Anna van der Breggen grabs her first win since her comeback with magisterial solo

Anna van der Breggen grabs her first win since her comeback with magisterial solo

‘Winning still feels as good as ever’

07/05/2025

Anna van der Breggen is back. And how. The former triple world champion and Olympic champion took her first win since her comeback in the fourth stage of the Vuelta Femenina. She rode away with seven kilometres left on the counter and arrived solo. ‘I felt it was a good moment to attack,’ Anna van der Breggen said.

Linked cyclists Anna van der Breggen Gekoppelde ploegleiders: Danny Stam Christian Kos

Anna van der Breggen: ‘This is a fantastic feeling. Winning still feels as good as ever, yes. I did not expect this at all, because this was not the plan. We wanted to go for Femke Gerritse again. But it went really fast on the last climb, so we came to the top with a limited group. Mischa Bredewold and Femke Gerritse fought very hard behind to get back. At the front, there were many attack attempts. I was isolated and around me there were all couples. And they didn't all respond to the attack attempts either. That was quite irritating, so I was anticipating.’

‘When the speed came off for a moment on the descent, I felt it was a good moment and just went full steam ahead. Then I looked back and saw I had a gap. So I realised pretty quickly that I was racing for the win. Then I went on steadily. Only it was a bit flatter towards the finish than expected. At one point I saw that they did get close on that long stretch, but I knew that as a solo attacker you had an advantage in the technical stretch with all those turns at the end. If they hadn't caught me back by then, I knew that would be very difficult.’

‘Whether winning still feels the same as in the first part of my career? Definitely! But I do ride differently now. I enjoy trying things. I'm less afraid than I used to be of failing. I care less if it fails once. As a result, I race much more freely.’

‘This win really pleases me. The Ardennes classics were a disappointment for me. The week before I felt really good. To then have to drop out sick was really unfortunate. I knew I could have done more than what it turned out to be. But then to win a stage solo in the Vuelta in this way now is fantastic.’

‘For Gerrie to keep the red is super nice. We already knew she had this in her. We had already seen it at training. But in the race she had never shown this in this way before. Yesterday she tanked a huge amount of confidence by beating one of the best sprinters in the world with Marianne Vos. I get a lot of pleasure out of it when young riders discover what they have in them and to witness that development up close.’

‘What I expect for Thursday's mountain stage? Again, I'm just going into it freely and without pressure. I am realistic enough to know that it will be really difficult uphill to go for the podium. Should it succeed, it will be fantastic. And if not, it's also just what it is. Tuesday was already a beautiful day with a stage win and the red jersey for Femke Gerritse and today I win unexpectedly. It's just nice racing with such an enthusiastic group, especially when things go well. We have already had some great days with the team here in the Vuelta Femenina. And nobody will take those away from us anymore. Furthermore, we are going to go full steam ahead and then we'll see if we manage to reach the final podium.’

Leader Femke Gerritse retains red and sees teammate win: ‘Dream scenario’

Femke Gerritse: ‘It was special to ride in red. How I experienced my first day as leader in the general classification? Hectic! The first stretch up to the first climb everyone was constantly trying to jump away. Uphill on that first climb there was not super hard riding, so I could easily keep up with that. Then again I got the perfect lead-out from the team at the intermediate sprint. Everyone went for it one hundred percent. The others even had a gap. That was cool to see. Because I took the full pot there, I ended up keeping the red jersey.’

‘On the last climb, in the last one-and-a-half kilometres uphill, they were pushing so hard. I just exploded completely. For me, Mischa Bredewold was once again golden today. She too had to drop, but she rode incredibly hard in the chase in the descent. All credits to her that we got back in front. At that moment I saw that Anna van der Breggen had got away and I shouted to Mischa: ANNA IS AWAY SOLO! That was amazing to see.’

‘The final was so chaotic.We rode SO fast down and to the finish line.It went at lightning speed.It was crazy in that village with all those turns.As a result, I had no idea whether Anna was still in front or not.I didn't see Marianne cheering at the finish, so I had a suspicion, but I wasn't sure.Then I saw her standing there behind the corner.That was total euphoria.These first few days went just perfectly.I am also happy to keep the jersey. Tomorrow I hope to start in a red sprint suit.I will enjoy it by all means.’

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