Anna van der Breggen sees chance for overall win in UAE Tour Women vanish

Anna van der Breggen will not be claiming the UAE Tour Women title this year. The SD Worx-Protime rider is not fit enough to participate in the decisive final stage finishing on Jebel Hafeet.

"Anna van der Breggen will not start in the fourth stage of the UAE Tour today," is the unfortunate announcement from SD Worx-Protime on social media. "The stage finishing on Jebel Hafeet was the key stage she had targeted in this stage race."

"However, the rider is struggling with a throat infection. In recent days she hoped to feel better, but with the spring classics in mind, the decision has now been made not to take any risks."

After three stages, Van der Breggen was still in contention for the overall victory. Before the final stage, she trailed her teammate Lorena Wiebes by exactly thirty seconds, with Wiebes having won the first three stages.

Ambitions
Van der Breggen returned to the peloton at the start of 2025 after a three-year break. The multiple world champion and Olympic champion from Rio hopes to take the final step this year and has also marked several major races for 2026.

"I think my program is pretty much the same compared to last year," she said in January at the team presentation. "The three springs classics remain very important," referring to the Amstel Gold Race, the Flèche Wallonne, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. "Ultimately, I will also do the three Grand Tours again (Giro, Tour, and Vuelta, ed.)."