AG Insurance-Soudal have set a top-five finish at the Tour de France Femmes 2026 as the main general classification target for Kim Le Court-Pienaar, with stage wins remaining the team’s first objective.
The Belgian squad presented their seven-rider Tour team to the media in Ghent on Tuesday, with Mireia Benito, Letizia Borghesi, Shari Bossuyt, Lore De Schepper, Justine Ghekiere, Kim Le Court-Pienaar and Urška Žigart selected for the nine-stage race from Lausanne to Nice.
Le Court-Pienaar heads into the Tour after a disrupted first half of the season but with much greater expectation following her breakthrough performance in 2025, when she won a stage, finished on the podium twice and spent four days in yellow. That progression also reflects AG Insurance-Soudal’s wider rise, covered in our 2026 Women’s WorldTour team guide.
“I’ve missed a lot of races and opportunities earlier this season, so I come into this Tour with even more hunger,” Le Court-Pienaar said. “Our first objective is to win stages. After that, we want to achieve the best possible overall result, with a top-five finish as our goal.”
Photo Credit: GettyLe Court-Pienaar wants to build on 2025 breakthrough
Last year’s Tour changed Le Court-Pienaar’s status in the peloton.
She arrived for only her second appearance and quickly established herself as one of the race’s major stories, taking two early podium finishes before winning in Guéret and spending four stages in the yellow jersey.
That performance turned her from a rider capable of producing big one-day results into a credible Tour GC threat. The challenge in 2026 is different because she begins the race as a recognised leader and will be marked accordingly.
AG Insurance-Soudal have also made the objective more concrete. A top-five finish is the benchmark, with anything beyond that treated as a bonus rather than the minimum expectation.
Ghekiere given freedom to attack
Justine Ghekiere will again be one of the team’s most important attacking riders.
The Belgian won at Le Grand-Bornand in 2024 after spending the day in the breakaway and went on to secure the mountains classification, becoming the first Belgian rider to win the Tour de France Femmes polka-dot jersey.
Her role this year will again involve aggressive racing rather than simply sitting around Le Court-Pienaar.
“I’ll have a free role, but I have to race aggressively,” Ghekiere said. “I’ll try to be in the breakaways as much as possible, because that way I can support Kim in the finale, but I can also create opportunities for myself.”
That gives AG Insurance-Soudal an important tactical weapon on the hilly stages. If Ghekiere reaches a strong escape, the team can avoid chasing while still keeping a rider ahead to help Le Court-Pienaar later.
Photo Credit: GettyMont Ventoux carries extra meaning for Ghekiere
Stage 7 to Mont Ventoux is the one day Ghekiere has already reconnoitred.
There is also a personal connection.
“I proposed to my girlfriend at the top there and it would be quite special if I could win there now, even though that is a bit too ambitious,” she said. “On paper, it is not a stage for me. But you never know what can happen in the Tour de France.”
The 15.7km final climb at 8.8% should favour the pure GC climbers, making a Ghekiere victory difficult if the favourites race for the stage. The full challenge is covered in our Tour de France Femmes 2026 Mont Ventoux guide.
A strong breakaway could change that. Given her freedom to attack, Ghekiere remains one of AG Insurance-Soudal’s clearest stage-hunting options even if Ventoux itself proves too demanding.
Bossuyt ready to show Belgian champion’s jersey
The Tour will also mark the first appearance of Shari Bossuyt in her Belgian national champion’s jersey at the biggest race of the season.
Bossuyt won the title at the end of June and arrives after taking two top-10 finishes at last year’s Tour.
“I know from Justine how great it is to wear it in this race, so I can’t wait,” Bossuyt said. “My main goal will be to work for Kim, but if there’ll be any opportunities, I will try to grab them.”
Bossuyt gives the team another option on stages that end with a reduced group, particularly if the terrain removes some of the faster pure sprinters. Her primary role will still be supporting Le Court-Pienaar, but AG Insurance-Soudal have enough depth to allow her to take an opportunity if the race develops in her favour.
De Schepper reaches the Tour after Giro top 10
Lore De Schepper will make her Tour de France Femmes debut after an impressive first part of the season.
The 20-year-old has already raced both La Vuelta Femenina and the Giro d’Italia Women, finishing 10th overall at the Giro while supporting Urška Žigart.
That progression has earned her a place in a team carrying genuine GC ambitions.
“I look forward to discovering the atmosphere of the Tour,” De Schepper said. “I have heard that the race is harder than all other races. Every day is ridden as if it were a one-day race.”
De Schepper added that she has no personal result target and is looking forward to working in a different role. For AG Insurance-Soudal, that gives the team another climbing-capable rider who can support Le Court-Pienaar while continuing her own development at the highest level.
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Photo Credit: Aritz Arambarri
Stage wins first, GC second
The clearest message from the presentation was that AG Insurance-Soudal do not want Le Court-Pienaar’s GC target to make the team defensive.
The first objective is still winning stages.
Le Court-Pienaar can do that herself, while Ghekiere has freedom to attack, Bossuyt has options in selective finishes and Žigart gives the team another strong climber for the harder days.
That combination should allow AG Insurance-Soudal to race for individual stages without sacrificing the wider top-five target.
The Tour begins in Lausanne before eventually reaching Mont Ventoux and the final mountain stage around Nice. For Le Court-Pienaar, the difference from last year is simple: she is no longer arriving as a rider who might surprise the Tour, but as one of the riders expected to shape it.
AG Insurance-Soudal Tour de France Femmes 2026 squad
- Kim Le Court-Pienaar
- Justine Ghekiere
- Shari Bossuyt
- Mireia Benito
- Letizia Borghesi
- Urška Žigart
- Lore De Schepper
