Anna van der Breggen defends leader’s jersey and finishes second in Queen stage of Giro d’Italia Women

Anna van der Breggen successfully defended her pink jersey in the queen stage of the Giro d’Italia. The race leader was attacked multiple times but never got into trouble. Van der Breggen thus maintains a one-minute lead over stage winner Demi Vollering in the general classification. “Happy that I survived this battle,” said Van der Breggen.

Anna van der Breggen: “It was a tough stage. There were attacks from all sides. Movistar knew that we only have a small team here and attacked constantly. I couldn’t chase down every breakaway, so when the big group went clear, it was a moment of ‘pick your battles’. I also know that in such a hard stage, a group like that thins out and the gaps can close quickly. That’s why it was great that we had Valentina Cavallar in that move. When everything came back together, she was a big help up front.”

“We’re going all in with Team SD Worx–Protime. The other riders also protected me well in the beginning. Femke Gerritse made it over the first climb too — I could see she was suffering. It’s a small group, but we give 100%. In the next phase, I was under constant pressure, but I’m happy I survived the stage and I’m still in pink. In the technical descent, I tried to put the others under pressure. I knew I couldn’t really rely on my sprint to win the stage. But my descending skills are good, so I gambled on creating a gap downhill to go for the stage win. It didn’t work, but I’m still satisfied with today.”

“What has changed in the three years I was a sports director? The overall level has become much higher. The differences between riders are smaller. If you’re not in top form, you won’t be fighting for the win. It took me some time to get back to this level. I’m proud to be in the pink jersey as one of the older riders. The new generation is performing really well. Training methods have also changed somewhat. But experience also has its advantages. I can handle long training sessions better, both physically and mentally. I know what I’m doing it for and what my abilities are. I hope I can keep this pink jersey until the end, but there are still important battles ahead. Whether I’ll allow a breakaway without GC contenders to go tomorrow? Gladly (laughs).”