Anna van der Breggen has already begun her return to professional cycling, setting her sights on the Tour de France Femmes and the 2025 World Championships in Rwanda. The 34-year-old, who officially resumes her racing career on 1st January 2025, has been training intensely and recently travelled to Kigali to inspect the championship route.
Van der Breggen, a two-time World road race champion (2018, Innsbruck, and 2020, Imola) and winner of the 2020 World Championships individual time trial, shared images on Instagram of her time in the bustling Rwandan capital, which will host next year’s championships. Speaking earlier this year, she described her motivation to return after stepping back from racing in 2021. “The motivation is great to be back on the bike after three years,” she said at a press conference in June. “After viewing the sport from another angle for three years, I feel the drive and the will to race again have completely returned. I’m excited to come back, to suffer on the bike, and to compete with the team once more.”
During her reconnaissance in Kigali, Anna van der Breggen was joined by men’s national coach Koos Moerenhout and KNWU technical director Wilbert Broekhuizen, though new women’s elite coach Laurens ten Dam was absent. The trip forms part of her preparation for what is expected to be a challenging World Championships course.
Reflecting on her decision to transition back to racing from her role as sports director with Team SD Worx-Protime, she explained her reasoning. “I realise now how much I love the sport, the competition, and the game itself. My job as a sports director is also beautiful and challenging, but it’s work I can still do in ten years. If I want to return as a cyclist, now is the time. I am really looking forward to it.”
Van der Breggen retired following the 2021 World Championships in Leuven, a decision that saw her trade the saddle for a place in the team car. Her years as a sports director brought her continued success with the team she had raced for, but the call of the peloton proved irresistible.
