'I was not at my normal level': Anna van der Breggen pulls out of European Championships after poor showing in Spain
The double world champion does not know why she is not on her usual unbeatable form in her final season before retirement
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.
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."
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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.
Tim Bonville-Ginn is a freelance writer who has worked with Cycling Weekly since 2020 and has also written for many of the biggest publications in cycling media including Cyclingnews, Rouleur, Cyclist and Velo.