Anna van der Breggen skips interviews after Tour time trial as Danny Stam answers whether she can recover

No two time trials are the same. Anna van der Breggen produced a dominant performance for SD Worx-Protime at the Giro d’Italia Women, but experienced the other side of the coin at the Tour de France Femmes. The Dutch rider finished 14th in Dijon, 1.09 minutes behind winner Marlen Reusser of Movistar.

Van der Breggen did not give any interviews after the finish, but SD Worx-Protime sports manager Danny Stam did speak to NOS. One day earlier, Van der Breggen had already admitted that she was not feeling at her best in the Tour de France Femmes, and her struggles were confirmed during the individual time trial.

“The clock never lies. It is extremely frustrating when you simply do not have the right legs,” Stam said. “We had already seen it coming over the past few days because she had been complaining about how she felt. A time trial like this is no fun in those circumstances, especially when nothing is working. It always hurts, but today it hurt even more.”

“Is there any chance things will still come right for her during this Tour?” the interviewer asked Stam. The SD Worx-Protime manager offered an honest assessment of Van der Breggen’s prospects.

“Well, I think the answer is fairly clear: no. When you have not had good legs all week and then have to ride a time trial like this... The leading riders still had to finish at that point, so she was obviously going to lose a lot of time here — ultimately 1 minute and 9 seconds. It is a major disappointment.”