Urska Žigart runner-up in Tour de Romandie after heroic team performance

AG Insurance – Soudal wrapped up the three-day Swiss race by cementing the Slovenian’s place on the podium and taking home the team classification prize.

Urska Žigart finished a strong runner-up at the Tour de Romandie, after putting in an impressive outing throughout the race, supported by a committed and cohesive team effort. The 28-year-old got off to a solid start, as she powered to second on the opening time trial, followed by another outstanding display, in La Tzoumaz, where she moved into the yellow jersey.

Our rider started the final stage in the lead, with her AG Insurance – Soudal teammates working tirelessly to defend the yellow jersey. In the end, it was local rider Elise Chabbey (FDJ-SUEZ) who proved to be the strongest of the GC contenders on this decisive day, forcing Žigart to settle for runner-up in the overall standings for just seven seconds – a notable performance for Urska, which confirmed her progress after a strong Tour de Suisse & Giro d’Italia Donne.

“There’s a bit of disappointment as only a couple of seconds made the difference in the end, but we can be content with the fact we left everything out there, trying to honor, defend and keep the jersey. I am happy that I have so many amazing people around me, people who believe in me and support me doing what we all love so much: racing our bikes. And we did that the entire week and we can be proud of this”, Urska said in Aigle, where the race concluded.

Sports director Dani Christmas was full of praise for the squad afterwards: “We finished this Tour de Romandie really proud of the whole team's performance. When we first spoke about the race, I really wanted the girls to continue in the really positive way that we’ve been racing in the last weeks and months following on from a really successful Giro and Tour de France, and I think we can safely say that the teamwork here was incredible. When we look at how every rider was fully committed to the goal of bringing Urska into the best possible position on the GC, it’s amazing to see how all the girls rode their hearts out for the team. I’m so, so proud of every one of them – and of course, Urska, who rode an incredible race.”

“It’s been a really important step forward for her and I think we can see some really big things in the future. This is just a glimpse of her potential which we really believe in, and we can be really proud of the performance she put in over the last three days.

Of course it wouldn’t have been possible without the teamwork from Mireia, Julie, Julia and Ashleigh. We can be really happy with our small but very successful team here in the Tour of Romandie”, added Dani Christmas after what has been another remarkable week for our team.