Fenix-Premier Tech enter the 2026 season in a period of controlled transition. Eleventh in the 2025 UCI Women’s WorldTour standings, the Belgian-based squad sit just outside the top ten, but with a clearer sporting identity than many teams around them. The rebrand from Fenix-Deceuninck to Fenix-Premier Tech signals continuity rather than reinvention, with performance still built around a blend of Classics strength, cyclocross crossover talent and a renewed focus on sprint execution.
The 2025 season was defined less by volume and more by selectivity. Fenix did not overwhelm the calendar, but they won big when it mattered, including a WorldTour Monument and a high-value one-day ProSeries race. Heading into 2026, the challenge is to broaden that impact without losing the sharpness that defines their best days.
A season anchored by defining wins
The headline result of 2025 came at La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, where Puck Pieterse delivered a landmark WorldTour victory. Her ability to handle repeated accelerations on steep terrain translated seamlessly from cyclocross dominance to elite road success, confirming her as one of the most valuable all-round riders in the peloton.
Julie De Wilde added another significant one-day win at the Ixina GP Oetingen p/b Lotto, reinforcing the team’s strength in punchy Classics-style races. National titles further padded the season. Millie Couzens claimed both the British road race and under-23 time trial crowns, while Christina Schweinberger secured the Austrian national time trial title.
What those results illustrate is a team that excels when races are selective and tactical. However, outside those peaks, Fenix-Premier Tech struggled to exert sustained pressure across stage races and flatter WorldTour events, an imbalance reflected in their final ranking position.
Charlotte Kool and a recalibrated sprint focus
One of the most consequential developments ahead of 2026 is the integration of Charlotte Kool for a full season. Having joined mid-August in 2025 after leaving Team Picnic PostNL, Kool effectively functions as a new signing, with 2026 marking her first uninterrupted campaign within the Fenix structure.
Kool’s presence fundamentally alters the team’s tactical profile. She brings proven WorldTour sprint-winning capability and places greater emphasis on lead-out organisation, positioning and flat-stage execution. For a team historically strongest on hilly terrain and off-road crossover, this represents a deliberate expansion rather than a departure from identity.
Supporting Kool will be a core objective, with riders such as Marthe Truyen, Evy Kuijpers and Inge van der Heijden likely to play increasingly defined roles in sprint trains and positioning-heavy finales.
Stability through renewals and selective recruitment
Fenix-Premier Tech have leaned heavily into continuity. A large proportion of the roster has been renewed, including Pieterse, Kastelijn, Schweinberger, Truyen, Couzens and Kool. This stability allows the team to refine race execution rather than rebuild foundations.
Recruitment has been targeted. Lotte Claes arrives from Arkéa-B&B Hotels, adding experience and robustness, while Mylène de Zoete strengthens the Dutch core with a rider capable of contributing across varied terrain. Fien Van Eynde and Xaydee Van Sinaey step up from the development programme, reinforcing the internal pathway that has long been a hallmark of the team.
Departures are manageable. Pauliena Rooijakkers’ move to UAE Team ADQ removes a proven climber, but the team’s focus has shifted away from GC ambitions, mitigating the impact. Other exits reduce depth but not direction.
Defining leadership and realistic ambitions
Pieterse remains the team’s most versatile leader, capable of influencing cobbled Classics, hilly one-day races and aggressive stage finishes. Her continued progression is central to Fenix-Premier Tech’s ceiling.
Kool provides a second, very different axis of leadership. Success in sprints will depend not only on her form, but on how effectively the team commits to structured lead-outs across the WorldTour calendar.
Behind them, riders such as Kastelijn and Truyen offer strength in transitional races, while Schweinberger continues to anchor time trial objectives and selective Classics. The absence of a clear GC leader is deliberate rather than accidental, and reflects a team prioritising race wins over overall classifications.
Assessing the competitive position
Eleventh in the standings, Fenix-Premier Tech occupy a crowded middle ground. They are capable of winning WorldTour races, but not yet of sustaining pressure across an entire season. Expanding sprint success through Kool offers one pathway to improvement, while continued excellence in hilly Classics remains the other.
The risk is dilution. Balancing sprint commitments with the aggressive, selective racing that brought their biggest wins will require careful calendar planning. If managed well, the team could push closer to the top ten. If not, they risk remaining a team defined by highlights rather than consistency.
Outlook for 2026
Fenix-Premier Tech approaches 2026 with a clearer sense of purpose than many of their rivals. The rebrand masks a stable sporting project, one that continues to trust its development pipeline while selectively adding proven winners.
With Pieterse entering her prime and Kool settled for a full season, the potential for growth is real. Turning that potential into a higher WorldTour ranking will depend on execution rather than talent. The pieces are in place. The next step is making them work together more often.
2026 Fenix-Premier Tech Roster
- Sara Casasola
- Lotte Claes
- Millie Couzens
- Mylène de Zoete
- Yara Kastelijn
- Charlotte Kool
- Evy Kuijpers
- Flora Perkins
- Puck Pieterse
- Carina Schrempf
- Christina Schweinberger
- Marthe Truyen
- Inge van der Heijden
- Fien Van Eynde
- Xaydee Van Sinaey
