Anna Van Der Breggen is coming back, or rather, she has already done so seriously. The announcement at the end of June about her decision to restart her professional career after three years of hiatus had created general enthusiasm, great surprise, but also the idea that it was something impossible. Now the dream of the Dutch champion has materialized.
"I don't have a specific goal and I don't expect to achieve the same results as before. I just want to be happy," Anna Van Der Breggen says immediately, without beating around the bush, catching everyone off guard and effectively anticipating any potential questions. It's lunchtime on a Thursday in late January, with just a handful of colleagues connected in a Zoom meeting; each is in their own home, and on the other side is Anna Van Der Breggen herself, smiling, wearing enormous headphones reminiscent of a DJ's. This is the first real meeting with the press since the announcement of her incredible return, with a relaxed and serene face that we perhaps haven't seen for a long time. Anna is ready to take us through a sincere account of her love for cycling.
In her career, Anna Van Der Breggen has won everything, but above all, she has carved out an absolute leading role in the women's movement, taking on the responsibility of making it known and inspiring passion. Two world titles on the road, one in time trials, the Olympic gold medal in Rio 2016, 4 Giros d'Italia, 2 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, a Tour of Flanders, and 7 consecutive victories at the Flèche Wallonne are just some of the achievements of the Dutch dominator who became an authentic icon not only for the new "orange" generation but for many of the girls who grew up hoping to approach her records.
In 2021, the chapter of her incredible career closed without regrets, but with the certainty of having given her all and being ready to start her role as a sports director. We were quite struck when we heard her decision to stop, and at the start of her last Giro d'Italia in Cuneo, she had explained it to us without too many words. Anna had no regrets; in fact, she was simply curious to see what was on the other side and build a new career, facing real life head-on.
However, leaving cycling was never a consideration, nor was leaving SD Worx: simply, the perspective of experiencing each race changed. From a super athlete, Anna moved to the team car, becoming the sports director of the strongest team in women's cycling. We often saw her at races, slightly in the background at the start area, but always with a vigilant eye on her girls and everything happening around her. We immediately understood that she didn't want to talk about her previous career but about her new job, in which she seemed perfectly comfortable.
"Becoming a sports director gave me the opportunity to see cycling in a different and certainly more global way. As an athlete, you only think about yourself, but here you have the responsibility for everyone, and you always have to be careful. I better understood race times, but especially the group dynamics that I previously ignored; for example, everything that happens at the back of the peloton. I rarely stayed in the last positions of the group, but with the director's job, I understood all the back-and-forth, the operations of domestiques and various team cars - it's something very particular. I saw many girls grow, and I'm happy to have put my experience at their service, it was special and gratifying," Anna says, proud of what she did as a sports director, a job that fulfilled her and helped her grow as a person. She could have continued doing it forever, but at a certain point, there was a call stronger than anything else, and she could no longer pretend.
"There was no specific moment or race that made me decide to return; more than anything, it was a feeling, a need that I developed gradually. I realized something was missing. During my career, I had so much pressure, I wanted to win at all costs, I wanted to be the best, but then suddenly I found myself at a standstill - I had achieved everything, I had no more stimuli. Tokyo would have been the pinnacle, after that everything would have ended. I immediately liked being a sports director and it made me feel good, but after about a year in the SD Worx car, I started asking myself, 'What if things had gone differently? What could I have done?' The more I went on, the more questions accumulated, but above all, I felt the need to change everything, once again. So why not try? When I announced my return, they immediately asked me if I was doing it to try to race the Tour, but the reason was simple: I missed cycling, the pedaling part. And how could I continue to watch only from the car everything I had said goodbye to?" Anna says, completely opening her heart and literally leaving us speechless. It seems there's nothing more to add because those words were enough to make us understand not only the dedication but the absolute love of an athlete. She urges us to ask her more, making us understand how much she had missed it all.
Among the many challenges she has faced, this is certainly the toughest of all, Anna Van Der Breggen herself says, specifying, however, that it will also be the most stimulating she has ever faced. Anna never put the bike aside, but she comes from three years without races or targeted training, especially in intensity - an important gap that should not be underestimated. Since June, when she started training seriously, the strategy has been to proceed in small steps.
"The decision to return was not taken lightly. I talked to several people and consulted with some team girls, asking if it was actually possible. Returning to being an athlete of Team SD Worx would be natural; some had already been my teammates, others I had literally raised from the team car. The more I think about it, the more I can't wait to race alongside them," Anna continues. "Last June, I started training on long distances and intensity. Many things have changed compared to what I did before, for example, I worked a lot in the gym, something I had never done. My data is quite good; I don't think they're enough yet to try to win a race, but that's not my real purpose. I'll have a different role compared to the past because I'm a different type of person and athlete. I'm not aiming for a specific race, but I would just like to race with the girls of my team and enjoy every single pedal stroke. When I was young, the goal was solely to win; now I've grown, I've started to appreciate even the small things. There's more to life than just races."
Three and a half years have passed since Anna Van Der Breggen bid farewell to professional cycling, a timespan that seems very short but has actually seen a radical and total transformation of women's cycling. If until a few seasons ago the gap between men and women was gigantic, everything has changed in a very short time, generating significant consequences. World Tour teams and races have increased, but above all, the mentality of conceiving and managing a woman on a bicycle has changed, who has finally become a professional in every respect. For those who have experienced it, it is a gradual and direct consequence of a necessary change, but it represents an additional challenge for a new athlete like Van Der Breggen, who must almost start from scratch.
"As a sports director, I witnessed many ongoing changes, but experiencing them in the saddle is something else entirely. What has changed the most is certainly the group's level. When I was racing, there were 4 or 5 World Tour teams; now there are large teams equipped with real structures. The girls are followed in every aspect, they follow specific training, targeted nutrition - they are finally considered professionals who can compete at a different level. The movement is growing quickly, and little by little, I'm trying to integrate into these new dynamics. I knew what was happening in the group three years ago, but I have to learn how to move, how to manage the race differently. The birth of new races like the Tour de France and Milan-Sanremo is further proof of how the movement is growing, but we must not forget that many races are disappearing. In the Netherlands, organizing races is becoming increasingly difficult; women's cycling needs support."
Throughout the long conversation, Anna Van der Breggen never committed to her seasonal debut. She would like to return to racing in the Ardennes and perhaps be at the start of the Tour to help Lotte Kopecky, but the Giro d'Italia continues to hold a special place in her heart.
"My season start will certainly be a bit later than normal. I still have a lot of work to do, and I'm happy that the team gives me the time I need. I hope to improve quickly and reach a level that allows me to be at the start of the big stage races. I can't wait to pin on a number again. We're all curious to see how it will go, me included, but I absolutely don't feel pressure. I don't have to prove anything; I just want to return to racing," she says before saying goodbye.
Anna is calm and without pressure because she is simply doing what she loves. It's impossible to say whether she will return as the champion of the past or will be just another rider in the group, but her choice remains an example of the courage to always challenge oneself. Now Anna no longer aims to raise her arms to the sky - she has already done that hundreds of times - but, as she repeatedly tells us sincerely, her only goal is to become the best version of herself.