AG Insurance – Soudal to the Tour de l’Ardèche

Our team is ready to take on one of the most challenging stage races of the month.

Ardèche, the beautiful French region which one month from now will host the European Championships, is where our team will be in action between 9-14 September, at the Tour de l’Ardèche.

Starting from Laudun-l’Ardoise and concluding in Privas, the six-day event puts on the table a hilly course, totalling almost 600 kilometers. Twenty-four classified climbs will be spread over the six stages, giving the attackers plenty of opportunities to shine and gain time on the general classification. The most important days of this 23rd edition will be the 20.1km individual time trial in Vals-les-Bains and the uphill finish on Le Mont Lozère, where fireworks are guaranteed.

Lore De Schepper – who concluded an impressive fourth overall at the Tour de l’Avenir just a few weeks ago – Nina Lavenu, Margot Marasco, who so far has had a solid season in the U23 ranks – Tess Moerman, Emma Siegers, and U23 Belgian ITT Champion Luca Vierstrate are the six riders who will pin a number for AG Insurance – Soudal on French soil.

“We start with many young riders, five of whom are coming from our Devo team. There’s a lot of climbing this week and each day will be difficult, but we look forward to grabbing some opportunities. We hope to have a nice week of racing, where our youngsters can learn a lot and gain experience. It would be nice to get some results there, but we won’t put any pressure on our riders, we’ll just take it one stage at a time and see what we can do”, said sports director Fien Delbaere.