Van der Poel to have his pick of 2021 WorldTour events as Alpecin-Fenix earn automatic invitations

OUDENAARDE BELGIUM OCTOBER 18 Sprint Arrival Mathieu Van Der Poel of The Netherlands and Team AlpecinFenix Wout Van Aert of Belgium and Team Team Jumbo -Visma during the 104th Tour of Flanders 2020 Ronde van Vlaanderen Men Elite a 2433km race from Antwerpen to Oudenaarde RVV20 FlandersClassic on October 18 2020 in Oudenaarde Belgium Photo by Luc ClaessenGetty Images
Mathieu van der Poel takes sprint win over Wout van Aert at 2020 Tour of Flanders (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

Mathieu van der Poel will have his pick of the Grand Tours and Classics in 2021 after his Alpecin-Fenix team earned automatic invitations to all WorldTour events thanks to finishing this season as the best-ranked ProTeam, the UCI announced on Wednesday.

Alpecin-Fenix finished 12th overall in the World Rankings this season, thanks in large part to Van der Poel's victories in the Tour of Flanders - where he beat Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) in a nail-biting sprint - and stages of Tirreno-Adriatico and the BinckBank Tour.

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