AG Insurance - Soudal to Itzulia Women

AG Insurance - Soudal to Itzulia Women

After her crash at Milano-Sanremo Donne, Justine Ghekiere is set to pin on her race numbers again this week

Our team has enjoyed an excellent start to the month and is determined to continue on this road at Itzulia Women, our next appointment, scheduled between 15-17 May. Last year, the AG Insurance - Soudal riders were protagonists there, helping Justine Ghekiere finish an impressive fourth overall, and will once again aim to be in the thick of the action and rack up more good results.

If there’s one word that can describe Itzulia, that’s climbing. A lot of climbing. A total of 14 ascents across three days will make for some exciting racing and significant gaps between the general classification contenders. The opening day already - starting and finishing in Zarautz - brings six hills, some short and sharp and some longer ones, suited to both puncheurs and climbers. Twenty-four hours later, the race schedules its hardest stage, with almost 2500 vertical meters, perfect for those looking to reduce the peloton to just a handful of riders before the testing unclassified climb coming just ten kilometers from the line.

The beautiful San Sebastian, which has hosted the finale every time since the race was created, is where the fifth edition will conclude on Sunday. Three hurdles, the most important of which is Mendizorrotz (6.4km, 5.2%) is where the GC will be decided, especially as from its top only a fast descent and a couple of kilometers separate the riders from the finish.

Letizia Borghesi, Belgian Champion Justine Ghekiere - who finished just a few seconds from the podium at the previous edition and now returns to racing for the first time since Milano-Sanremo - Alexandra Manly, the experienced Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, coming here after solid outings in the Ardennes and La Vuelta, Nicole Steigenga, and Julie Van De Velde are the six AG Insurance - Soudal riders taking on this challenging race.

Sports director Dani Christmas is confident in the squad’s chances of making an impact there: “We have great memories from last year’s Itzulia, where the girls rode an aggressive and attacking race across the three stages. This time, we want to create even better memories and build on the strong performances we delivered last week. The course this year is tougher than in previous editions, but we believe that it suits our team and gives us a great opportunity to race to our strengths and go for some solid result.”