Emma Siegers will step up to the Women’s WorldTour with AG Insurance – Soudal in 2027 after earning promotion from the team’s development programme.
The 21-year-old Belgian has agreed a contract covering at least the next two seasons, keeping her within the organisation where she has spent 2025 and 2026 developing towards the senior level. Her promotion follows a season in which she has begun converting consistent stage-race performances into results, including her first individual professional victory at the Volta a Portugal Feminina.
Siegers is already being introduced gradually to the WorldTour environment rather than making a clean break between the development and senior squads. She raced the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya Femenina with the main team in June and is part of the AG Insurance – Soudal line-up at this week’s Faun Tour alongside Sarah Gigante, Justine Ghekiere, Urška Žigart, Megan Arens and Lore De Schepper.
That approach fits a team which has kept a clear development structure alongside its WorldTour operation. Siegers was among the young riders brought into the programme for 2025 when AG Insurance – Soudal refreshed its development-team roster.
Siegers has made a clear step forward in 2026
The promotion comes after the strongest season of Siegers’ young career.
She opened the year at the Setmana Ciclista Volta Femenina de la Comunitat Valenciana, where she finished fifth in the young rider classification against a strong field. The result did not place her among the overall contenders, but it was an early indication that she could remain competitive across several days rather than depending on isolated one-day performances.
Her progress became more obvious at the Tour de Feminin in May. Racing for the Belgian national team, Siegers was part of the squad that won the opening 12.6km team time trial in Krásná Lípa. She then remained consistent across the following three stages to finish sixth overall and fourth in the young rider classification.
That opening win should be viewed as a team victory rather than an individual stage success, but it was still an important part of a race in which Siegers demonstrated she could stay near the front of the general classification over several days.
The individual breakthrough came in Portugal.
First professional win came from a solo attack in Portugal
Siegers won the opening stage of the Volta a Portugal Feminina in July after an aggressive ride from the AG Insurance – Soudal development team.
Team-mate Tess Moerman attacked with around 50km remaining and forced the peloton to respond. As that move was neutralised, Siegers countered, bridged across to Maite Urteaga and then dropped the Spaniard on the final classified climb.
She completed the move alone to take her first individual professional victory and the opening yellow jersey.
It was a more revealing performance than a sprint win would have been. Siegers had to judge a long effort, commit before the finish and then continue alone once she had created the decisive gap. She also remained in overall contention through much of the race before eventually finishing sixth.
Those results have strengthened the case for promoting a rider whose development has increasingly pointed towards stage racing rather than one narrow speciality.
WorldTour opportunities have already started
AG Insurance – Soudal have not waited until 2027 to expose Siegers to higher-level racing.
She rode alongside the senior team at the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya Femenina in June, gaining experience against a field containing several Women’s WorldTour squads. That followed the same approach the organisation has used with other development riders: giving them selected opportunities with the main team before making the promotion permanent.
This week’s Faun Tour provides another example. Siegers is racing with the senior squad in a four-day event containing more than 7,000 metres of climbing, the same race where Sarah Gigante is making her long-awaited return from injury.
The objective for Siegers is different from Gigante’s comeback, but the selection is another indication that the separation between the development and WorldTour programmes is becoming smaller as she approaches 2027.
Jolien D’hoore says Siegers is ready for the next level
Sportive manager Jolien D’hoore pointed to Siegers’ consistency and progression across her two development seasons when confirming the promotion.
“Emma has shown over the past seasons that she has the talent, mentality and consistency to take this next step,” D’hoore said.
“Making the transition to the WorldTour is a big moment in her career, but we’re confident she’s ready for the challenge. She’s a rider who continues to learn and develop every year and we’re excited to see how she can grow at the highest level.”
That emphasis on development is significant. Siegers is not being promoted because the team expect her to arrive in January as a finished WorldTour leader. Her 2026 results have shown enough progression to justify putting her into the stronger environment permanently and seeing which role she grows into.
AG Insurance – Soudal’s 2026 Women’s WorldTour team guide shows the depth she will be joining, with established riders including Kim Le Court-Pienaar, Justine Ghekiere, Sarah Gigante, Shari Bossuyt and Alex Manly already giving the squad options across very different terrain.
Staying in the same structure removes one part of the transition
For Siegers, promotion within the same organisation removes many of the adjustments normally attached to a first WorldTour contract.
She already knows the staff, team culture and wider performance environment. She has trained and raced alongside senior riders and has spent two seasons working through the development programme rather than arriving as an external signing expected to adapt immediately.
“I’ve spent the past two seasons within this team, and I’ve really enjoyed being part of this environment,” Siegers said.
“I feel very comfortable here and I know I can continue to develop and learn from the riders and staff around me. I’m very grateful for the trust the team has shown in me and I’m excited to continue this journey together.”
The next step will be working out where her strengths fit at WorldTour level. Her 2026 season has pointed towards multi-day racing, with consistency across the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana, Tour de Feminin and Volta a Portugal Feminina backed up by a first individual win.
From 2027, the opposition becomes stronger and the opportunities harder to convert. AG Insurance – Soudal have decided that Siegers has done enough at development level to start finding out how far that progression can continue.
