Marthe Goossens: “Being in this team gives me a lot of confidence”

Marthe Goossens: “Being in this team gives me a lot of confidence”

The 23-year-old Belgian looked back on her third year with AG Insurance – Soudal, talked about the steps she has made and outlined her ambitions for next year.

“Last season was one where I learned a lot: how to time a lead-out, how to control a breakaway, and occasionally, I raced for a personal result. All these things helped me become a more complete and more confident rider. I am happy with the contributions I made to the team’s success, as I felt this made me a stronger rider.

The team has put together an environment that helps you get the best of yourself, and this is all you can wish for as an athlete. This squad has taught me everything I know, having joined it after doing only one year of road racing. It’s thanks to them that I now know more about race tactics, competing as a team, training, recovery, or nutrition. At the same time, I feel there’s still a lot of room for improvement, which makes me confident for next season.”

A solid 2025 season

“I love stage racing, because you get to be with the team for a longer period. You can feel that you’re developing together; giving each other feedback and being able to apply it the next day, makes you see improvements day by day. That’s why it made me happy that I got to discover La Vuelta. There, we got different types of courses every day, which made it super interesting to try out different types of roles and racing styles each stage.

Later in the season, came my runner-up spot at the ITT Nationals and third place in the overall classification at the Ladies Tour on home soil, which I achieved thanks to another strong display in the time trial. For me it was a confirmation that I can do well in this discipline. Before that, I didn’t really consider myself as a TT rider, although I always really liked them. Now it’s something I want to keep getting better at, alongside the one-day races.”

Looking ahead

“I’ve already started preparing for 2026, which will be my fourth year with the team. I have a lot of motivation and ambition to become better. Next season I want to ride a strong spring classics campaign, which is always my favorite part of the season. Racing close to home, on hard courses and in front of passionate spectators always gives me goosebumps, and I can’t wait to do it in a couple of months’ time together with this great team.”