Shari Bossuyt opens season with solid runner-up in Valencia

Shari Bossuyt opens season with solid runner-up in Valencia

The Belgian delivered AG Insurance – Soudal’s first podium of the season on European soil at the eighth edition of the Vuelta CV Feminas.

Just 95 kilometers in length and featuring two climbs – Oronet and Puerto del Garbi – Sunday’s race got off to a furious start which saw a large group open a gap. Among them, also Shari Bossuyt, Lore De Schepper – one of the youngest members of that move – and former Slovenian champion Urska Zigart, and the three AG Insurance – Soudal riders were prominent at the front.

Thanks also to their hard work, the gap went up to the point where it became clear the breakaway would make it. In the final part of the race, attacks came as many riders were keen on avoiding a reduced sprint; eventually, one of these made it, and Liane Lippert (Movistar) took the win after going clear in the last four kilometers.

Four days after becoming European Champion on the track in the Madison, Shari kicked off her road season by doing a great race in Valencia, where she sprinted to second place for what was for her 20th top-three finish in the pro ranks. This result, and the team’s strong display in Spain, bode well for next week, when the AG Insurance – Soudal riders will be in action at the four-day Setmana Ciclista Volta Femenina de la Comunitat Valenciana.