30.08.2024 Continental, News, Race news

A DYNAMIC ROSTER FOR CANYON//SRAM GENERATION IN L'ARDÈCHE

CANYON//SRAM Generation is set to tackle the Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l’Ardèche starting Tuesday, September 3, with an exciting mix of experienced and promising riders.

The team’s roster will be Nastya Kolesava, Zoe Bäckstedt, Ese Lovina Ukpeseraye, Jule Märkl, Diane Ingabire and Awen Roberts.

This iconic and long-standing event on the women’s cycling calendar was founded in 2003 and has been classified as a UCI 2.1 category event since 2018. It is well-known for always serving up a week of tough, honest racing across mountainous terrain that never relents. This year’s Tour de l’Ardèche will be no different, featuring six stages largely characterised by difficult climbs and twisty descents, complemented by the new addition of an individual time trial on stage four.

CANYON//SRAM has a successful history in the Tour de l’Ardèche, with Antonia Niedermaier winning back-to-back stages on her way to securing the general classification in 2022. The 2018 version was also Kasia Niewiadoma’s first overall win on French soil, the second being her recent victory in the 2024 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

This year, Nastya Kolesava will be lining up in fine form after a recent second-place finish at the GP Lucien Van Impe in Belgium. She will embark on her fifth Tour de l’Ardèche, having placed third in the 2023 general classification.

“Ardèche never disappoints. It’s a super race for young riders because they get very good experience. Nothing is decided at the beginning because it’s a six-day race with a lot of elevation gain, so you never know how you or the other riders will feel across all the days.”

“I am really looking forward to this race, especially with our hardworking staff and such a strong team! We will do our best to achieve stage victories and to get good GC results.”

For Nigerian road race champion, Ese Lovina Ukpeseraye, Ardèche will be her longest tour to date.

“I am looking forward to doing a stage race again with the team. Last week in Belgium, I had some very challenging one-day races. I hope the stage race goes better. In conversations that I’ve had with some of my teammates, they’ve told me that Ardèche is not easy and that I’ll need to fight until the end to do my best in the race.”

CANYON//SRAM Generation will also welcome the return to racing of Zoe Bäckstedt in L’Ardèche after a period of illness and a steady return to training.

“Physically, I think that I’m at a good level. I’ve now done around a month of training, and I think it’s a good time to return to racing. Mentally, it will be a tough but fun week with a lot of climbing to come and just getting back into the racing routine, but I look forward to joining the Generation team for this race!”

Jule Märkl and Awen Roberts are back in CANYON//SRAM Generation colours after competing for their respective national teams at the recent Tour de l’Avenir Femmes. Diane Ingabire will be ever-resplendent in her recently defended Rwandan National Champion jersey for the road race and time trial.