{"id":246405,"date":"2026-06-02T18:09:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T18:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/02\/the-road-to-victory-is-not-always-immediate-anna-van-der-breggen-turns-back-the-years-in-race-against-the-clock-at-giro-ditalia-women-mountain-time-trial\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T18:09:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T18:09:02","slug":"the-road-to-victory-is-not-always-immediate-anna-van-der-breggen-turns-back-the-years-in-race-against-the-clock-at-giro-ditalia-women-mountain-time-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/02\/the-road-to-victory-is-not-always-immediate-anna-van-der-breggen-turns-back-the-years-in-race-against-the-clock-at-giro-ditalia-women-mountain-time-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;The road to victory is not always immediate&#8217; &#8211; Anna van der Breggen turns back the years in race against the clock at Giro d\u2019Italia Women mountain time trial"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"elk-33c29cee-6fa9-4a4f-9059-fcf9431f7561\">At the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/giro-d-italia-women\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/giro-d-italia-women\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/giro-d-italia-women\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Giro d\u2019Italia Women<\/a>, 36-year-old Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) turned back the clock with her <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/live\/giro-d-italia-women-stage-4-live-a-tough-alpine-time-trial-will-begin-to-shape-the-gc-with-a-new-maglia-rosa-likely\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/live\/giro-d-italia-women-stage-4-live-a-tough-alpine-time-trial-will-begin-to-shape-the-gc-with-a-new-maglia-rosa-likely\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/live\/giro-d-italia-women-stage-4-live-a-tough-alpine-time-trial-will-begin-to-shape-the-gc-with-a-new-maglia-rosa-likely\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">stage 4 victory on the mountain time trial from Belluno to Nevegal<\/a>, beating her younger competitors by over a minute and putting the maglia rosa on her shoulders for the first time since winning the 2021 Giro overall.<\/p>\n<p>Going back 11 years, in 2015, a hilly time trial between Pisano and Nebbiuno was Van der Breggen\u2019s first Giro stage victory and a crucial part of her first Giro GC victory. Then the mountain time trial five years ago, between Fondovalle and Cascate del Toce, was her last Giro stage win until now. It saw Van der Breggen cement the GC lead on the way to her fourth Giro victory, beating her then-teammate Demi Vollering (now FDJ United-SUEZ) by 1:06 minutes.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-33c29cee-6fa9-4a4f-9059-fcf9431f7561-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cIt was a long time ago, but I have good memories of it. I think it\u2019s nice to show that the road to victory is not always immediate. It takes time to improve, and it was the same for me,&#8221; said Van der Breggen on the stage winner\u2019s press conference.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-6 w-full overflow-hidden rounded-[10px] lg:my-8\" data-component-name=\"JwPlayer:Carousel\" data-jwp-carousel=\"\" data-jwp-carousel-payload=\"{&quot;ids&quot;:{&quot;playerID&quot;:&quot;jYDCcabO&quot;,&quot;searchPlaylistID&quot;:&quot;gwjdoYHD&quot;,&quot;divID&quot;:&quot;botr_gwjdoYHD_jYDCcabO_div&quot;,&quot;fallbackPlaylistID&quot;:&quot;gwjdoYHD&quot;,&quot;fallbackDivID&quot;:&quot;botr_gwjdoYHD_jYDCcabO_div&quot;,&quot;key&quot;:&quot;X9\\\/mXVGac0NphghLH9hZaqWA5d3dhAM\\\/Ih07grnEyMLjuO2E&quot;,&quot;tintLogo&quot;:true,&quot;useSearchPlaylist&quot;:false,&quot;enabled&quot;:true},&quot;signPostingEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;signPostingLinkEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;waitForAdLoad&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnDesktop&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnMobile&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnTablet&quot;:false}\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-nowrap items-center justify-between gap-3 bg-zinc-900 px-[14px] py-3\" data-jwp-carousel-header=\"\">\n<div class=\"flex min-w-0 shrink items-center\"><span class=\"inline-flex items-center gap-1.5 text-sm font-article-heading capitalize leading-5 text-white whitespace-nowrap\"><span class=\"jwp-carousel-title-mobile\"\/><span class=\"jwp-carousel-title-desktop\">Latest Videos From<\/span><span class=\"jwp-carousel-brand inline-flex items-center\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"aspect-video w-full min-h-[200px] lg:min-h-[330px] relative overflow-hidden bg-black\" data-jwp-carousel-container=\"\">\n<div class=\"absolute inset-0 size-full items-center justify-center bg-white\" data-jwp-carousel-fallback=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/flexiimages\/gmvwmhupgi1715762145.svg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/flexiimages\/gmvwmhupgi1715762145.svg\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] max-h-12 w-auto\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-2 pb-0 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,1em)] uppercase sm:text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,0.875em)] font-bold&#10;        \"><br \/>\n            You may like<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;If you believe in your goals, sometimes you need to be patient. I worked hard the last two years to get back to level I am on again now. In the end, it worked out, and I think that\u2019s why this victory is a really nice one for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">After a three-year stint behind the wheel of the SD Worx team car, Van der Breggen returned to the peloton. On Tuesday, she put 1:10 minutes into Vollering on the climb to Nevegal \u2013 suggesting that she was back at her earlier level relative to her former teammate and now one of the favourites to win the 2026 Giro d\u2019Italia Women outright.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">A fifth overall victory would see Van der Breggen equal the record of Fabiana Luperini, who won the race five times between 1995 and 2008.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cI will do my best to defend this jersey. It\u2019s good that I can defend and see what\u2019s happening. A time trial is always different than a road race, but the legs are feeling good, and my head is also good. It was nice not to be the big favourite,\u201d said Van der Breggen.<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-2ZY5p2TRXWQ5x3GKq5Dm9Z\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-2ZY5p2TRXWQ5x3GKq5Dm9Z slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">After the disqualification of Lorena Wiebes on stage 1, the team also lost Mikayla Harvey, who did not start stage 4 due to her injuries from a crash on stage 3. This left SD Worx-Protime with Valentina Cavallar, Femke Gerritse, Elena Cecchini, and Barbara Guarischi to support Van der Breggen\u2019s GC bid.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cFrom now on it will be a little bit more difficult. But I have a 100% motivated team behind me. We miss two riders, it\u2019s really a pity that Lorena isn\u2019t here anymore. Mickey crashed yesterday, she\u2019s also out, which is never nice, so we also want to do it for them.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I think it\u2019s also a highlight for the whole team after having a hard time these last days. Stage racing is something that you do together, staff and riders,\u201d Van der Breggen expressed trust in her teammates.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><em><strong>Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our Giro d&#8217;Italia Women coverage. Don&#8217;t miss any of the breaking news, reports, and analysis from one of the biggest women&#8217;s stage races of the season.<\/strong><\/em><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=GirW26https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=GirW26\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=GirW26https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=GirW26\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=GirW26https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=GirW26\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong> <\/strong><\/em><\/a><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=GirW26\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=GirW26\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=GirW26\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong>Find out more<\/strong><\/em><\/a><em><strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/womens-cycling\/the-road-to-victory-is-not-always-immediate-anna-van-der-breggen-turns-back-the-years-in-race-against-the-clock-at-giro-ditalia-women-mountain-time-trial\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the Giro d\u2019Italia Women, 36-year-old Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) turned back the clock with her stage 4 victory on the mountain time trial from Belluno to Nevegal, beating her younger competitors by over a minute and putting the maglia rosa on her shoulders for the first time since winning the 2021 Giro [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":246406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6804],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-246405","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}