It took quite a bit of time to reach Anna Van Der Breggen. After the end of the last season, the Dutch champion had decided to cut ties with the media a bit, taking some time for herself to assimilate a big change. The "winner of everything" had in fact decided to end her racing career and immediately get back into the game, climbing aboard the flagship of the SD Worx, a difficult change for which measures had to be taken.
Anna is too in love with this world to detach herself, but many were surprised by her choice, considering that at 32 years old and given the results she's achieved, there was still room to extend her enormous streak of successes. However, she hasn't had second thoughts about what she had already set out to do at the beginning of 2021, nor does her words reveal any regret.
«I think it was the right time – he says – I wanted to do something else, change something in my life. After all, with the end of the Olympic cycle, it was time to do a general assessment, besides, the last one was overall a good season and for me it was time to stop."
How did you get the idea to switch sides and become a team manager?
When my career ended I thought it was right give something back to this world that has given me so muchCycling has given me not only victories, but also a huge wealth of experiences that it would have been a shame not to take advantage of, not to pass on to others. I think it's the right way to continue cultivating my passion by riding in the team car, sharing the pre-race and post-race moments with the girls. In a big team like ours I can do a lot, I find this new challenge very exciting as if it were the start of a great race.
Let's broaden the discussion a bit: how much do you think the return of the Tour de France will influence the evolution of women's cycling?
I believe that change is always a good thing. It's not just the Tour, many new races have been introduced, the calendar has definitely improved. Clearly, introducing a race like the Tour is a big step forward. Many people have been asking for it. It's a great promotional effort, and I believe it will boost our world's image.
Are you sorry you can't be there?
No, I lived my time and did my races. When I decided to stop I knew that there would be new races, the Tour had been talked about for a long time, but I think it's fine like this.
The Fleche Wallonne was his hunting ground: 7 victories In 2021 he won his fourth Giro d'Italia At the Tokyo Olympics, bronze in the time trial
The Fleche Wallonne was his hunting ground: 7 victories In 2021 he won his fourth Giro d'Italia At the Tokyo Olympics, bronze in the time trial
The Giro d'Italia lasts 10 days, the Tour will be 6, the Vuelta 4: do you think women's cycling is ready for longer races, not like the men's, but of a couple of weeks?
I believe that races up to 10 days long are currently the right limit. It should not be forgotten that women's teams do not have the depth of men's teams, and the calendar is managed very differently. The big names prepare one, two events at most, we must always be at our best, for the classics as well as for the stage races, precisely because the teams have only a few girls available.It's a very different system. Maybe it can change in the future, but it will take a much broader movement.
Without Anna Van Der Breggen in the running, will the balance within the team change?
I think it's logical for this to happen. Ours is a strong, competitive, well-built team, which I think will also prove itself at the Tour. It's clear that with me in another role, the balance needs to be redrawn, but for example, we have experienced people like Chantal. Van Den Broek-Blaak and Christine Majerus who will be a valid guide in the race. Then I think that Demi Vollering he could have a good chance even in a complicated race like the Tour. It will be a good deal, we still have fast people for all the goals. I think my absence will gradually go unnoticed.And then, even if in another guise, I'll be there...
For years, you were the symbol of Dutch women's cycling, almost as dominant as Africa's middle-distance athletics. You left very little to other countries: what's the secret to such overwhelming success?
It's difficult to answer this question. We've had a great generation of athletes who have won for a long time, our old guard has been an example and behind us have grown new talents who guarantee renewal, but I believe that the balance is being re-established and that now there are valid athletes in many nations. Professionalism is making new names grow everywhere: a few years ago who would have thought that a Hungarian like our Blanka You would she have reached the top? The fact is that if you are a woman and you want to make cycling a profession, you can do it more easily today than when I started.
Of the many victories on your resume, which one has remained closest to your heart?
It's hard to choose one, but I think it's World Road Gold in Innsbruck 2018It was my first world championship victory, coming after five silver medals. I truly believed that jersey was enchanted. Then there's the Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro, because it's a victory that transcended cycling's boundaries; the Olympics are something unique.
