Demi Vollering outsprinted her GC rivals to take her first ever stage win in the Giro d'Italia Women on stage five.

The FDJ United-SUEZ rider came in at the head of a four-rider group after a long day in the hills, with maglia rosa Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) second, Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) third and Isabella Holmgren (Lidl-Trek) fourth.

Van der Breggen retains the pink jersey.

Vollering said afterwards that the team plans had gone perfectly, but that the 146km from Longarone to Sante Stefano di Cadore had been a long, hard stage.

"I'm very happy to take the victory. It's my first stage in the Giro so it's a nice one," she said.

"It was a really long and hard day. We started racing already very early – we wanted to have some riders from our team in the breakaway and we managed directly with Amber [Kraak] and Lauren [Dickson] like we planned, it was perfect.

"They did such an amazing job that before we came here on the last climb I still had Lauren in front of me. I managed to bridge and she did amazing work on the flat and on the first part of the climb again," she said.

"Maybe I went a little bit too early, so I couldn't make a difference any more on the climb, but it was a really nice day. We really raced with everything we had and it was a real battle out there."

British rider Dickson, riding in her first year with FDJ United-SUEZ, was part of a major move of more than 20 riders that spent much of the day out ahead of the peloton. The 26-year-old was one of the last survivors, waiting for Vollering as the favourites group began to emerge from the peloton as the race approached the finishing circuit. This included two climbs up to Costa (4.3km at 8.6%) and a single pass through the finish before they came back round for the real thing.

Once over the Costa for the first time, the four-woman group that would eventually win the day had emerged fully, with the addition of Liv AlUla Jayco's Monica Trinca Colonel, who attempted to use her descending prowess to form a winning move, but was ultimately caught and tailed off.

A strong looking Vollering did more than her fair share on the front of the quartet on the final climb and, in Sante Stefano di Cadore following the descent, was also the first to jump in the finale – opening a small gap that none of her rivals could close.

Giro d'Italia Women, stage 5: Longarone > Sante Stefano di Cadore, 146km

1. Demi Vollering (Ned) FDJ United-SUEZ, 4:23:47
2. Anna van der Breggen (Ned)
3. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, all s.t.
4. Isabella Holmgren (Can) Lidl-Trek, +2s
5. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE ADQ, +15s
6. Niamh Fisher-Black (Nzl) Lidl-Trek, at s.t.
7. Marlen Reusser (Sui) Movistar, +53s
8. Magdeleine Vallieres (Can) EF Education-Oatly
9. Femke de Vries (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, both s.t.
10. Lore de Schepper (Bel) AG Insurance-Soudal, +56s

General classification after stage 5

1. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SD Worx–Protime, 15:55:13
2. Demi Vollering (Ned) FDJ United–Suez, +1:00
3. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, +1:24
4. Isabella Holmgren (Can) Lidl-Trek, +2:01
5. Marlen Reusser (Sui) Movistar, +2:03
6. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE ADQ, +2:12
7. Niamh Fisher-Black (Nzl) Lidl-Trek, +2:33
8. Femke de Vries (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +2:38
9. Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita) Liv AlUla Jayco, +3:21
10. Urška Žigart (Slo) AG Insurance-Soudal, +3:26

Anna van der Breggen charged into first place at the Giro d’Italia Women on Tuesday, after winning stage four's time trial over a minute faster than world champion Marlen Reusser.

The SD-Worx Protime rider looked strong from the outset, moving through the intermediate checkpoint as the fastest rider before pushing hard across the finish line in a time of 31.38 (at an average of 24.164 km/h), 1:04 ahead of Movistar's Reusser. Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ) rounded out the podium 1:10 behind Van der Breggen.

"I hope I'm an example that you need to keep fighting and in the end it will come again," Van der Breggen said after the race. "You are never there in one step. For me, it feels like I've worked really hard these past two years to get to this point. Winning today in this way really means a lot to me."

The 12.7km individual time trial came after an initial three flat stages, posing a brutal fourth stage of the race. The stage kicked off flat before before a 8.2% gradient climb boosted off over 7.4 kilometres. At its steepest, the climb pitched up at 14% before flattening out towards the finish line.

Reusser occupied the hot seat for the second half of the stage, taking hold of the time trial with a time of 32.42, and deposing Urška Žigart (AG Insurance-Soudal) in the process. For the bulk of the stage, none came close to toppling the world champion, though an impressive ride from Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv AlUla Jayco) saw the Italian slot in 27 seconds behind Reusser, having set the fastest intermediate time at the foot of the climb.

Meanwhile, Vollering was charging through the course, passing the intermediate in a faster time than Reusser. But it wasn't enough to topple the Swiss rider. As the course flattened out towards the finish, Vollering pushed hard across the line and into second, six seconds down from Reusser.

But the most impressive performance of the day came from Anna van der Breggen. In the blue mountains jersey, the 36-year-old first bested Colonel’s intermediate time, before continuing on to tuck into a time trial position to mount the final climb and over the finish line as the fastest rider.

After coming out of retirement, the three-time Giro d'Italia winner moves to the top of the GC, as the pink jersey shifts from Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek).

"Getting [the maglia rosa] is one [challenge], then always wearing it is another difficult task, especially with more stages coming up," Van der Breggen said, before gesturing outside. "I mean, It’s started raining now and it will rain in the upcoming stages as well. I know a lot will happen and it will be really hard to defend this jersey; goal one is finished, that deserves a great celebration. To keep the jersey is the next one, but the first is most important, so I’m really proud of that."

Before finishing her interview, Van der Breggen made reference to her absent teammates: Mikayla Harvey, who crashed in yesterday's race, and Lorena Wiebes. "Wearing the pink jersey in the Giro, it’s a dream," she said. "I will enjoy it with Lorena, who is not here. I think she will be really proud, and I’m proud of her."

GIRO D’ITALIA WOMEN: STAGE 4 (ITT), Belluno > Nevegal (12.7km)

1. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SD Worx–Protime, 31:38
2. Marlen Reusser (Sui) Movistar, +1:04
3. Demi Vollering (Ned) FDJ United–Suez, +1:10
4. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, +1:26
5. Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita) Liv AlUla Jayco, +1:31
6. Lauren Dickson (GBr) FDJ United–Suez, +1:38
7. Femke de Vries (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:39
8. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE ADQ, +1:51
9. Urška Žigart (Slo) AG Insurance-Soudal, +1:54
10. Isabella Holmgren (Can) Lidl-Trek, +1:55

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 4

1. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SD Worx–Protime, 11:31:32
2. Marlen Reusser (Sui) Movistar, +1:04
3. Demi Vollering (Ned) FDJ United–Suez, +1:10
4. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, +1:26
5. Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita) Liv AlUla Jayco, +1:31
6. Lauren Dickson (GBr) FDJ United–Suez, +1:38
7. Femke de Vries (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:39
8. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE ADQ, +1:51
9. Urška Žigart (Slo) AG Insurance-Soudal, +1:54
10. Isabella Holmgren (Can) Lidl-Trek, +1:55

Swiss climber Petra Stiasny overcame the might of the Angliru and the race favourites to claim stage 7 of La Vuelta Femenina 2026 as Paula Blasi bested Anna van der Breggen to win the overall classification.

Human Powered Health's Stiasny rode a measured final climb, catching and passing UAE Team ADQ's Blasi in the final kilometre of L'Angliru's steepest slopes to take the biggest win of her career.

Blasi was second on the stage, 23 seconds behind Stiasny, with Juliette Berthet (FDJ United-SUEZ) finishing third. Van der Breggen of SD Worx-ProTime faded out of contention with 4km to go and eventually finished almost a minute down in fifth.

It all meant that the young Spaniard took a landmark overall win with Van der Breggen second in the battle for the red jersey and Marion Bunel (Visma-Lease a Bike) in third.

Van der Breggen came into the stage with an eight second lead having won 24 hours earlier on the penultimate stage to Les Praeres, but looked bereft of energy as L'Angliru reared up beyond 20%. It was Bunel's initial acceleration that did for the former world champion, and Blasi took full advantage.

Ahead of the stage, Stiasny had described the Angliru as "beautiful" and was understandably thrilled to take her first WorldTour victory. The 24-year-old said that she had been looking forward to taking on the climb since the route was announced.

"I had only one thing in my head. Every day, for me, it was a dream to win this stage," Stiasny told the TV cameras after the stage.

"When I arrived at the Angliru, I feel free. I feel in my place, in my happy place. This is my kind of climb, this is my gradient."

Stiasny was a surprise winner, as a victor of just one professional race before stage 7. However, she looked assured and stuck to her plan throughout the climb, using the steepest sections of L'Angliru to her advantage.

"I still can't believe it, honestly. I'm lost for words. For me, it's incredible. I have no words. I'm speechless," she said.

For Blasi, the overall title at La Vuelta Femenina topped a remarkable season so far. The young Spaniard won Amstel Gold last month and finished on the podium of La Fléche Wallonne.

“It was crazy for us today. It was full of attacks, and we’ve been racing for six days. I was not really feeling at my best, but the team did an amazing job, and I can only be grateful for them," Blasi said.

How it happened

Everything that happened earlier in the week at La Vuelta Femenina 2026 was a preamble to this, arguably cycling’s toughest climb: L’Angliru.

Another steep wall of a climb to Les Praeres had detonated the overall classification on stage 6, meaning that a selection of high profile riders began the final stage at a distance from Van der Breggen’s red jersey.

This meant that a strong-looking breakaway could extricate themselves from the peloton in the opening hour. Femke Markus (SD Worx-ProTime), Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek) and Liane Lippert (Movistar) were the three riders who got away, building a lead close to four minutes at its highest point.

Even before L’Angliru, the riders took on three classified climbs to wear down the legs. The third of those, the Alto del Tenebredo, featured extended sections above 10% and saw dozens of riders in the peloton tailed-off and the gap between breakaway and bunch reduced to a minute. That gap doubled as the breakaway hit the final climb.

Riejanne Markus was distanced as the climb started as Lippert drove things on in front and her sister Femke let go of the German soon after. Behind, the trains formed as the race favourites sought an early positional advantage on the first slopes. Lippert, coming into the day 26th overall, held a lead of 90 seconds before the climb’s steepest pitches.

In the group of favourites, diminutive climber Gaia Realini was the first to attack for Lidl-Trek along with Stiasny. Their move shredded the group, with the likes of Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypto) going backwards as she had done 24 hours earlier. Those who came to the fore on stage 6 stayed with Stiasny as Realini faded. With 5.4km left Lippert was caught and just five riders were in touch with red jersey Van der Breggen.

Bunel took the pace up with 4km left, opening up a small gap over Blasi, Van der Breggen and the rest. The overnight leader looked under pressure as she began to lose ground also to Blasi, who was in pursuit of Bunel. Soon, Van der Breggen slipped behind Stiasny and Berthet with the toughest sections of L’Angliru still to come.

Blasi caught Bunel and moved to the front a few hundred metres later, immediately giving her French rival problems as Van der Breggen plummeted further behind. Shortly after, Blasi was clear as Bunel began to falter, being overtaken by Stiasny who was measuring her effort.

On the crucial section above 20%, Stiasny appeared to be closing on Blasi. With 2km to go, the Swiss rider had passed Blasi and extended out into a significant lead as the road flattened, staying strong to take by far the biggest win of her career by 23 seconds over Blasi, with Berthe coming through to third.

Results

La Vuelta Femenina, Stage 7 La Pola Llaviana > L'Angliru, 136.9km

1. Petra Stiasny (Swi), Human Powered Health in 4:09:40
2. Paula Blasi (Esp), UAE Team ADQ, +23s
3. Juliette Berthet (Fra), FDJ United-Suez, +43s
4. Marion Bunel (Fra), Visma-Lease a Bike, +43s
5. Anna van der Breggen (Ned), SD Worx-Protime, +59s
6. Valentina Cavallar (Aus), SD Worx-Protime, +1:10
7. Urška Žigart (Slo), AG Insurance-Soudal, + 1:30
8. Usoa Ostolaza (Esp), Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi, +1:41
9. Barbara Malcotti (Ita), Human Powered Health, +1:56
10. Nienke Vinke (Ned), SD Worx-Protime, +2:16

General Classification after stage 7

1. Paula Blasi (Esp), UAE Team ADQ in 22:17:03
2. Anna van der Breggen (Ned), SD Worx-Protime, +24s
3. Marion Bunel (Fra), Visma-Lease a Bike, +49s
4. Usoa Ostolaza (Esp), Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi, +2:31
5. Juliette Berthet (Fra), FDJ United-Suez, +2:36
6. Urška Žigart (Slo), AG Insurance-Soudal, +2:43
7. Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita), Liv-AlUla-Jayco, + 2:51
8. Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Pol), Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypto, + 3:06
9. Barbara Malcotti (Ita), Human Powered Health, +3:50
10. Évita Muzic (Fra), FDJ United-Suez, +3:55

Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx - Protime) won stage six of La Vuelta Femenina, an 106.5km-long mountain day with an uphill finish, steaming up the brutal ascent of Les Praeres in impressive style, followed by Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ) and then Marion Bunel (Visma–Lease a Bike).

The rain in Spain started getting heavier as the day's racing rushed towards its dramatic conclusion, with a rather decimated peloton of riders jostling for position during the long descent preceding the final climb, but as the elevation started to properly rear – up to 27% at one point – the contest was reduced to a three-way battle.

Despite starting the day still felling the effects of a crash yesterday, the 36-year-old veteran Van der Breggen led from from the outset on the relentless 3.7-kilometre ascent of Les Praeres. With an average gradient of 13,4% (and maximum incline of 27%) the climb has twice featured in the men’s La Vuelta (with triumphs for the UK’s Simon Yates in 2018 and South Africa’s Louis Meintjes in 2022), but this was the first time the women's race had tackled it.

The prospect of the final hill had hung over the peloton for much of the day's racing, and as the riders approached the conditions deteriorated significantly, with ever-heavier rain making the roads slippery and reducing visibility. Maeva Squiban (UAE) crashed out of the race altogether, with Sarah Van Dam (Visma-Lease a Bike) also suffering a fall, and the front group was reduced to 40 riders as the peloton approached Les Praeres, which was where the penultimate day, and the general classification order, was always going to be decided.

"This climb is new for a lot of us riders," Van der Breggen had told TNT Sport before the day's cycling began, explaining that she had deliberately not recced the hill. "It's exciting!"

Her performance on the ascent did not disappoint. Using her experience and taking control from the very start, Van der Breggen opened up a small gap as the gradient started to really bite. The hill offers a small respite, with 1km of relatively flat road after the worst of the climb, but the final 800 metre rears up again, to 11.5%.

Throughout the climb, 23-year-old Spaniard Blasi hung onto the Dutch woman's wheels with grim determination, and 21-year-old French rider Marion Bunel (Visma–Lease a Bike) was just behind. All three riders were in time-trial mode, riding on their limits with no support.

Blasi, who came into cycling relatively recently from duathlon, and won the Amstel Gold race in great style last month, is enjoying an incredible season, and Bunel now holds the white jersey in the La Vuelta Femenina. Neither were able to catch the SD Worx rider, however, and Van der Breggen, who only returned to pro racing after three years out of the peloton last season, took a convincing – albeit hard-won – victory.

"It started steep and it finished steep," Van der Breggen said afterwards. "All day I was fighting. I wasn't feeling so good at the beginning of the day, because I could still feel the crash from yesterday. Finishing like this… I'm incredibly happy."

Van der Breggen now takes an 18-second lead into the final day of the 2026 La Vuelta Femenina, and what a day it promises to be. Just shy of 133km in length, stage 7 of the race is a spectacular grand finale that culminates with an even tougher and longer climb up the steep flanks of the Asturian colossus to L’Angliru. Anything could happen.

La Vuelta Femenina, Stage 6 Gijón/Xixón > Les Praeres Nava, 106.5km

1. Anna van der Breggen (Ned), SD Worx-Protime, 106.5km in 3:01:45

2. Paula Blasi (Esp), UAE Team ADQ, +8s

3. Marion Bunel (Fra), Visma-Lease a Bike, +29s

4. Juliette Berthet (Fra), FDJ United-Suez, +36s

5. Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita), Liv AlUla Jayco, +38s

6. Évita Muzic (Fra), FDJ United-Suez, +47s

7. Yara Kastelijn (Ned), Fenix-Premier Tech, + 49s

8. Gaia Realini (Ita), Lidl-Trek, +57s

9. Katrine Aalerud (Nor), Uno-X Mobility, +1:09

10. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol), Canyon/Sram, ast

General Classification after Stage 6

1. Anna van der Breggen (Ned), SD Worx-Protime, 18:06:48

2. Paula Blasi (Esp), UAE Team ADQ, +18s

3. Marion Bunel (Fra), Visma-Lease a Bike, +41s

4. Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita), Liv AlUla Jayco, +54s

5. Évita Muzic (Fra), FDJ United-Suez, +59s

6. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol), Canyon/Sram, +1:25

7. Usoa Ostolaza (Esp), Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi, ast

8. Katrine Aalerud (Nor), Uno-X Mobility, ast

9. Lore De Schepper (Bel), AG Insurance-Soudal, +1:32

10. Lotte Claes (Bel), Fenix-Premier Tech, +1:44

After four years away from the professional peloton, Anna van der Breggen reaffirmed her status as a Grand Tour contender after finishing on the podium of La Vuelta Femenina.

The SD Worx-ProTime rider landed third at the mountainous week-long race behind a dominant Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ) and runner-up Marlen Reusser (Movistar).

Van der Breggen came out of retirement this season after three years working as a Director Sportif for SD Worx-ProTime, during which time she also coached Vollering. She impressed early on in 2025 with podiums at Setmana Ciclista Valenciana and Strade Bianche and took her first win of the season this week by escaping in the final moments of stage four.

The General Classification podium placing, and more importantly perhaps her performance in the two mountain stages at La Vuelta, signified that Van der Breggen will pose a threat to Vollering and Tour de France Femmes reigning champion Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM-zondacrypto) at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and Giro d’Italia Women later this year.

The performance has buoyed the 35-year-old, who believes that she will get better the more she tests herself against the other favourites in the mountains as the season goes on.

“That makes me really satisfied to feel better uphill. After all, I have hardly done such efforts until now. And I feel I need to do this a few times to grow into it," Van der Breggen said in a team press release after the final stage.

"In the end, this was a super week for Team SD Worx-Protime. It's promising for what's to come this season. Not only my individual performance, but also that of the whole team,” she added.

The final stage was perhaps the toughest of the week, taking the riders over three tough climbs with almost 3000 metres of elevation in total. The day finished on the 10.2km ascent of the Alto de Cotobello.

Van der Breggen took up the pace-making for much of the rain-soaked final climb of the race before Vollering launched her decisive move with 900 metres to go. Van der Breggen was riding strongly, but just missed that extra few percentage points needed to match her rival on this occasion. She said that she felt stronger than on stage five, when she lost almost a minute to Vollering on the Lagunas de Neila finish.

“I am really happy with this third place,” she said. “This was a nice ride for me. It was a tricky stage with rain in the beginning and then a descent. But in terms of clothing, we were comfortable, so I wasn't cold. My teammates continuously kept us well in front. That only motivated me more. I wanted to do as well as I could on the final climb."

“I set the pace, but there wasn't really much wind on the climb, so I didn't suffer much from riding in the lead. I also felt a lot better than in stage five, only now the climb was less steep. I personally thought that was a pity as I felt good. I already felt a difference compared to Thursday.”

Van der Breggen’s next big target looks set to be the Giro d’Italia Women, a race she has won four times, before taking on Vollering and the rest at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift at the end of July. For now, she is satisfied to be back on the podium.

“We're happy with how the Vuelta went for us and I'm proud to get straight to the final podium at my first stage race at WorldTour level since my return."

The Women’s WorldTour calendar will be one race shorter in 2025 after the news that the Tour of Scandinavia will not take place this year.

The organiser of the race shared a statement on the race’s website this week confirming that the race had been cancelled and that the races' parent company, Ladies Tour of Norway AS, had been dissolved. The event had already not taken place in 2024 due to financial issues. According to the organiser the race had also received minimal support from broadcasters in Norway.

The statement read: "After last year’s cancellation, hard work has been done since last summer to revive the WorldTour race. We were well into the preparations with both the race concept, host municipalities, and not least international TV distribution, which looks very impressive and is in place.

"However, we must acknowledge that we have not succeeded in building a brand that is attractive enough to media, sponsors, and other important stakeholders in Norway. There are no national TV channels in Norway, like NRK and Tv2, who wish to distribute the race on TV despite us covering all production costs.

"Without national TV coverage, sponsors, and a federation lacking enthusiasm to support the WorldTour race at home, it becomes difficult to establish a sustainable financial platform and create the enthusiasm needed, both internally and external, to deliver a professional cycling race at the top level."

It continued: "We have dared to be innovative and have been an important driver for the development of international women’s cycling. We are proud of what we have created and happy to be remembered as one of the best and most recognised races on the women’s WorldTour calendar."

Annemiek van Vleuten won what is now the final edition of the race in 2023, with Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig triumphing in the first edition the year before. The Tour of Scandinavia was the successor to the event previously known as the Ladies Tour of Norway which first took place in 2014. Previous winners of the Ladies Tour include Marianne Vos, Lucinda Brand and Anna van der Breggen. Vos won the race on three separate occasions.

Despite losing the Tour of Scandinavia, the women’s WorldTour calendar will finally contain a women’s edition of Milan-San Remo this year, which will take place in March.

Anna van der Breggen has announced that she will return to the professional peloton in 2025, three seasons after she retired as a rider.

The news was announced at a surprise press conference organised by her SD Worx-Protime team on Thursday afternoon.

The two-time world champion stepped off the bike and into the team car after the Leuven World Championships in 2021, becoming a directeur sportif for the team she had raced for since 2017.

"I find my job as a team leader beautiful and challenging, but I realise that I can still do this job in ten years' time," she said. "If I want to return as a cyclist, it's now or never. I am looking forward to it immensely."

"The motivation is great to get back on the bike after three years," she continued. "It's an exciting decision. If I didn't feel the motivation, I would never be able to do this. That was also the reason why I decided to stop in 2021 after the Tokyo Olympics. I had been doing the same thing for years and felt I was tired. I was able to win a lot of competitions, but physically and mentally it also takes a lot out of you. 

"After a three-year period where I looked at cycling from a different angle, I feel that the motivation and the will to cycle is completely back. I am excited to come back. To suffer on the bike again and to race with the team again. I realise now how much I love the game, the sport and the competition."

In a glittering career, the now 34-year-old won the Giro d'Italia Women on four occasions, and took victory in almost all of the major races, including a record seven victories at La Flèche Wallonne, seven in a row. She won the World Championships road race in 2018 and 2020, and the Olympic Games road race in Rio in 2016. She also won the time trial at the World Championships in 2020.

Since retiring, she has expertly guided SD Worx on their way to being the best team in the peloton, with huge victories for Demi Vollering, Lotte Kopecky and Lorena Wiebes. 

"My mindset will be different," Van der Breggen said. "I will be less focused on wins in certain races or on having clear goals. After this long break, I feel it is a privilege to be able to ride races and be a cyclist again. For me, it is no longer so much about ticking off races or victories, but more about enjoying the sport and the competition. 

"In the next six months, I will train a lot and work on my fitness. I am curious to see what level I can get back to. Of course I aim to become a better cyclist than in my previous period. Whether that succeeds always remains the question."

"Do I still want to be a winner?" she asked. "Of course I feel competition in me. I always want to win. However, that doesn't mean you always  can win. That's fine too, because that only makes the victories you have more beautiful. When you have to struggle to get somewhere, it just makes the rewards later more beautiful. In any case, for me it is a privilege to be a cyclist again soon in 2025."

"We had already noticed for some time that during stage races Anna increasingly started cycling a bit herself," Danny Stam, the team's manager, said. "We are happy to have another world-class cyclist in the team with her. We hope she can grow to that high level again. We are confident about that. If Anna has doubts about something, she won't do it. That certainly applies to this big step."

The news she is un-retiring comes after it was announced that Vollering, SD Worx's GC leader, and the defending Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift champion, will be leaving the team at the end of the season.

Even the world's top teams will struggle to fill rosters for top stage races under new rules introduced by the UCI they fear.

Teams are to be expanded to seven riders on WorldTour stage races of six stages or more from next year but staff on multiple teams have told Cycling Weekly they will struggle to meet that requirement and that it may, counter-intuitively, harm the quality of the racing.

Top level women’s outfits have traditionally had small rosters and some fear teams will be under pressure to fill race squads, putting too much stress on riders.

In addition, they worry this will be exacerbated by the 2023 WorldTour calendar which will have more race days than ever before.

While the option of allowing teams to have seven riders has been open to race organisers for some time, in recent seasons the vast majority of races, and all WorldTour events, have only required six riders.

The change, which affects WorldTour races of six or more stages, comes as part of a raft of new regulations, published by the UCI in September, that come into force over the next two seasons. 

Cycling Weekly has learned that the new seven rider rule, and a change allowing two cars in race convoys, was granted by the governing body after a request by the Women’s WorldTour working group of the teams’ association, UNIO.

However, some still have concerns about the viability of bigger race squads.

“You see how many teams do not even have six riders now in normal races, if you need to find seven riders in a lot of races it’s going to be a big problem,” said SDWorx sports director, Anna van der Breggen at the recent WorldTour ranked Tour de Romandie Féminin.

After a glittering career, which brought her the Olympic road and three world titles, Van der Breggen is now part of the management at the world's top ranked team.

As if to prove her point, of the 16 teams racing in Romandie only five started with six riders, while SDWorx, whose Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio won the mountain stage and overall, and Trek-Segafredo, had only four. That meant the race began with just 82 riders. The current minimum is supposed to be 90. 

“You need bigger teams, we don’t have enough riders already. For me it feels really strange to put in this rule at this moment, they’re not helping teams. In the future it might be possible but not at this point.”

Though full team rosters for next season have not yet been made public, none of the current 14 WorldTour teams in 2022 have have anywhere near the maximum permitted number of 20 women. Van der Breggen thinks that number is unachievable.

“It’s already difficult to get enough riders for next year, if we have 20 or 30 we won’t get it anyway, it’s difficult to find the riders and manage the budget to have enough riders.”

Cycling Weekly understands part of the issue is rising rider wages, caused by more money coming into the sport, including from some new teams, which has created a seller’s market.

Multiple sources have told us of riders with no victories asking for six figure sums to join teams.

“Salaries are crazy high at the moment, that it’s getting higher is a good thing, but if you need more riders you need more budget,” continued Van der Breggen.

“You want to have riders who can do a proper race and develop and get better, and not only put riders on the schedule to do a race because they are the only ones left. That’s not getting the level of cycling higher, it’s making it worse again.

“We try to improve, we need to improve, but this makes it more difficult.”

Like van der Breggen, prolific sprinter Giorgia Bronzini is also a double road world champion, and now lead sport director at WorldTour squad Liv Racing Xstra. The Italian sees the change from a different angle.

“It’s fair enough, if that rule means that we have one less little team then the bunch is maybe at a higher level and there are fewer differences on the general classification. And it’s up to you if you’re going to bring seven or not,” she explained, suggesting some teams might only fill their rosters in races they are targeting.

Expanding calendar headache

Though WorldTeams are not yet required to ride all WorldTour races, there is an issue with the increasing number of top tier race days, which has been causing concern for a while. Since 2019 it has increased from 54 days to 80 next year.

“The WorldTour is a lot of days and if we are going to be obligated to do it all then it’s not going to be supported by teams. You need to increase budgets of the WorldTour teams.” 

There’s another issue bothering Bronzini. “They need to change the support race organisations give to teams. In a lot of tours they only provide rooms for four staff and six girls, with more girls you think the team is going to have the same amount of staff?”

So what about race organisers? UK company Sweetspot have been running the standard-setting Women’s Tour since 2014 which, at six days, is affected by the roster increase.

“We’ve normally run close to the minimum number of teams required for a WorldTour event which has changed over time,” a spokesman told us. “We’re not sure whether it will be 17 or 18 mandatory invitees in 2023. If all 18 teams brought seven riders then we would have our largest ever field for the Women’s Tour, so the implication is cost, another 100+ bed nights to pay over the course of the race would cost up to £10,000."

They added: "We are still in a very tough sponsorship market for attracting income. This is another extra cost when we are coming from two really tough years.”

Positive progress

Many of the other regulation amendments have been welcomed though. 

The ability for teams to appoint replacement riders for others on maternity leave is a groundbreaking move, though the replacement cannot already be registered with a UCI team. 

It was already known the Women’s Under-23 category, which debuted at the recent World Championships, would be run as standalone events from 2025, but maximum and minimum distances of 140km and 110km have been revealed. In tandem the elite Worlds and Olympic race distances have been increased.

The minimum wage will continue to be increased, and institution of development teams for Women’s WorldTeams has also been formalised. Trainees (stagiaires), and ‘new riders’ (neo-pros) are also formally defined, with a lower minimum wage for the latter.

“I think that’s a really good thing,” Van der Breggen said, the move allowing teams to have extra riders they can develop without disproportionately impacting budgets.

With cancellations and rescheduled races, the 2021 Women’s WorldTour season was another truncated by COVID, but that didn’t stop the series bringing us some exciting racing. Here we’ve picked six of the most exciting and interesting days, spread between March and October, proof, if it were needed of another vintage year. 

Oxyclean Classic Brugge - De Panne, March 25

We all love a bit of crosswind action, right? With its pan flat coastal roads and mid-March place on the calendar, we can more or less guarantee that’s what we will get at Brugge - De Panne. And this year’s race didn’t disappoint.

One of the longest races on the calendar, no sooner had the peloton rolled out of Brugge than a couple of riders were up the road, but they, and other small moves were never allowed any space, and the whole bunch entered De Moeren - an especially windy section of flatlands - as one.

The second time through here SDWorx put the race in the gutter, and only 12 women emerged into a tail wind section. With a number of teams represented with more than one rider, the group worked well, and such was the chaos behind they were never likely to be caught.

On her own in the leading group Grace Brown (BikeExchange) knew she wouldn’t out sprint the likes of Kirsten Wild (Ceratizit-WNT), Lotte Kopecky (Liv Racing) and Jolien D’hoore (SDWorx) so, with 10km to go she attacked hard.

While the group looked around to see who would chase, the Australian soon had a gap. But, in what was a hugely tense final, the Australian’s that lead was never more than 25 seconds, and it tumbled as sprinters’ team mates went to work. In the end though, Brown hung on, winning by just seven seconds.

Amstel Gold Race, April 17

The pandemic made sure this year’s Amstel Gold Race was like no other, with the entire race happening on the local circuit around Valkenburg, close to the Dutch city of Maastricht.

Though two riders escaped early on the first of seven laps, the race soon descended into chaos, as a group of 20 caught the leaders the second time up the Bemelerberg. This break didn’t last long though, Anna van der Breggen (SDWorx) bridging with Grace Brown.

After the race re-formed there was a brief period of calm, only for Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) to attack on the race’s signature climb, the Cauberg, with just over two laps to go. Wearing her European champion’s jersey Van Vleuten was unable to get a gap and it was Grace Brown and Pauliena Rooijakkers (Liv Racing) who emerged, the pair staying together onto the final circuit.

The Dutch rider was dropped on a descent, and with a lead of 30 seconds it seemed Brown might pull off a second solo win. However, desperate work from both Trek-Segafredo and SDWorx brought the Australian to within touching distance as the final ascent of the Cauberg loomed. 

In what was a dramatic final 2000m, Brown was caught by a rampant Van Vleuten, but Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) never her let her get away, and with Trek-Segafredo’s Elisa Longo Borghini caught her and rode off into a winning position.

However, in an odd twist, when Niewiadoma brought back an attack by the Italian the latter refused to work, and despite the polish woman’s imploring the pair were caught with only 300m remaining, and a 10 woman sprint was on the cards.

Marianne Vos knew she was the fastest sprinter in the group, going clear and raising her hands early in celebration, only for her smile of joy to fade for an anxious moment after SDWorx’s Demi Vollering pushed her close, Vos eventually winning by a tiny margin.

Liège-Bastogne-Liège, April 25

Since its inception in 2017 the women’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège has always provided entertaining racing, though many were unaware as the early editions were not televised. With good coverage this year we witnessed a masterful team victory and a changing of the guard at the top of the sport.

With an early break caught, SDWorx sparked a dynamic race, sending riders up the road and making their way into a number of breakaways. And it was the Dutch team’s then world champion Anna van der Breggen who made the race with a scintillating attack on the Côte de la Roche aux Faucons.

Marianne Vos has never won Liège and missed the group of six created by the rainbow jersey, but worked hard to get back on, though just as she did Van der Breggen went again, creating a five woman group which would contest the win.

Van der Breggen led the group for every one of the closing 13km, selflessly leading out team mate Demi Vollering, who capped off a stunning team performance winning the first of four WorldTour victories in 2021, and placing a hand on SDWorx leader’s baton for the first time.

Stage four, Vuelta a Burgos Feminas, May 23

Head to head battles between Annemiek van Vleuten and Anna van der Breggen, come around once a year at best, and they are invariably enthralling. Adept in the mountains and against the clock, the Dutch pair have similar skillsets and have been the most dominant women of recent years.

This year’s clash of the titans came on the fourth and final day of the season’s first WorldTour stage race, the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas, on the final ascent to Lagunas de Neila.  

Van der Breggen began the day sixth on GC, two seconds behind overall leader and team mate, Niamh Fisher-Black, indeed SDWorx had four women in the top eight, with Van Vleuten just behind, only five seconds off the lead.

SDWorx set the pace on the final climb, chasing a huge breakaway which began to fall apart, though two women remained ahead inside the final two kilometres. After Demi Vollering brought the final two escapees back, she was dropped leaving the two Dutch masters alone into the final 500m, with then world champion Van der Breggen resolutely stuck to the front.

Van Vleuten seemed to be struggling, and her task was made more difficult as the road curved round to the left and her rival, still looking strong, stuck to the nearside barrier, forcing her compatriot to take the long way round.

When the Movistar rider finally made her move Van der Breggen had time to respond and easily out sprinted the older woman, taking the stage and adding another GC title to her impressive palmarès.

Stage 4, Simac Ladies Tour, August 28

Over its 23 editions the Simac Ladies Tour has consistently defied the somewhat uninspiring Dutch terrain and served up a dish of gnarly, entertaining racing, and this year’s penultimate stage was one of gloriously entertaining chaos.

After a stunning time trial Marlen Reusser (Alé-BTC Ljubljana) led the GC by 10 seconds from Chantal van den Broek-Blaak, and it was the SDWorx rider who kicked off the chaos. The former world champion escaped with Ellen van Dijk (Trek-Segafredo), the two Dutch women building a small gap.

Short of team mates Reusser was very much on the back foot, but chased them back only for Anousker Koster to get away alone. With their teams controlling, then reducing the advantage, Van den Broek-Blaak and Kasia Niewiadoma bridged across when the gap was small enough, taking Koster’s Jumbo-Visma team mate Marianne Vos with them.

Even with Marta Bastianelli now there to help, Reusser could not close the gap, but was given  hope when a counter attack brought the leaders within touching distance, making for a nail biting final.

However, the leaders were three of the best and even had time to finesse. Niewiadoma attacked early on the dig to the line, however, no one was likely to match Vos and she took the stage by two seconds, while Van den Broek-Blaak put 21 seconds into Reusser, taking third on the day and the GC.

Paris Roubaix Femmes, October 2

After years of waiting, grasping at every tiny hint of progress, the women’s Paris-Roubaix was finally announced as part of the rejigged 2020 WorldTour calendar. Anticipation was further increased when the pandemic caused its cancellation. Twice. But in October it finally happened. 

And what a race.

At only 116km some it was too short, but it was hugely entertaining, despite not a lot happening for the opening 30 kilometres. On the first cobbled sector, more than 80km from the famous velodrome, Lizzie Deignan, staying safe at the front, found herself with a gap, and taking her opportunity, she forged on alone.

What followed was a masterclass on many levels. Each time someone chased, one of Deignan’s Trek-Segafredo team mates was there too. Despite crashes they infiltrated every group, causing it to falter. Meanwhile at the front the Brit ploughed on.

Only inside the final 20km was Marianne Vos able to break the Trek-Segafredo stranglehold, attacking and taking chunks out of Deignan’s lead. But it was not to be, as Roubaix grew closer, Vos began to falter and her deficit began to grow. Eventually, Deignan won by 1.17, one of the best rides you are ever likely to see earning her a place in history.

Anna van der Breggen has withdrawn from the World Championships time trial on Monday 20 September, claiming she doesn't have enough energy to perform to her best. 

Van der Breggen, who is the reigning champion of the World Championships time trial after winning in 2020 at Imola, therefore won't be defending her title on the 30.3 kilometre course that finishes in Bruges. The Netherlands also won't be able to call up a replacement for the 31-year-old, because she had her own personal starting place as the defending world champion. 

The Netherlands will still have a strong trio of riders for the time trial though, with Olympic TT champion Annemiek van Vleuten, Ellen van Dijk and Riejanne Markus all included for the event.

Van der Breggen withdrew from the European Championships last week after finishing 58th place in the general classification at the Challenge by La Vuelta, citing she wasn't at her 'normal level', which she echoes as her reason for withdrawing from the World Championships time trial.

"I have no idea why I am not reaching my level at the moment," said Van der Breggen. "We will conduct several investigations in the coming days. On the basis of that I determine my further program this year." 

Anna's sports director at SD Worx, Danny Stam, also suggested that she is suffering from a lack of energy. Consequently, Stam agrees with her decision to withdraw.

"Anna had too much on her plate and sometimes the bucket overflows," said Stam. "We have seen the results of her blood values and her vessel with energy is somewhat empty, so she has to take it easy. The time trial is a very specific part and takes a lot of energy."

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Regardless of Van der Breggen missing the time trial, Netherlands national coach Loes Gunneijk is leaving the decision up to the reigning time trial champion on whether or not she competes in the World Championships road race on Saturday 25 September.

"Anna has her own starting place at the World Championships," said Gunnewijk, "as far as I'm concerned, she can also decide at the last minute about her participation."

Anna van der Breggen says that she was not at her 'normal level' at the Challenge by La Vuelta and has pulled out of the running for the European Championships.

Van der Breggen (SD Worx) finished in 58th place in the general classification at 23-07 to rival Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar), who took the overall title. Van der Breggen's best performance was on the time trial on stage two where she finished at 1-46 behind winner Van Vleuten.

Annemiek Van Vleuten, Marianne Vos, Amy Pieters, Demi Vollering and Chantal Van der Broek-Blaak are the other Dutch riders due to ride. It is not yet clear who will replace Van der Breggen.

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In a team press release, Van der Breggen said: "I just didn't have the power in Spain to follow when it was a hard race. After the Olympics I started training again and in the GP de Plouay I was able to achieve a decent level. 

"Mentally, I'm still looking forward to the last races later this year. I did my best in Spain to make the best out of it, but physically I was not at my normal level at all. With my current level, I have nothing to do at the European Championships. 

"Another Dutch rider is then of greater value at the European Championships than me. I have no idea why I'm not at my level right now. We will be conducting several investigations in the coming days. Based on that, I determine my further program this year."

Van der Breggen is due to retire at the end of the season and would have been hoping to go out on a high.

The 31-year-old was down to ride the individual time trial on Thursday, September 9 as well as the road race on Saturday, September 11.

This also casts doubts on whether or not Van der Breggen will compete in the World Championships with the time trial on Monday, September 20 and the road race Saturday, September 25.

Van der Breggen isn't the only Dutch star who is now doubtful for the World Championships after Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) pulled out of the Benelux Tour, with doubts about whether he'll compete in Leuven and Paris-Roubaix a month later.