Danny Stam explains Van der Breggen’s turns on the front in Tour de France Femmes, Jip van den Bos is not surprised

Two out of two for Lorena Wiebes and SD Worx-Protime at the Tour de France Femmes. The Dutch sprinter also conquered Sunday’s thrilling second stage, and she had fellow Dutchwoman Anna van der Breggen to thank for helping make it happen. After the finish, Danny Stam explained why his general-classification leader was working so hard on the front, a decision Jip van den Bos could fully understand.

It was Lidl-Trek’s Riejanne Markus who came close to preventing a bunch sprint on Sunday. The Dutch rider slipped away during what had looked on paper like a fairly demanding stage and managed to remain out in front for a remarkably long time. Ultimately, however, SD Worx-Protime completed the chase successfully, with Van der Breggen among the riders seen driving hard at the front of the peloton.

That left the Dutch team facing something of a dilemma, sports director Stam told NOS. “On the one hand, yes. On the other hand, these riders care so much about one another. When you are that close to taking another victory, I think anyone who knows Anna understands that the decision is made fairly quickly for her.”

Stam explained Van der Breggen’s thinking: “She says: ‘If I ride on the front for ten kilometres, that is not going to make me win or lose the Tour de France.’” He added: “I don’t think Anna did that many turns. At one point, she asked herself: ‘Can I start contributing to the chase?’ That says a lot because the suggestion came from her. At that point, the decision was made for me.”

When an opportunity to win a Tour stage presents itself, a team has to take it. “When you are that close, you don’t want to let the victory slip away. We are at the Tour de France. Once you have achieved something here, nobody can take it away from you. Had we arrived just too late and failed to catch her, people would have asked: ‘Why didn’t you put another rider into the chase?’”

Looking back, Stam therefore believes the team made the right call. “Of course, it is always easy to say that when you win,” he acknowledged, adding that designated lead-out rider Lotte Kopecky also had to empty herself in the pursuit. “In the end, we told Lorena: ‘You will have to find your own way because Lotte is going to contribute to the chase.’ If Lorena then allows a gap to open, her race is over.”

Van den Bos also discussed SD Worx-Protime’s approach on the La Koers podcast. “It is Van der Breggen, and she has done this many times before. She also did it at the Giro,” the Dutch former rider said, explaining why she understood the decision. “Whenever she was asked about it, she said she did not believe that doing this would make her perform any worse in the other stages.”

There was another factor as well. “I think it is also good for her mentally because it boosts the team’s morale. She rode fairly intelligently, and she waited a long time before she started contributing,” Van den Bos said, having seen how necessary Van der Breggen’s assistance was. “The moment Van der Breggen went to the front, ten seconds came off the gap.”