Jean-Paul van Poppel

Jean-Paul van Poppel (born 30 September 1962 in Tilburg, North Brabant) is a Dutch former racing cyclist, who was nicknamed Popeye.

Jean-Paul van Poppel

Personal information
Full name	Jean-Paul van Poppel
Nickname	Popeye
Born	(1962-09-30) 30 September 1962 Tilburg, the Netherlands
Team information
Current team	Retired
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider Sports director
Rider type	Sprinter
Professional teams
1985–1986	Skala–Gazelle
1987–1988	Superconfex–Kwantum–Yoko–Colnago
1989–1990	Panasonic–Isostar–Colnago–Agu
1991–1992	PDM–Concorde–Ultima
1993–1994	Festina–Lotus
1995	Le Groupement
Managerial teams
2000	Dutch national women's team
2001	Acca Due O
2003	American national women's team
2004	Farm Frites–Hartol
2005–2006	Buitenpoort–Flexpoint
2007–2008	Team Flexpoint
2009–2010	Cervélo TestTeam
2011–2014	Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team
2015–2019	Roompot–Charles
Major wins
Grand Tours Tour de France Points classification (1987) 9 individual stages (1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1994) Giro d'Italia 4 individual stages (1986, 1989) Vuelta a España 9 individual stages (1991–1994)

Van Poppel was one of the most successful Dutch road sprinters. He won stages in mass sprints in all three Grand Tours, sometimes from positions that appeared lost. In the Tour de France he won 9 stages altogether. In 1988 he won 4 stages, the highest won number by a Dutch cyclist in one tour.[1] He also competed in the individual road race event at the 1984 Summer Olympics.[2]

Van Poppel won the points classification in the 1987 Tour de France. After he ended his career in 1995, he became a directeur sportif in women's cycling. With his first wife, cyclist Leontine van der Lienden, Jean-Paul van Poppel has two sons, Boy van Poppel who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Intermarché–Circus–Wanty.,[3] and Danny van Poppel currently riding for BORA-Hansgrohe and a daughter Kim.[4] Van der Lienden and Van Poppel have since divorced. Van Poppel remarried in 2004 with one of his team members, cyclist Mirjam Melchers.

From 2009 to 2010 he was one of the Sports Directors at the Cervélo Test Team based in Switzerland.[5] From 2011, he has served as a Sports Director for the Vacansoleil–DCM until 2014. From 2015 till the team folded in 2019, van Poppel serves as a Sports Director for the Dutch ProContinental Team Team Roompot, together with Erik Breukink and Michael Boogerd.