Hélène Hesters will join the AG Insurance–Soudal Devo Team for 2027, leaving Liv AlUla Jayco’s Continental squad after three seasons. The 21-year-old Belgian arrives with an elite European track title, a World Championship bronze medal and a series of promising road results during the 2026 season.
Hesters became European scratch champion in Konya in February, building on her bronze medal in the elimination race at the 2025 Track World Championships. Her road performances have also improved, with victory on the final stage of the Volta a Portugal Feminina, second at the Egmont Cycling Race Women and third at the Midwest Cycling Classic.
The move brings her into a Belgian development programme that has already recruited several young riders for next season. Although Hesters is still eligible to race at under-23 level, she arrives with more international experience than many of her prospective team-mates, including an appearance at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Hesters takes next step after three seasons with Liv AlUla Jayco
Hesters has been part of Liv AlUla Jayco’s Continental development structure since 2024, combining an increasingly competitive road programme with her commitments to the Belgian national track team.
Her progression on the road has become particularly noticeable this season.
In July, she won the fifth and final stage of the Volta a Portugal Feminina, finishing ahead of team-mate Emma Jeffers in Santo Tirso. The victory demonstrated the finishing speed that has become one of her strengths, particularly after demanding racing.
She followed that performance with second place at the Egmont Cycling Race Women in August, finishing behind former world champion Elisa Balsamo.
The result was more than a straightforward sprint placing. Hesters was present when the stronger riders began attacking during the final stages and still had enough speed remaining to finish ahead of the rest of the field.
As detailed in ProCyclingUK’s Egmont Cycling Race report, Lidl-Trek controlled much of the finale, with Lucinda Brand delivering Balsamo into the decisive sprint. Hesters nevertheless emerged as the strongest finisher behind the Italian.
She had already finished third at the Midwest Cycling Classic in April, beaten by Lonneke Uneken and Martina Alzini.
Her season also included third on a stage of the Bretagne Ladies Tour and 16th overall at the Baloise Ladies Tour.
Those performances illustrate the improvement Hesters has made against established professional riders. Although her most important championship victories have come on the track, she has increasingly shown that her speed and race judgement can translate into results on the road.
European scratch title adds to impressive track record
Hesters’s track career provides another reason for AG Insurance–Soudal to be interested in her development.
She became European elite scratch champion in Konya on 1 February 2026, attacking late in the race and holding off her rivals to claim the gold medal ahead of Switzerland’s Aline Seitz and Germany’s Lena Charlotte Reißner.
It was her first elite European title, following several years of success at junior and under-23 level.
In October 2025, Hesters won bronze in the elimination race at the UCI Track World Championships in Santiago, Chile.
Ireland’s Lara Gillespie took the world title ahead of Britain’s Katie Archibald, with Hesters completing the podium. Earlier that year, the Belgian had finished second in the same discipline at the European Championships in Heusden-Zolder.
Her track achievements stretch back to the junior ranks. At the 2023 European Junior Championships in Anadia, Hesters won gold in the omnium and elimination race, along with silver in the individual pursuit and Madison.
She shared that Madison silver with Laerke Expeels, a result that formed part of a successful championship campaign for the Belgian junior squad.
Hesters subsequently progressed to the under-23 ranks and won European Madison gold with Katrijn De Clercq in 2024.
The pair were also selected for the Olympic Madison at Paris 2024, finishing tenth. It gave Hesters experience at the sport’s highest level while she was still only 19.
She continued to compete internationally in 2025, contributing to Belgium’s bronze medal in the under-23 team pursuit at the European Championships in Anadia.
The results cover several disciplines requiring different qualities. Scratch and elimination racing depend heavily on positioning, tactical awareness and finishing speed, while team pursuit and Madison racing place greater demands on cooperation and sustained efforts.
For Hesters, that experience complements her ambitions on the road rather than existing as a separate career.
Photo Credit: Belga/Dirk WaemTwo Belgian junior road titles began her progression
Before establishing herself internationally on the track, Hesters had already attracted attention through her results in Belgian junior road racing.
She won the national junior road race championship in 2022 and successfully defended the title in 2023.
Her second victory came after a long move alongside Ella Heremans, with the pair escaping during the opening lap of the championship race in Brasschaat.
They gradually extended their advantage over the chasing peloton before Hesters prevailed in the contest for the title.
The result demonstrated her ability to commit to an aggressive race and finish strongly after a sustained effort.
Since moving into the elite ranks, she has continued developing those qualities against stronger opposition. Her 2026 results suggest she is now beginning to turn that early promise into more regular podium finishes.
AG Insurance–Soudal add experience to 2027 development squad
Hesters joins an AG Insurance–Soudal development programme that has been particularly active in recruiting young riders.
Among the new arrivals are European junior champion Azzurra Ballan, Czech prospect Karolína Špicarová and Belgian European time-trial silver medallist Laura Fivé.
Those riders will be making important transitions out of junior racing, while Hesters arrives with several seasons of Continental-level competition and experience at the Olympics and elite track World Championships.
Her background could therefore be useful within the development team, particularly in races where positioning and team organisation become important during the finale.
The wider AG Insurance–Soudal organisation has already demonstrated a pathway from its development squad into the Women’s WorldTour. Emma Siegers is among the riders progressing to the top-level team for 2027.
Hesters has not been announced as a member of that WorldTour squad. Her immediate move is to the development programme, where she can continue building her road experience alongside her track ambitions.
Speaking about the transfer, Hesters said she felt an immediate connection with the organisation during her first conversations with the team and Jolien D’Hoore.
She described feeling trusted by the team and welcomed the chance to continue improving as a rider and as a person.
The signing gives AG Insurance–Soudal a Belgian rider with proven finishing speed, international championship experience and further potential on the road.
After three years in the Liv AlUla Jayco development structure, Hesters will begin 2027 with a new team and another opportunity to turn her track achievements into greater success in professional road racing.
