Jean-Paul van Poppel has signed a deal with Cervélo TestTeam to become one of the sports directors for 2009, according to Sports Wereld. The bicycle brand, set up in the 1990s by Dutch man Gerard Vroomen and his Canadian study partner Phil White, has started its own team for the 2009 season after a long association with Team CSC and Bjarne Riis.
Van Poppel, himself a previous top sprinter in the international peloton, will leave his own women's outfit Team Flexpoint to join the new squad. Flexpoint will remain in the women's professional peloton, but under a new title sponsor.
