Geoffrey Soupe Explained

Geoffrey Soupe
Fullname:	Geoffrey Soupe
Birth Date:	1988 3, df=yes
Birth Place:	Viriat, Ain, France
Height:	1.77m (05.81feet)
Weight:	68kg (150lb)
Discipline:	Road
Role:	Rider
Amateuryears1:	2004
Amateurteam1:	EC Bourg-en-Bresse (junior)
Amateuryears2:	2005–2006
Amateurteam2:	VC Bressan (junior)
Amateuryears3:	2007–2008
Amateurteam3:	VC Vaulx-en-Velin (junior)
Amateuryears4:	2009–2010
Amateurteam4:	CC Étupes le Doubs
Proyears1:	2011–2014
Proyears2:	2015–2019
Proteam2:	^[1] ^[2]
Proyears3:	2020–
Proteam3:	^[3]
Majorwins:	Grand Tours Vuelta a España 1 individual stage (2023)

Geoffrey Soupe (born 22 March 1988) is a French professional road bicycle racer, who rides for UCI ProTeam .^[4] Primarily a lead out man and baroudeur, Soupe has taken four victories during his professional career, including a stage win at the 2023 Vuelta a España with his remaining wins coming at La Tropicale Amissa Bongo – stage victories in 2011 and 2023, along with the general classification in 2023.

Career

Born in Viriat, Ain, Soupe competed for the EC Bourg-en-Bresse, VC Bressan and VC Vaulx-en-Velin setups as a junior, and the CC Étupes le Doubs squad as an amateur; in 2010, Soupe won the under-23 French National Road Race Championships,^[5] and finished second to Great Britain's Alex Dowsett in the under-23 time trial at the European Road Championships.^[6]

FDJ (2011–2014)

Soupe then joined the professional team for the 2011 season as a neo-pro.^[7] In his first race for the team, Soupe won the opening stage of La Tropicale Amissa Bongo in Gabon – beating 's Anthony Charteau in a two-man sprint^[8] – before finishing the race in eighth place overall.^[9] Soupe later added a stage victory in the Tour Alsace,^[10] before quitting the race the next day.^[11]

Soupe made his Grand Tour début at the 2012 Giro d'Italia, taking a third-place finish during the race's first mass-start stage in Herning, Denmark; a result that Soupe stated that he was "sorry" for, after he was supposed to be leading out the team's main sprinter Arnaud Démare, until he was caught up in a final-corner crash.^[12]

Cofidis (2015–2019)

In August 2014 announced that they had signed Soupe, alongside FDJ teammate Nacer Bouhanni, for 2015.^[13] He made his first start at the Tour de France in the 2015 edition,^[14] sharing sprint duties with Christophe Laporte, following Bouhanni's withdrawal in the opening week.^[15] Over his five years with the team, Soupe recorded two top-ten individual finishes – sixth at the 2017 La Roue Tourangelle,^[16] and eighth at the 2019 Elfstedenronde.

Total Direct Énergie (2020–present)

Soupe joined for the 2020 season,^[17] and finished ninth overall in his first race with the team at the Saudi Tour.^[18] He took his first victory since 2011 at the 2023 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, when he won the opening stage of the race in Gabon.^[19] Having lost the overall lead to teammate Jason Tesson,^[20] Soupe regained the lead when Tesson lost time on the penultimate day,^[21] and Soupe ultimately won by approximately half a minute from his next closest challenger.^[22] Later in the 2023 season, Soupe secured his first Grand Tour stage victory at the Vuelta a España, where he won the seventh stage in a bunch sprint.^[23] ^[24]