Top ten for Lore De Schepper in the final stage of the Tour de Romandie

Sunday marked the final stage of the three-day Tour de Romandie, with both the start and finish in Morges, covering a challenging 144,2 kilometer course with multiple climbs. Early in the race, a long breakaway of two riders formed. Lore De Schepper, Sarah, and Ashleigh were part of the chasing group, which pulled hard behind the escapees. In the end, Riejanne Markus sprinted to victory. Lore De Schepper secured a strong ninth-place finish for AG Insurance - Soudal.

In the general classification, Sarah, Ashleigh, and Lore finished seventh, eighth, and ninth, respectively. Lore also placed an impressive fourth in the young rider classification, and AG Insurance - Soudal finished second in the team classification.

Unfortunately, Ashleigh crashed in the last lap just before the finish, but luckily, she only suffered minor scrapes and was able to finish the race.

“In the early stages of the race, Mireia was part of the breakaway, putting us in a strong position. When that group was caught, Markus and Fisher-Black made their move. We then coordinated with other teams to start the chase, with Julia doing an excellent job. In the toughest part of the race, 25 riders remained, with three of ours still in the group. Unfortunately, Ashleigh crashed 400 meters from the finish, but thanks to the 3-kilometer rule, her position in the overall standings remained unchanged. Lore managed to avoid the crash and finished a strong ninth. Finishing in the top ten every day and having three riders in the top ten of the overall standings is an excellent result”, said team leader Fien Delbaere.

La Choralis Fourmies

In addition to the decisive stage of the Tour de Romandie, AG Insurance - Soudal was also active at the fifth edition of the Choralis Fourmies Féminine, which took place in and around Fourmies. The peloton covered a 128.8-kilometer route, with the final part consisting of five local laps of 11 kilometers each. After a breakaway of three riders animated the race, the peloton caught them in the final phase of the race. In the resulting bunch sprint, Zanardi Silvia crossed the finish line first, while Maaike Boogaard of AG Insurance - Soudal finished as the team’s best rider in 28th place.

Sports director Jolien D’hoore reflects on a challenging day: “It was a tough race for the team. The course was beautiful but not tough enough to shake off the sprinters. Unfortunately, Anya didn’t finish because she’s still suffering from her crash in the Tour. She had a headache and felt nauseous, so we’ll have the team doctor check her to make sure it’s related to her concussion. We wanted to position Ally for the sprint, and although she was in a good position 3 kilometers from the finish, it didn’t work out. She struggled to get into the race, especially after the Olympics. So, it was a race of ‘almosts.’ Maaike, on the other hand, rode very strongly; she attacked and was always in the breakaways. Unfortunately, she missed the break where three riders got away. As I said, it was a day of 'almosts.' But we’re looking forward to next week.”