After three years of retirement which included working as a directeur sportif for SD Worx-ProTime, Anna van der Breggen returned to professional racing in 2025.
The 34-year-old former world champion and Olympic gold medallist has set her sights on a handful of races, stating in January that she is planning for performance peaks at the Ardennes Classics - Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège - and the Tour de France Femmes.
But, at the same time, Van der Breggen said that she was approaching her comeback differently, and that her main objective is not a personal focus.
“I see the team and I want to be part of this team. And I want to be strong because that is what decides the best in the race,” she said in January.
In her second race of the year at Sunday’s Omloop van het Hageland, Van der Breggen showcased her strength, playing a crucial role in teammate Femke Gerritse’s victory.
“We wanted to make the race hard and it worked out well. Anna van der Breggen was super strong and did a lot of work. She put us all in a luxury position,” Gerritse said.
Van der Breggen made the first big acceleration after around 55 kilometres of racing in the one-day Classic which started in her hometown of Aarschot. Though that move was quickly shut down, the Dutch star was not done. Accelerating once again on a cobbled climb of Kerkstraat, Van der Breggen split the peloton 25 kilometres late, leaving a group of around 30 riders off the front. In the move with her were two of her teammates.
Not done, Van der Breggen did the majority of the work in the break, whittling down the numbers, and putting in a big dig to drop the pure sprinters out of the group, leaving only seven riders to battle it out for victory.
Though Van der Breggen took seventh place after leading out Gerritse to victory, she doesn’t think that she is a top form - yet.
“I hope I can make some more steps and become better than I am now. In terms of intensity, I am not yet where I want to be. But you only get that part by racing. In training you can plan your intervals very specifically, but in racing it is not so measured. In between, you ride harder and you don't know in advance how many times you have to go, as you do in training,” Van der Breggen said in team release.
“Sometimes you have to go 10 times, sometimes 20. You only get that intensity by racing. That's what this race was perfect for. Every time, the intensity was there. This was a top day for the team and a special win for Femke Gerritse.”
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