Fenix jersey or a t-shirt from the Mercipoupou website.