The South African stalwart helped shepherd the team’s rise to the WorldTour, but her non-selection for the sport’s biggest race and the ouster of its founder last year have produced mixed emotions.
Selection for the biggest race of the year is bound to be fraught. No matter how hard the race looks, everyone wants to line up for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. Selection comes down to a multitude of factors. Individual performance this season, potential individual contribution, team cohesion, the race route, marketability and team goals. Marketability is a strange one to include. But this is the biggest billboard for sponsors the sport can get. You want to put your best foot forward.
The selection for a race like this is therefore highly variable. Some teams will give more weighting to some things more than others. In discussions with one general manager, they give equal weighting to marketing, performance and the realities of the sport (team plan, route, etc.). For another (smaller) team, they are here to get their jersey on TV and that’s the most important thing for them. Race rosters are therefore tailored to meet that need.
There are a few riders that didn’t get picked to line up in Vannes for the Grand Depart who you might have reasonably expected to see there. Urška Žigart is a key part of AG Insurance-Soudal’s climbing squad. She had a fantastic Giro d’Italia Donne, getting in the top 10 on general classification. It was her best result to date as her teammate Sarah Gigante achieved third and won the mountains classification. But unlike her teammate, Žigart did not get the pick for a trip across France. Speaking with her, she was reserved, and quite tired, but it’s the Tour. Of course you want to get selected. She continues to encourage the team towards the finish in Châtel.
Urška Žigart rode strongly at the Giro d’Italia Women but wasn’t selected for AG Insurance-Soudal’s Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift team.
Another omission on the start list is young Cat Ferguson (Movistar). The 19-year old didn’t start the Giro d’Italia Donne, so fatigue was not the reason she wasn’t selected. There were enough sprint opportunities in the first few stages to warrant bringing her along, even if to help teammate Liane Lippert. Age shouldn’t be an issue – Ferguson’s countrywoman (and roommate), Imogen Wolff is still going on stage 6 and integral to Visma Lease-a-Bike’s success. Perhaps Movistar are patiently developing this young gun into a sustainably sharp weapon.
A spectator ended Cat Ferguson’s Roubaix debut, but her rapid rise continues
The 18-year-old wunderkind tells Escape Collective that bouncing back from setbacks is ‘what makes the best riders the best.’
Ingvild Gåskjenn (Uno-X Mobility) is a rouleur sprinter who I would have expected to feature in stages one to five. We have yet to see the Norwegian team come through for a result in this race, and Gåskjenn could have been useful in those attritional uphill sprints.
The most public omission, and public by her own hand, is Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio. The South African, former winner of the Tour of Romandie and veteran of the peloton (this is her 15th season) has been diligent to bring the race to her followers on social media with daily updates. One would think the update after yesterday’s win by AG Insurance-Soudal’s Kim Le Court-Pienaar would be buzzing with excitement. Yet, it was met with a bitter tone.
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