No luck for AG Insurance – Soudal in frustrating Strade Bianche

No luck for AG Insurance – Soudal in frustrating Strade Bianche

Our team approached this year’s edition of the Italian World Tour event with big ambitions, and showed a lot of determination and fighting spirit on the challenging Tuscan dirt roads. However, this time, fortune did not favor the brave, and luck – so important in a race like this – wasn’t on our side.

After a confidence-boosting outing in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Letizia Borghesi was eager for another strong showing, this time in her home country, and with 42 kilometers to go, she found herself in the leading group from where the winner of the day eventually emerged. As they entered Le Tolfe, one of the day’s most demanding sectors, chaos ensued, with every rider vying for position. The 27-year-old Italian was there but went wide after the rider in front of her miscalculated a left-hand turn, losing contact with the group just as it began to split.

At that moment in the race, not all hope was lost for our team, as Kim Le Court-Pienaar surged from behind to join Letizia as the latter regained her rhythm, and the two secured a spot in a promising chasing group. With over 30 kilometers left, they still had a chance to contend for a top ten finish, but an official moto directed them onto a gravel sector that was not part of the route, and any hope for a favourable result immediately evaporated as their deficit grew to nearly two minutes.

“It’s incredible frustrating, because that incident ruined our race. I arrived here in very good form and felt confident going into the race, which gave me a lot of motivation and hope that I could achieve something today. The team supported me well and put me in a good position going onto the gravel sectors, but I was unfortunate when another rider misjudged the downhill section of Le Tolfe. Despite this setback, we kept believing, especially as I teamed up with Kim, but then that motorbike dashed any remaining chances we had”, Letizia said at the finish in Piazza del Campo.

Her thoughts were echoed by Kim Le Court-Pienaar, who came home outside the top 20 after a tumultuous race: “For me it was about chasing the whole day. After changing a wheel early in the race and being caught behind several crashes, I still managed to come back. We remained focused and quite confident, as the gap wasn’t substantial, only for the motorbike to lead us onto a different route. We stopped and turned around, but we knew it was all over at that point, because we ended up losing a lot of time. It’s unfortunate, but it is as it is. I had good legs, and at least this is encouraging for my next races, especially as I didn’t come here in my top shape.”