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5 cycling stars from famous families

There are a lot of current riders with pro parents

October 15, 2021
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Cycling dynasties are nothing new. Over the years we’ve seen families with sons, daughters, nieces and nephews go on to become pros and champions. There’s Eddy Planckaert, the Belgian that nipped Canada’s Steve Bauer by a centimeter at Paris Roubaix. He’s the brother of fellow cyclists Willy and Walter Planckaert, and uncle of Jo Planckaert. There’s the most famous cyclist ever, Eddy Merckx and his son Axel Merckx. Recently retired Nicolas Roche’s father, Stephen, was the only other cyclist apart from Merckx to win the triple crown: the Giro. the Tour and world championships. The family legacy doesn’t stop there: recently retired and fellow Irishman Dan Martin happens to be the nephew of Stephen Roche.

Nowadays, there’s a brand new bunch of kids racing in their parent’s footsteps.

One of the top cyclists in the world, Mathieu van der Poel, and his brother Davide come from an incredible cycling lineage. His father, former pro road and cyclocross star, Adri van der Poel, and his mother, Corinne Poulidor. His mother is the daughter of the recently deceased Tour de France star of the 70s, Raymond Poulidor.

 

They aren’t the only Dutch descendants of famous parents. Jean van Poppel, the famous sprinter of the 90s, and his first wife and cyclist Leontine van der Lienden, have two sons: Boy van Poppel and Danny van Poppel. They both currently ride for Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux. Incidentally, Van Poppel split up with van der Lienden, but remarried another cyclist, former  world champion medallist, Mirjam Melchers.

Alexander Kristoff wins Stage 7 narrowly ahead of Peter Sagan with Danny Van Poppel in third. Photo credit: Oran Kelly

Closer to home, Canadian Michael Barry and his wife, Olympic silver medallist Dede Barry, have a son Ashlin who has been ripping up the scene here. Ashlin recently won the U15 category at the Canadian National cyclocross championships.

Frank Vandenbroucke, the professional cyclist who struggled with addiction and mental health his entire career, would be proud to see how well his daughter Cameron Vandenbroucke is doing. She was a professional cyclist racing for Lotto Soudal. She is also dating van der Poel’s teammate on  Alpecin–Fenix, Tim Merlier.

 

Everyone remembers one of the most interesting cyclists ever, the great Mario Cippolini. Between winning multiple world championships, green jerseys and classics, Cippollin’s sartorial choices shook up the world of cycling. The Lion King’s legacy continues: his nephew Edoardo won 7 races in Italy this year. Edoardo’s father, Mario’s brother Cesare, raced at the 1976 Olympics.

If you watched the 2021 World Championships, you might have recognized the last name of the junior world champion: Zoe Backstedt. Backstedt is the daughter of Paris-Roubaix winner Magnus Backstedt. You don’t have to be a former pro to choke up watching your daughter win the biggest race of the year.