Jean-Paul van Poppel

Who is Jean-Paul van Poppel?

Jean-Paul van Poppel is a former Dutch racing cyclist, who was nicknamed Popeye.

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.

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 and Danny van Poppel, who are both member of the Trek Factory Racing cycling team, and a daughter Kim. Van der Lienden and Van Poppel have since divorced. Van Poppel remarried in 2004 with one of his team members, cyclist Mirjam Melchers.

From 2009-2010 he was one of the Sports Directors at the Cervélo Test Team based in Switzerland. From 2011, he has served as a Sports Director for the Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team.