Anna van der Breggen facts for kids
Van der Breggen in 2018
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| Personal information | |||
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| Full name | Anna van der Breggen | ||
| Born | 18 April 1990 Zwolle, Netherlands |
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| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||
| Weight | 56 kg (123 lb) | ||
| Team information | |||
| Current team | Team SD Worx–Protime | ||
| Discipline | Road | ||
| Role |
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| Rider type | All-rounder | ||
| Major wins | |||
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Anna van der Breggen (born April 18, 1990) is a famous Dutch professional road bicycle racer. She competed professionally from 2009 to 2021. Anna won a gold medal in the women's road race at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She also won the Giro d'Italia Femminile, a major stage race, four times. In both 2018 and 2020, she became the World Road Race Champion.
Anna is known as one of the best all-around cyclists of her time. She was great at both one-day races, called classics, and longer stage races, especially on hilly courses. Besides her Olympic and Giro wins, she won the La Flèche Wallonne seven times in a row. She also won Liège–Bastogne–Liège twice, the Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Race, Strade Bianche, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, and the European Road Race Championships.
In 2017, Anna won three big races in one week, earning her the nickname Queen of the Ardennes. She won her second Giro d'Italia that summer. In 2020, she won both the Individual Time Trial and the Road Race at the UCI World Championships. After retiring from racing at the end of 2021, Anna worked as a directeur sportif (team manager) for her last professional team. In June 2024, she announced her return to racing for the 2025 season.
Contents
Anna's Cycling Journey
Starting Out in Cycling
Anna van der Breggen was born in Zwolle, Netherlands, into a family that loved cycling. She has three brothers and a sister, and they all rode bikes. Anna started racing at age seven with a local club. She became more serious about it as a teenager. In 2007, at 17, she placed fifth in the junior world championship road race.
Becoming a Professional Rider
Anna became a professional cyclist in 2012. That year, she finished ninth in the Tour of Flanders. In July, she won the Tour de Bretagne Féminin, a stage race, by winning three stages and the overall title. She also won a gold medal in the under-23 time trial at the European championships. She was chosen for the 2012 World Championships and finished fifth in the road race.
In 2013, Anna focused on finishing her nursing degree. After graduating, she became a full-time professional cyclist. She finished fourth in the road race at the 2013 World Championships.
Big Wins and Challenges (2014-2015)
Anna had a very successful year in 2014. She won the overall titles at the Ladies Tour of Norway and the Grand Prix Elsy Jacobs in Luxembourg. She also finished third in the Giro Rosa. Her season ended suddenly when she broke her pelvis in a crash at the World Championships.
She recovered well and in 2015, she won her first major classic race, the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. She also won La Flèche Wallonne. In June, she earned a bronze medal at the first European Games in Baku.
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In July 2015, Anna achieved her biggest win yet: the overall title at the 2015 Giro d'Italia Femminile. This is the most important stage race for women. She took the lead on the second-to-last day by winning the individual time trial. Later, she won the La Course by Le Tour de France in Paris. At the World Championships in September, she won two silver medals in the individual time trial and the road race.
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Olympic Gold and European Champion (2016)
In 2016, Anna successfully defended her title at La Flèche Wallonne. She also finished third overall in the Giro Rosa.
On August 7, 2016, Anna won the gold medal in the women's road race at the Rio Olympics. In a dramatic race, her teammate Annemiek van Vleuten crashed while leading. Anna then caught the remaining leaders and won the sprint finish on Copacabana Beach. Three days later, she won a bronze medal in the individual time trial. After her Olympic success, she was honored as a Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau.
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In September, she became the first professional European road race champion at the European Road Championships.
Queen of the Ardennes (2017)
In early 2017, Anna made history by becoming the first woman to win all three Ardennes classics races in a single year. She won the Amstel Gold Race, her third straight Flèche Wallonne win, and the first-ever Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Her amazing performance in these hilly races earned her the nickname Queen of the Ardennes.
That summer, she won the Giro Rosa for the second time. Her team won the opening team time trial, and Anna took the lead early on. She finished the year as the overall winner of the 2017 UCI Women's World Tour, a series of top races.
World Champion Title (2018)
Anna started 2018 strong by winning the Strade Bianche in tough weather. Three weeks later, she won the Tour of Flanders with a long solo ride. She also won her fourth straight Flèche Wallonne and her second Liège–Bastogne–Liège.
At the World Championships in Innsbruck in September, she won her first World gold medal in the road race. She attacked far from the finish line and rode alone to victory, finishing more than three minutes ahead of the second-place rider. She also won two silver medals in the team time trial and individual time trial.
Continued Success and Retirement Plans (2019-2021)
In 2019, Anna won her fifth consecutive Flèche Wallonne, matching a record. She also won the overall title at the Tour of California. At the World Championships in Yorkshire, she earned two more silver medals.
In 2020, Anna won the Dutch National Road Race Championships for the first time. She also won a gold medal in the individual time trial at the European Road Championships. The same year, she won the Giro Rosa for the third time. At the UCI Road World Championships in Imola, she became the world time trial champion and won her second road race world title. She was only the second rider ever to win both world titles in the same year. Shortly after, she set a new record by winning Flèche Wallonne for a sixth time.
In 2021, Anna won her fourth Giro Donne. She also won La Flèche Wallonne for a record seventh time, the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas, and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. She won the Dutch National Time Trial Championships for the second time. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which were held in 2021, she won a bronze medal in the time trial. After this, she retired from professional racing.
New Roles and Return to Racing
After retiring from racing, Anna van der Breggen worked as a directeur sportif (team manager) for her former professional team, SD Worx. In June 2024, Anna announced that she would be returning to professional racing for the 2025 season with her old team, Team SD Worx–Protime.
Personal Life
Anna van der Breggen lives in Hasselt, Netherlands, with her husband, Sierk Jan de Haan. He is a coach for a cycling team. Anna comes from a religious family. She is also a trained nurse. When she's not cycling, she enjoys playing the piano, painting, and knitting.
See also
In Spanish: Anna van der Breggen para niños
- UCI Women's Road World Cup
- UCI Women's World Tour
- List of women's road bicycle races
