9
ANNA VAN DER BREGGEN / NETHERLANDS
"Taking first places in races that I have never won before
triggers me enormously. This was another fantastic result.”
So it was hardly surprising that Anna was highly motivated
on the starting line in Innsbruck. A course that suited her down
to the ground, which she went on to win in an attacking style
reminiscent of Eddy Merckx, as Belgian cycling commentator
Renaat Schotte put it. Her victory surprised both supporters
and critics. “I was overwhelmed by my emotions when I crossed
the finishing line. The course suited me. But that just put even
more pressure on me. The longer it took me to win - with all my
second places in previous championships - the more I wanted
to win, and the more other people also raised their game.”
The world title on 29 September 2018 was the absolute climax
of Anna’s cycling year.
This world title was the fourth in a row for a rider in the
Boels-Dolmans squad. “We have a team of girls who all want
to win and who are also capable of winning. We all talk about
our ambitions and dreams with each other. And that gives us
a shared purpose. If you truly work as a team and also want
the best for each other, you are overjoyed when a teammate
wins. Because you have also achieved your goal. The freedom
within the team and the respect you have for each other makes
us a force to be reckoned with.”
"I WANT TO SHOW OFF THE RAINBOW JERSEY TO
THE PUBLIC FROM THE FRONT OF THE PACK"
After the World Championships in Innsbruck, the major races
that Van der Breggen has yet to add to her long list of victories
in cycling can be counted on one hand, or more accurately on
one finger - the Dutch championship. What does this mean for
her ambitions in 2019? “That I will give everything so that our
team can again win as many great races as possible,”she says
with typical determination and matter-of-factness. “With just
one difference. I will ride in all the races wearing the rainbow
jersey.” Van der Breggen is as ambitious as ever and cannot
wait to compete in the Strade Bianche, the Tour of Flanders
and the Classics in the Ardennes. “I want to be at my best
again and show off the rainbow jersey to the public from the
front of the pack. The greatest thrill in the world.”
THE PROMISE SHOWN BY ANNA VAN DER BREGGEN
WAS CONFIRMED LAST YEAR WHEN SHE WON NO
LESS THAN FOUR MAJOR CLASSICS AND CLOSED
THE SEASON BRILLIANTLY BY ADDING THE WORLD
ROAD CYCLING TITLE TO HER LIST OF OUTSTANDING
ACHIEVEMENTS. SO 2018 WAS HER BEST SEASON YET
AS A MEMBER OF THE BOELS-DOLMANS TEAM. THE
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR FOLLOWED EACH OTHER IN
QUICK SUCCESSION, STARTING WITH A MAGNIFICENT
VICTORY IN THE STRADE BIANCHE UNDER HELLISH
CONDITIONS. A MONTH LATER, VAN DER BREGGEN
WON THE TOUR OF FLANDERS IN AN IMPRESSIVE
SHOW OF STRENGTH. THIS WAS A RACE THAT SHE HAD
NOT YET WON PREVIOUSLY. “I FELT SO STRONG THAT
DAY. I TOOK AN EARLY LEAD, AT A POINT WHICH I HAD
PLANNED BEFORE THE RACE. BUT IT IS SO DIFFICULT TO
BREAK AWAY FROM THE PACK ON YOUR OWN IN FLANDERS.
BEING ABLE TO STAY AHEAD TO THE FINISH LINE
WAS EXHILARATING. I FELT EVEN MORE EXHILARATED
WHEN I HEARD THAT AMY PIETERS, WHO HAD WORKED
SO HARD THAT DAY, HAD TAKEN SECOND PLACE."