Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Jean-Paul van Poppel

Jean-Paul van Poppel 1987

Jean-Paul van Poppel (September 30, 1962), nicknamed Popeye, is a former Dutch professional cyclist. His professional racing career lasted for ten years, 1985 - 1995. Van Poppel, one of the most successful ever Dutch road sprinters, won stages in all three of the Grand Tours. During the 1988 Tour de France he won 4 stages, the highest number won by a Dutch cyclist in one tour. Altogether Jean-Paul van Poppel won 9 Tour de France stages. During the 1987 Tour de France he won the points classification.

After retiring in 1995 Jean-Paul van Poppel became director sportif of women's cycling in the Netherlands. From 2009-2010 he was one of the Sports Directors of the Cervelo Test Team based in Switzerland. Since 2011, he has been a Sports Director for the Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team.

Jean-Paul van Poppel's son, Boy van Poppel, is a successful pro cyclist.