Liv AlUla Jayco is heading to the Tour de Romandie Féminin with a squad packed full of climbers targeting stage victories and overall success.
Silke Smulders arrives at the race in strong form after leading the Australian team home at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift over the summer and the recent Classic Lorient Agglomération. Spanish climber Mavi García links up with the young Dutch rider again after a short break following the Tour in August, as does Swedish rider Caroline Andersson.
Urška Žigart, who has been an invaluable teammate throughout the season, will be a key rider for the squad as one of the strongest climbers in the bunch. Meanwhile, New Zealand champion Ella Wyllie will also be back in racing action in Switzerland for the first time since the Giro d’Italia Women in July.
Rounding out the squad will be Norwegian puncheur Ingvild Gåskjenn, who will be targeting success on the rolling stages.
Starting on Friday, 6th September and concluding on Sunday, 8th September, the Tour de Romandie Féminin takes place across three stages. The opening and closing days should provide chances for the fast finishers or breakaway stars, while stage 2 to Vercorin will be a big chance for the climbers.
Liv AlUla Jayco roster for Tour de Romandie Feminin 2024
Caroline Andersson (SWE)
Mavi García (ESP)
Ingvild Gåskjenn (NOR)
Silke Smulders (NED)
Ella Wyllie (NZL)
Urška Žigart (SLO)
Silke Smulders:
“I am looking forward to the Tour de Romandie. We are entering the end of the season, and I am motivated to end it on a high note. I came great out of the Tour de France Femmes and the Classic Lorient Agglomération, so I feel like I can be confident my shape is there. We have a super strong climbing team going to this race and with this challenging course we can do good things.”
Wim Stroetinga (Sport director):
“We are going to the Tour de Romandie with a really strong and motivated group of riders. They are all in good shape and ready to go for a stage win, where we have different options. All the riders have a chance in a breakaway and we have Ingvild for a stage win in stages 1 and 3 if it’s a reduced bunch sprint. For stage 2 we have a strong squad of climbers, and we will use our numbers of strong climbers in this stage to get the best possible result.
Overall, there are big opportunities for all the riders to have a win in a stage and the GC will come with it. We’re almost the end of a long hard season so having a motivated team here will already make a difference.”
Photo: Sprint Cycling
