Liege-Bastogne-Liege: Van der Breggen capitalises on early season choices

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Anna van der Breggen with her third trophy of the week(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

Crossing the Liege-Bastogne-Liege finish line in Ans, Anna van der Breggen has completed editing the new chapter of women's cycling history. The reigning Olympic and European champion concluded an incredibly successful week, taking victories in all three Ardennes classics and setting an incredibly high benchmark for the editions to come.

The Boels Dolmans rider prevailed on her team's home ground on the route of the Amstel Gold Race last Sunday, went on to take a third victory in La Fleche Wallonne on Wednesday and yesterday concluded spring racing with a solo victory in Ans. The first ever women's Ardennes triptyque will be remembered, however, not just due to van der Breggen's astonishing winning streak. Remarkably, the Olympic champion finished all three races ahead of her teammate Elizabeth Deignan and Polish champion Katarzyna Niewiadoma (WM3 Pro Cycling), while a reborn Amstel Gold Race saw the jury unable to call the sprint for third place and award it ex aequo to Niewiadoma and Annemiek Van Vleuten.

Sponsored by Dutch companies – Boels Rental and Dolmans Landscaping – the team made the Ardennes week a top priority, aiming specially for the Amstel Gold Race – run in the hills of Limburg where both companies are based. In these circumstances, matching the 14 victories taken in early 2016 was not even a part of the plan. With both leaders gearing up for April and injuries sidelining Megan Guarnier and Katarzyna Pawlowska, the team started the year in a less dominant fashion, yet not without success. It still managed four victories, including one in Ronde van Drenthe, where Amalie Dideriksen sprinted to her first victory in the rainbow jersey. Deignan also secured a podium in Strade Bianche and Chantal Blaak in Ronde van Vlaanderen, ensuring presence of team colours among top riders in key events of the spring.

"I got sick after I did some mountain biking. So then the shape was a bit later than expected but it was not a problem because this week was still far away. I took my time to get in shape and ride the races I needed. I was happy, the weather was good in every race, that also helps a lot. I think I made it to this week in the right shape. And you know, you never can plan it so that you have it [at the precise moment], it's a always bit of gambling."

Taking three one-two victories in one week demonstrated the strength of the Dutch team and its ability not only to handle the pressure but also the capacity to take the responsibility of racing on a top level. With its leaders back on form, the team used the numbers to out-power the opponents and played on Van der Breggen's versatility and Deignan's ability to out-sprint all the major contenders in the final.

"Being together with Lizzie, that's a big advantage because everybody in the group knows if I attack, they have to close it and then Lizzie is in the wheel. When we are together, we can play the game. I saw I had a small gap on top of Saint Nicolas, so I went. [I thought] I can try; if they close it that's fine too because Lizzie is in the wheel and they have to work anyway. They didn't close it, so I'm really happy," Van der Breggen said.

"Bigla again rode a very good race, Orica was always aggressive. You see some fighting spirit and that's really good, especially in a race like this. It is not falling down again on the final climb but it's really aggressive. It's a change, especially in the race which is that hard. You know the final is coming with 60 kilometres of the toughest climbs and they attack from kilometre zero. That means there is some fighting spirit and that they are not afraid," Van der Breggen admitted.