Anna van der Breggen is making a comeback. The Dutch star announced on Thursday that she would return to her SD Worx Protime team in 2025, this time as a rider.
Van der Breggen transitioned to working with SD Worx Protime when she first reitred at the end of the 2021 season. She’s worked as a team manager with the dominant squad since then. But, three years after her first retirement the multi-time world champion is keen to get out from behind the wheeel of a team car and back on the bike.
“I am looking forward to pinning a jersey number on again,” Van der Breggen said in the announcement. “The motivation is great to get back on the bike after three years. 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.”
“Now or never”
Van der Breggen said that, while she enjoys working with the team off the bike, she realized that, at 34, any form of comeback was a tine-sensitive dream.
“I also find my job as a team leader beautiful and challenging, but I realise that I can still do this job in ten years’ time. If I want to return as a cyclist, it’s now or never. I am looking forward to it immensely,” van der Breggen explained, adding “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.”
A new perspective and a new focus?
While van der Breggen now brings her perspective as a team director back into the peloton, she also still carries with her the vast experience she accumulated as a racer.
Among the Dutch racers accomplishments are two road world championships, a time trial world championship title, the 2016 Olympic road race title, four Giro d’Italia titles, two Tour of California overall wins, European road race and time trial championsihps, seven La Flèche Wallone victories, two Liège-Bastogne-Liège wins, wins at Amstel Gold, Strade Bianche, Tour of Flanders and La Course by Tour of France and even a mountain bike win at the Cape Epic as well as, well, a whole ton of other races.
The women’s peloton looks a lot different than it did just three years ago, though. Van der…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…