Alana Castrique embarks on a new adventure with AG Insurance – Soudal

AG Insurance - Soudal has welcomed a new talent! Alana Castrique, who discovered her love for cycling at the age of eight, is joining our team for the next two years. With her passion, determination, and rich experience, she brings a fresh energy to the team.

My passion for cycling began when I was eight years old. A friend of mine was into cycling, and I wanted to try it too. Cycling wasn’t entirely unfamiliar to me, as my grandfather had also raced, and my brother had been racing for two years by then. From a young age, I’ve always looked up to the Belgian female cyclists, with Jolien D’hoore being one of my biggest inspirations. She even recently sent me a photo of us together, taken a year before I turned professional with Lotto-Soudal. It’s truly an honor to be able to grow alongside her.

If you want to get to know me better, be sure to keep reading!

After a tough period of racing or achieving a major goal, we love to celebrate by going out for pizza. And in the summer, it’s hard to resist a nice ice cream. Besides cycling, I also really enjoy walking; it’s a hobby that helps me completely unwind. It also helps me to organize my thoughts. But what I value most in my free time is spending time with family and friends.

As for favorite destinations for training or vacation, we love going to the south of France, for example, to the Ventoux or the Côte d’Azur. For important races, I like to have the people I value most around me, like my fiancé, family, or best friends. It gives me a good feeling to have them by my side at significant events.

When it comes to music, I don’t have a specific favorite artist or genre. I enjoy listening to all kinds of music. What attracted me to join AG Insurance - Soudal was the team’s work ethic and discipline, combined with the fun they have together. They know how to strike the balance between when to work seriously and when there’s room for enjoyment, and that was exactly what I was looking for.

With my experience in the professional peloton, where I’ve been for seven years now, I can be a good 'capitaine de route'. I’m also a strong teammate; I can help bring my teammates forward and protect them when necessary. I also hope to get my own chance and achieve a good result for the team.

My personal goals for the 2025 season are to be at the start of the Tour de France again, to achieve a podium finish at the Belgian Road Championship, to defend my title at the Belgian Gravel Championship, and to be selected for the European or World Championships with the national team. The cherry on top would be to finish in the top 20 at Paris-Roubaix again.

Within AG Insurance - Soudal, I hope to finally bring out the best in myself. I’ve had two unlucky years due to pretty severe injuries, and I’ve never really been able to show what I’m capable of. I mainly want to prove that I belong here and that I can make a meaningful contribution to the team. I work as hard as I can every day to get back to my highest level. That’s starting to come together now. I’m doing everything I can to be fully ready for next year, so the team can definitely count on me for the Flemish classics.