Jean-Paul van Poppel (born 30 September 1962 in Tilburg, Noord-Brabant) 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. He married one of his team members, cyclist Mirjam Melchers. Jean-Paul van Poppel has a son, Boy van Poppel, who is a member of the UnitedHealthcare cycling team.
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.
Read more about Jean-Paul Van Poppel: Major Victories
Famous quotes containing the word van:
“Religion, like water, may be free, but when they pipe it to you, you’ve got to help pay for piping. And the Piper!”
—Abigail Van Buren (b. 1916)