AG Insurance - Soudal to Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes

AG Insurance - Soudal to Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes

Despite some absences, our squad approaches the final major one-day race of the spring with a lot of motivation.

Last year’s edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège was a memorable one for our team, as Kim Le Court-Pienaar won the trophy after an impressive performance from an elite group, becoming the first African rider to claim a Monument. Unfortunately, the Mauritian Champion won’t be at the start now due to a wrist fracture sustained in Ronde van Vlaanderen, but despite her absence, AG Insurance - Soudal is determined to show the Wolfpack spirit and make the most of the spring’s final Monument.

The 156km course begins in Bastogne, and unlike the previous year, will see the peloton take on just one climb in the first 60 kilometers, Col de la Haussire, regarded by many as Belgium’s hardest climb. Just prior to the halfway mark, the riders will revisit the famous Wanne - Stockeu - Haute-Levée triptych, followed by the unprecedented combination of Maquisard and Desnié, which promises to reduce the bunch. Of course, the attritional La Redoute and Roche-aux-Faucons are the most important hills of the day, where the race should explode, leaving only a handful of riders in contention before the fast descent taking to the line on the Quai des Ardennes.

Top five on two occasions at the prestigious Belgian Classic, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio will be at the start of Liège-Bastogne-Liège for the tenth time in her career, making her one of only two active riders to reach this remarkable milestone. Joining the experienced South African on Sunday will be Lore De Schepper, Anya Louw, Tess Moerman - who made her World Tour debut in Flèche Wallonne - Julie Van De Velde and Urska Zigart.

AG Insurance - Soudal sports manager Jolien D’hoore is confident in this squad’s chances of leaving its mark on the race: “Unfortunately, we are missing some riders through sickness or injury, so we’ll have to adjust our strategy a bit on Sunday. There’s a highly competitive start list for this tenth edition and we will see how things unfold, but the plan is to race aggressively, make our presence known, and show the jersey in what is our home race, sponsored by AG. We want to make the best out of it and do something nice, although we know it won’t be easy.”