Despite winning Liège-Bastogne-Liège last year, AG Insurance-Soudal will have to count on younger and less experienced riders in this year's Ardennes Classics, with their Monument winner Kim Le Court-Pienaar sidelined with injury, alongside Belgian champion Justine Ghekiere.
Le Court-Pienaar had already had an unlucky spring with crashes at Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo, but her misfortune intensified when a crash at the Tour of Flanders left her with a fractured wrist. This ruled her out of the Ardennes block where she made history last year, winning Liège to become Africa's first Monument winner.
Justine Ghekiere, who also crashed out of Milan-San Remo, had been working towards a return at the Ardennes, but is not fit to race yet, leaving AG Insurance with a significantly depleted squad for this block of racing.
Despite the obvious blow to their chances of repeating the victory that "still gives [her] goosebumps", sports director Jolien D'Hoore was positive about the team's reshaped ambitions going into these races.
"Their absence creates opportunities for others to step up and take responsibility," she said in a team press release.
"That’s an important part of our development. Different riders like Lore [De Schepper] can take on a more free role and aim for the finals. The Ardennes are less chaotic than the cobbled Classics. Those conditions suit us better and allow our strengths to come through. In the end, these races are very honest, the legs decide."
On Sunday at Amstel Gold Race, the team will look to Ashleigh Moolman Pasio as a leader, who has finished in the top 10 five times already, and comes off the back of fourth at Brabantse Pijl on Friday.
The rest of the line-up mixes experience and youth with Mireia Benito, Anya Louw, Nicole Steigenga, Ilse Pluimers and Alex Manly.
D'Hoore's confidence is founded in how the team have performed so far in the spring, with younger riders stepping up to take results in various races.
"I think we can be proud of how we approached the Belgian Classics," she said.
"Our campaign started strongly with a seventh place at Omloop het Nieuwsblad and a podium in Hageland with Shari [Bossuyt]. Marthe [Goossens] confirmed her form with a podium in Le Samyn, and we also showed consistency in races like Oetingen and Nokere with top-five results.
"I’m especially satisfied with the progress our domestiques have made over the winter. They’ve taken a real step forward, both physically and tactically. That gives us more options in key moments and strengthens the team as a whole heading into the finals."
The Belgian put this down to progress that the team has made over the last year, which she hopes will stand them in good stead even without their big winners of 2025 on the start line this week.
"We’ve clearly grown. The depth of the team has improved and there’s more belief in the plan. We’re no longer just reacting, we’re taking initiative, and that’s an important evolution," she said.
"If you want to win these races, you need to race offensively. Sometimes that means taking risks or spending energy early. We prefer that over waiting and missing the decisive move."
That will be their aim for Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and even if a major win would be a tough ask, the team is hoping to bounce back in the face of the loss of their two main climbers.
"We want to be competitive in every race, be present in the key moments and fight for strong results. After the setbacks of the past weeks, we want to show resilience and prove that we can perform with multiple riders. Instead of focusing on one leader, we’ll go into races with multiple options, which can also make us tactically stronger."
"Being consistently present in the finales, achieving a strong result, and continuing to show progression as a team," she identified as what would make the Ardennes successful for the team. "If our younger riders can step up, that would be a big success as well."
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