Anna van der Breggen began the queen stage of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes in a strong fifth place overall, but her challenge for the podium unravelled quickly on the Col de la Madeleine. The Dutch rider cracked early on the climb and eventually rolled over the line in 18th, over nine minutes behind stage winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. She dropped to twelfth overall.
SD Worx-Protime directeur sportif Danny Stam wasn’t caught off guard by the result. “We were already a bit worried this might happen,” he said after the stage. “Anna had already mentioned that she wasn’t feeling great anymore. When you hear that, you know a day like this could come, and this was not an easy stage.”
Asked whether the team had managed expectations before the Tour, Stam was clear. “Well, we knew the final weekend was going to be extremely tough, and the level of the race is incredibly high. You can see that again today. That’s why I’m never one to shout from the rooftops that we’re going to fight for the podium. We were afraid this would happen, and that fear turned out to be justified.”
The disappointment comes despite earlier success in the race, with two stage wins already on the board and the green jersey effectively secured. But the gap to Ferrand-Prévot, who blew the GC wide open with her dominant ride on the Madeleine, was telling.
“Am I surprised by how strong she was? Yes and no,” Stam said. “Putting three minutes into almost everyone, except Gigante, is extraordinary. But we all know Pauline is a special rider. She’s done unbelievable things before. I didn’t expect the gap to be this big, but she was definitely one of the favourites.”
Turning things around for the final stage won’t be easy, Stam admitted. “The good thing is that we’ve already got two brilliant stage wins, and the green jersey is practically ours. We’ll try again tomorrow for sure, but it won’t be simple.”
