For the second time this season, Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx Protime) has had to endure heartbreak on the final stage of a Grand Tour. This time she saw former teammate Demi Vollering ride away and the pink jersey slip away on a dramatic final stage of the Giro d’Italia Women.
Unlike the La Vuelta Femenina in May, where Paula Blasi overhauled an 18-second gap to snatch red from Van der Breggen on the final day to L’Angliru, she entered the last day in Italy with 50 seconds to defend from Vollering in second.
But with an up-and-down route to contend with, Vollering’s FDJ United-SUEZ team went for broke, lighting up the action early on the 145km stage. The next key attack didn’t come from her Dutch compatriot, though, but from third-place on GC Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM), which Van der Breggen didn’t follow.
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As a small group went up the road, the SD Worx-Protime rider stayed alongside Vollering in a smaller group, with Lauren Dickson doing pacing for her FDJ leader for the final 70km. There were mind games and tactics, but eventually the big attack from Vollering came with 39km to go up the last climb, the Colletta di Brondello.
Unlike in previous days, when she’s lacked the legs to distance Van der Breggen, a repeated acceleration out of two steep corners saw Vollering get the gap, before powering across to the lead group where she eventually took back 2:33. With such a large gap to the leading group, Niedermaier also overtook her to finish second overall, with Van der Breggen dropping to the final podium spot.
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“They attacked, so I cannot follow every attack. Also, the legs today were a little bit less, so I needed to choose,” said Van der Breggen to Eurosport as she explained the moment Niedermaier went, which was before the broadcast started.
“Then I ended up with Demi, which was good if we worked together, but Demi wasn’t pulling; only her teammate [Dickson] was. So I knew that she would attack on the climb, I tried to follow, and today she was stronger in the end.
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“I did everything I could today, it was also a bit expected like this, so it’s sad to lose it here, but I think, actually, I fought with what I could today, that’s it.”
Gracious as ever in defeat, Van der Breggen could only accept defeat at the finish as she had done on the road, forced into certain tactics as she was isolated with no teammates for much of the second half of stage 9.
Even though this meant she allowed Niedermaier to briefly go into the virtual lead of the race as she was up the road in a break, it was worth making Dickson do all of the work and then trying to pace the final climb as she did to give her the best chance of following Vollering. She had no regrets about how she played it; it just wasn’t enough on the day.
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“They said if Demi’s teammate is working, then Demi should not work, but if I work and Demi does not, then for sure I’m not going to win it because I’d start the climb already a lot less,” she said.
“So in the end, she did some pulls, but it was not really pulling. So, for me, I’m alone, I need to make a decision, and I lose anyway if I really pull a lot.
“I could also feel in my legs if I were to do it, then I could not follow. It is how it is, I tried, and I kept the pace in it, but it was not enough.”
Van der Breggen and Vollering embrace on the final podium (Image credit: Getty Images)
Van der Breggen also didn’t make any excuses after the interviewer referred to her heavy crash from the end of stage 7, saying she felt back pain, but not as a result of this, and that it wasn’t the reason she fell short of victory.
“No, I don’t think [the crash was the reason for my performance], it was also a hard week, of course, the crash is doing something, but it was also a really hard day today,” said Van der Breggen. “I had some back pain, but I think it’s not why I don’t win it, it’s just I wasn’t strong enough today, that’s how it is.”
Disappointed, of course, but four-time Giro champion Van der Breggen still had a smile on her face as she gave a detailed debrief of the stage. One of the most headstrong riders in the bunch, this was still a successful week for the Dutch rider, who only came out of a three-year retirement last season.
“It was already a lot more than expected this week, so actually I’m still really proud, I was there with the fight, and I know I can do it, and I think there are some points that I can improve,” she said.
“I’m ready that it’s finished now. It was a hard week, so of course I’m disappointed. I really wanted to win this jersey, but for sure I’m really proud of the team for what we achieved this week and also the fight I had today.”
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