Verhulst-Wild sprints to second place after demanding double race day

AG Insurance - Soudal enjoyed a successful and demanding day at the Ladies Tour on Saturday, as stage 3 featured two half-stages: an 8.4-kilometre individual time trial in the morning, followed by an afternoon road stage finishing in Maaseik.

The day started with a promising performance against the clock from one of the team's youngest riders. Messane Bräutigam delivered a strong ride in the short but highly competitive individual time trial, finishing just 1.2 seconds shy of a top-ten result.

After quickly switching focus to the afternoon road race, the team once again showed its collective strength by delivering Gladys Verhulst-Wild into an excellent position for the bunch sprint. The French rider powered to second place, securing AG Insurance - Soudal's first podium of the week after another strong team performance.

"It was a chaotic finish, but I felt good and managed to make it second place. A podium is always something to be happy about, and this result makes me even hungrier for more," said Verhulst-Wild.

"I still have a few small details to improve, but I'm really pleased with today and it gives me a lot of confidence heading into the final stage. I also want to thank the whole team for the incredible work they did to position me today. Without them, this wouldn't have been possible. Now we look ahead to Mechelen."

With confidence boosted after a strong double race day, AG Insurance - Soudal heads into Sunday's final stage in Mechelen aiming to finish the Ladies Tour on another high.