Promising start for AG Insurance-Soudal Quick-Step in pursuit of Women’s WorldTour licenses for 2024
Cycling
The beginning of the season for AG Insurance - Soudal Quick-Step has just commenced, but they've already savoured the sweet taste of victory at Setmana Ciclista Valenciana. Riders were dominant on the podium, securing the GC, one stage win and earning three silver medals to conclude the tour.
The team had hoped to obtain a WorldTour license, but they were defeated by the Belgian team Fenix-Deceuninck. Despite this setback, they will have another opportunity to compete for the top license, and they are approaching it with a greater sense of determination.
“What an incredible start to the season. This team is just so special. That really is all I can say. It was a tactical master class. We are such a power team. We are so united and so strong together. It was incredible seeing Justine take her first pro win. This is only the start of a great season,” Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio told Velonews.
Moolman provided assistance to her teammate Justine Ghekiere as she aimed for the GC title, and she proved her mettle against top competitors like Amanda Spratt and Annemiek van Vleuten. “I was already really happy about that until I realized I had won the general classification too. This team is fantastic and I feel so good. Everyone believes in each other and works for each other. It was not great I took the win away from Ashleigh, but we keep it in the team. We did it,” Ghekiere said after the win.
While the determination of the 15 Women’s WorldTour licenses for 2024 is still a long way off, AG Insurance-Soudal Quick-Step has commenced its bid in a highly promising manner. “The team followed the plan every day to perfection. I am just so proud of these riders and the staff here. I am really looking forward to more,” concluded sports director Jolien D’hoore.
Read also
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- yeah, that’s a more fair assessment. “reaching mathieu’s level” doesn’t mean you’re planning to replicate his whole career. the former IS doable, potentially. it’s just the latter that likely is not.OCexile25-12-2024
- That’s not entirely true. Every person follows their own development path and peaks differently. Remco and Primoz had hardly started cycling before elite level. Jonas was pretty much under the radzr until he unexpectedly had to take over responsibility at JV. Some guys only get real good in their thirties others have peaked mid-twenties. You can’t tell in advance how and upto what level they will progress, obviously his career might not have MVDPs length but nothing says he could not end up doing a few seasons at his level.Mistermaumau25-12-2024
- well, del grosso is 21 right now. when mathieu was a year younger than that, he was already winning elite level world championships, not U23. i think del grosso will be a very good pro for years, but if he was really going to be the next van der poel someday, he’d already have to be at that level right NOW. van der poel was showing signs of true greatness when he was 15-16. THAT’S what generational talent looks like.OCexile25-12-2024
- Yeah.... gear 😅.mikolajjj24-12-2024
- It shouldn’t be about expectations in the first place should it? Besides, if you look at everyone’s calculations as a whole they don’t add up in the first place. There’ll be 2-3 riders with a 50% chance, a dozen with 10 or 20% and dozens more with a 5% so we’re expecting at least 2 if not 3 winners. Remind me again who won before her? Says it all about using data to decide on participation.Mistermaumau24-12-2024
- Ok, happy I’m not too interested in this team coz’ the account of what happened is really hard to follow.Mistermaumau24-12-2024
- The UCI is worse than USA CyclingVeganpotter24-12-2024
- It's not like they wanted her to not win😅 She had an outstanding Olympics. But there's a reason why she wasn't expected to win the road race and that's ok. Things like this happen and it's great...better than seeing expected winners win.Veganpotter24-12-2024
- Bruyneel ? The man with a lifetime ban from cycling...why do you keep giving him and his doper mate, Armstrong, a platform?DJ24-12-2024
- yeah, agree. on the subject of being a “complete rider,” i do think that’s getting more interesting. mathieu seems to have decided he wants to get much better at climbing the the high mountain passes. he appears to be looking for new challenges, which should be interesting to watch. in most cases you’d dismiss a goal like that at age 30, but it’s mvdp. he’s never going to climb with the real climbers, but if he can improve enough it could open up stage wins when the parcours isnt just purely toothy and punchy.OCexile24-12-2024