AG Insurance-Soudal move into the 2026 season having taken a clear step forward in both visibility and results. Ninth in the 2025 UCI Women’s WorldTour team rankings, the Belgian squad remain outside the sport’s top tier, but their trajectory is unmistakably upward. The past season delivered WorldTour victories, Monument success and a growing sense of identity built around selective aggression rather than defensive racing.
What separates AG Insurance-Soudal from several teams in the same ranking bracket is intent. Their best results in 2025 were not opportunistic surprises, but the outcome of clear leadership, targeted race selection and riders who increasingly understand how to win at the highest level.
Photo Credit: GettyA breakthrough season led by Kim Le Court
The defining rider of AG Insurance-Soudal’s 2025 campaign was Kim Le Court. Her season combined consistency, range and decisive finishing, culminating in one of the standout wins of the year at Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes. That Monument victory was backed up by further success at the Giro dell’Emilia, a Tour de France Femmes stage win and multiple national titles for Mauritius in both the road race and time trial.
Le Court’s ability to perform on hilly one-day races and selective WorldTour stages gives AG Insurance-Soudal a reference point few teams outside the top five possess. Crucially, her wins were not isolated peaks but part of a sustained run of form that anchored the team’s calendar.
Alongside Le Court, Sarah Gigante delivered two stage victories at the Giro d’Italia Women, confirming her climbing pedigree and reinforcing the team’s credentials in stage racing. Those wins, combined with Le Court’s Tour de France Femmes stage success, ensured AG Insurance-Soudal were competitive across both Grand Tours.
Depth built around climbing and selective racing
The team’s results in 2025 extended beyond their headline names. Justine Ghekiere continued her upward trajectory, winning the Grand Prix de Wallonie Dames and the opening stage of the Tour of Norway Women, while also securing the Belgian road race title. Shari Bossuyt added further one-day success at the Grand Prix de Wallonie Dames, underlining the team’s strength on punchy terrain.
National titles for Mireia Benito in the Spanish time trial further demonstrated the squad’s breadth, while the ability to collect wins across different race categories reflects a team increasingly comfortable executing targeted strategies.
Recruitment focused on strengthening the Classics core
The sole confirmed addition for 2026 is Letizia Borghesi, arriving from EF Education-Oatly. Her signing aligns neatly with AG Insurance-Soudal’s evolving profile. Borghesi brings durability, positioning and strength on cobbled and attritional courses, adding depth to a roster already well suited to Spring Classics and selective one-day races.
Rather than chasing headline transfers, AG Insurance-Soudal have prioritised cohesion. Gaia Masetti’s departure to Team Picnic PostNL trims sprint-oriented depth, but does not undermine the team’s core objectives. Julia Borgström’s contract expiry removes a developing rider from the roster, though her absence does not alter leadership structures.
There is also the possibility of Amandine Fouquenet appearing on the road programme alongside her cyclocross commitments with Pauwels Sauzen, following a similar arrangement to Leonie Bentveld. If confirmed, this would add further flexibility rather than reshape the squad.
Photo Credit: LaPresseLeadership clarity heading into 2026
AG Insurance-Soudal approach the new season with a relatively clear hierarchy. Le Court remains the primary leader for hilly one-day races and selective WorldTour stages. Gigante is the reference point for mountainous stage racing, particularly in races where pure climbing ability can be converted into stage success rather than GC control.
Ghekiere and Bossuyt operate as secondary leaders in one-day events, while Ashleigh Moolman Pasio continues to provide experience, positioning and tactical oversight. Even at 41, her presence remains valuable on tough terrain and in high-pressure race scenarios.
This clarity allows the team to race proactively rather than reactively, a shift that has already paid dividends.
Youth and continuity within a Belgian core
A notable feature of AG Insurance-Soudal’s roster is its strong Belgian foundation. Riders such as Fauve Bastiaenssen, Lore De Schepper, Marthe Goossens and Alana Castrique provide continuity and depth, while Leonie Bentveld continues to develop across road and cyclocross disciplines.
The Ruiz Perez sisters are absent here, but the team retains a healthy balance between youth and experience. Nicole Steigenga, Ilse Pluimers and Julie Van De Velde add further reliability across a wide range of race profiles, while Urska Zigart offers climbing support and stage race depth.
Assessing the competitive ceiling
AG Insurance-Soudal are not yet a team that controls races from start to finish, but they are increasingly capable of deciding outcomes when races reach decisive moments. Their results in 2025 show a squad comfortable winning uphill finishes, animating Classics and converting stage opportunities in Grand Tours.
The limitation remains overall consistency across the full WorldTour calendar. Without a dominant GC contender capable of contesting overall victory at the Tour de France Femmes, the team’s ranking ceiling is constrained. However, their ability to win high-value races offsets that limitation to a degree few teams in the lower half of the rankings can match.
Outlook for 2026
AG Insurance-Soudal enter 2026 as a team with momentum and purpose. The combination of Le Court’s growing authority, Gigante’s climbing success and a strengthened Classics core gives the squad a clear identity centred on selective aggression.
They may not yet challenge the very top teams on volume alone, but their capacity to win important races makes them one of the most dangerous squads outside the established elite. If progression continues along its current path, AG Insurance-Soudal are well placed to climb further up the Women’s WorldTour hierarchy.
2026 AG Insurance-Soudal Roster
- Fauve Bastiaenssen
- Mireia Benito
- Leonie Bentveld
- Letizia Borghesi
- Shari Bossuyt
- Alana Castrique
- Lore De Schepper
- Justine Ghekiere
- Sarah Gigante
- Marthe Goossens
- Kim Le Court
- Anya Louw
- Alexandra Manly
- Ashleigh Moolman Pasio
- Ilse Pluimers
- Nicole Steigenga
- Julie Van De Velde
- Gladys Verhulst-Wild
- Urska Zigart
