Siegers concludes impressive Volta a Portugal with sixth overall

AG Insurance - Soudal wrapped up the Volta a Portugal Feminina on a positive note after a week full of attacking racing, resilience and valuable experience. Emma Siegers finished sixth in the general classification after claiming her first professional victory earlier in the race, despite seeing her overall ambitions hampered by a crash on stage four.

The 21-year-old was one of the standout riders of the race, taking a memorable solo victory on stage two before moving into the Yellow Jersey. She looked well on course for an even stronger overall result until an unfortunate crash on the penultimate stage cost her valuable time and forced her to relinquish both the race lead and the White Jersey.

Despite the setback, the entire AG Insurance - Soudal squad rallied around Siegers on the final day, doing everything possible to bring her back into contention. Their determined ride secured sixth place overall, while Siegers finished just three seconds shy of the Best Young Rider classification.

"I'm really proud of the team effort of the girls this week in Portugal," said Sports Director Dani Christmas. "The goal was to take a stage win and to compete for a top spot in the general classification. Unfortunately, we saw the opportunity to take home the Yellow Jersey and the White Jersey slip away after Emma's crash on stage four. In the end, we were only three seconds away from winning the White Jersey. After the crash, the whole team gave everything to bring Emma back into the fight for Yellow. We finish the week with plenty of learning points, but I'm really proud and happy with the team effort. Ending the race with Emma sixth overall and taking her first professional victory makes it a week we can look back on with a lot of positives."

Alongside Siegers' breakthrough victory and strong GC result, the race provided another valuable opportunity for AG Insurance - Soudal's young riders to gain experience at international level, underlining both the talent and fighting spirit within the team.