Van der Breggen optimistic after Tour de France GC disappointment

Having seen her GC hopes disappear up the Col de la Madeleine on Saturday, Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) began Sunday’s final stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift with attacking intent. However, despite spending so much of the day up the road, the former World Champion was caught and dropped on the final classified climb, eventually finishing 11th on the stage and in the same position overall.

It was a disappointment for the former world and Olympic champion after she inherited SD Worx-Protime’s GC hopes when Lotte Kopecky was unable to find form following a disrupted preparation through illness and injury.

Van der Breggen started the race well, claiming seventh overall on the opening stage, then moving up to fifth on day five and staying there until Saturday’s queen stage, where she slipped to 12th and out of contention. 

“I wasn't so happy after Saturday,” she told Wielerflits. “After seven good days, I had an off day on the worst possible day. I was very disappointed, but it's good that I feel better. With three Grand Tours under my belt, I can build on that for next year and try again.”

This year was Van der Breggen’s return to competition after three years working as one of the team’s sport directors, and with so much conditioning lost, 2025 was always likely to present a challenge. 

She began well, though, finishing third at Volta Femenina Valenciana in February and bagging an excellent second place at Strade Bianche. Back in Spain in May, she won a stage of the Vuelta España and finished third on both mountain top finishes as well as third overall. However, at the Giro, where, according to a pre-race team press release, she had one eye on the GC, she was out of sorts, eventually taking sixth place overall.

Annemiek van Vleuten was Van der Breggen’s rival in chief during the pomp of both their careers, and the pair knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses well. Van Vleuten was working for Dutch broadcaster NOS through the Tour and was unsurprised by Van der Breggen’s performance.

"Considering she's been out for three years, I don't really find it surprising,” Van Vleuten told NOS’s Avondetappe. “That's going to break you down during a stage race. Your recovery capacity is simply reduced after being out for three years.

"I think we'll see her in a completely different light next year. She'll have already largely erased this deficit and will make a lot more progress by then.”

Taking the time away and those early-season results into consideration, Van der Breggen’s ride on Saturday should have come as no surprise, though a final-stage move made sure she went down swinging. Rather than being content with 12th place, she made an all-or-nothing attack on Sunday’s final day.

Indeed, the whole SD Worx-Protime team were active on stage nine, with green jersey Lorena Wiebes the first to attack as the race left Praz-sur-Arly. Once she was caught, it was Van der Breggen’s turn, the Dutch woman getting a gap on the descent before being joined by current world champion Lotte Kopecky.

When they were caught, Van der Breggen tried again on the day’s first climb, the Côte d’Arâches-la-Frasse, eventually getting a gap which extended to around two minutes, though the FDJ-SUEZ squad or former team mate Demi Vollering were keen to keep her close.

“I had hoped they would give me more space,” Van der Breggen said. “I was already nine minutes behind in the general classification. I needed more than the two minutes I was given, but it's good that I tried.”

With this year’s racing in her legs before a proper winter of preparation, Van der Breggen and SD Worx will hope 2026 is a real progression.