Anna van der Breggen will not start Stage 7 of the Tour de France Femmes, with SD Worx-Protime withdrawing the 36-year-old before today’s summit finish on Mont Ventoux.
The team said Van der Breggen will begin an early period of rest after a difficult week in which she was unable to perform at her usual level.
Sports manager Danny Stam confirmed that the problems had been present from the opening stage and had not improved as the race progressed.
“From the very first stage, Anna was not feeling at her best. We kept hoping she would start to feel better as the race progressed, but unfortunately that improvement never came,” Stam said.
“Therefore, we have decided not to take any unnecessary risks and to give her the rest she needs.”
Van der Breggen struggled throughout the opening week
Van der Breggen arrived at the Tour as a credible general classification contender after a 2026 season that had restored her firmly to the front of the women’s stage-racing hierarchy.
Her form earlier in the year included a mountain-stage victory at La Vuelta Femenina on Les Praeres, where she moved into the red jersey before eventually finishing second overall.
That made her one of the major names to watch at the Tour, particularly across the Dijon time trial and the mountain stages. Her place among the pre-race favourites was reflected in our Tour de France Femmes 2026 riders to watch guide.
It quickly became apparent, however, that she was not racing at the same level.
Van der Breggen lost 1:09 to Marlen Reusser in the Stage 4 time trial, an unexpectedly large gap for a rider who had shown such strong form against the clock earlier in the season.
The difficulties continued through the hilly stages that followed.
By the end of Stage 6 she was already well outside the central yellow jersey battle, with Reusser leading Demi Vollering by only 12 seconds before Mont Ventoux.
Rather than send Van der Breggen into the hardest climbing test of the race while she remained below her normal level, SD Worx-Protime have decided to stop.
SD Worx-Protime prioritise recovery over Mont Ventoux
The team have not announced a specific illness or injury behind Van der Breggen’s difficulties.
Instead, SD Worx-Protime described the withdrawal as a decision to avoid unnecessary risk and allow her to recover properly.
That distinction matters.
Van der Breggen is not leaving the Tour because of a reported crash or a confirmed medical diagnosis. The team have simply concluded that continuing through the hardest part of the race offers little benefit when she has been unable to perform normally throughout the week.
Leaving before Ventoux also gives her additional recovery time ahead of her remaining objectives later in the season.
The decision removes one of the peloton’s most experienced climbers from a stage that would ordinarily have suited her particularly well.
Her wider career, including four Giro d’Italia Women victories, Olympic gold and seven wins at La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, is covered in our Anna van der Breggen rider profile.
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Photo Credit: Fred Machabert/Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenges
A Tour that never developed into the expected GC challenge
Van der Breggen’s withdrawal brings an unexpectedly early end to what had been one of the more intriguing GC storylines before the race.
Her comeback had progressed considerably during 2026.
She won on Les Praeres at La Vuelta Femenina and briefly led the race before Paula Blasi overturned the classification on the Angliru. That performance confirmed Van der Breggen could still compete with the strongest stage racers in the peloton, even if the margins were smaller than during the most dominant years of her first career.
The wider significance of that race was examined in what La Vuelta Femenina 2026 means for the season.
The Tour never followed the same trajectory.
The Dijon time trial exposed the first significant weakness, the following hilly stages failed to produce the expected recovery and the team now say she had been struggling since Stage 1.
With Mont Ventoux waiting on Stage 7, there was little reason to force another major effort from a rider whose condition had not improved.
Van der Breggen will instead leave the Tour and begin preparing for the remaining objectives of her 2026 season.
