Anna van der Breggen sets modest Tour de France Femmes goal: ‘Top five would make me happy’

Anna van der Breggen is keeping expectations in check when it comes to her ambitions for the Tour de France Femmes. The 36-year-old climber will lead SD Worx-Protime, but the experienced Dutchwoman does not consider herself one of the main favourites. A top-five finish is the goal, she explained on Thursday in an interview with NOS.

Van der Breggen appears to have taken another step forward in her second season since returning to professional cycling in 2025. From the middle of March onwards, she was consistently among the strongest riders, finishing second at the Trofeo Alfredo Binda and placing inside the top five at both La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège.

In May, she added a second-place finish in the Vuelta a España, behind the unstoppable Paula Blasi. Van der Breggen won a mountain stage in Spain before also enjoying success at the Giro d’Italia Women, where she claimed the individual time trial and finished third in the general classification.

“I had a good Vuelta and a good Giro, and if I can compete for a place in the top five here, I’ll be happy,” Van der Breggen said of her ambitions. “In this Tour, it will be very important to remain strong because, from stage four onwards, they are basically all difficult stages.”

Van der Breggen believes consistency will be decisive, drawing on the experience accumulated during her highly successful career. “You can be in a good position, but if you have one bad day, everything can suddenly change. You have to remain strong until the final day. If you manage that, you can go a very long way.”

Van der Breggen could nevertheless prove a serious threat, having won the Giro d’Italia four times during the first part of her career. She never raced the Tour de France Femmes or the Vuelta during that period, as the current versions of those races had not yet been established, but she has contested both since returning in 2025. After finishing third and second in her two Vuelta appearances, she will now hope to improve on the 11th place she achieved at the 2025 Tour.