Mischa Bredewold is one of the women to watch at SD Worx-Protime this season after 2025. The rider from Amersfoort is starting the new season relaxed, and that’s precisely because of her victory in the Amstel Gold Race. "I really do feel like a different rider. Everything just clicked a bit. Maybe I’m making it a bit bigger than it is, but it feels like I understand how it works better now. And that made me head into the winter with more confidence," she tells WielerFlits.
Of course, there is pressure. With a win in the Amstel Gold Race, three victories in the Classic Lorient, and a European title, Bredewold has become a big name in women’s cycling. However, it doesn’t help Bredewold to speak out loud one specific goal or result for 2026 just yet.
“It doesn’t help if I focus very concretely on those results or goals. I also did that at the start of last year, when I really wanted to and felt great, but it never quite fell into place. I was very focused on results and because of that I lost a bit of the freedom in racing and the joy of the game. I had to recalibrate, or something like that. And that worked in the Amstel. Then I thought: ah, so that’s how it should be.”
That doesn’t mean the 25-year-old rider doesn’t dare to dream big. “I don’t want to fixate too much on one goal or result because then I kind of lose myself. It’s that spontaneity, the unpredictability, that’s the team’s strength and that really suits me. But of course, races like Flanders, the Amstel, and everything in between are the events I’m targeting. I’m also starting in Het Nieuwsblad, although that might be a somewhat more predictable race.”
Four leading ladies
On Thursday in Antwerp, Bredewold was placed alongside Lorena Wiebes, Anna van der Breggen, and Lotte Kopecky. It’s clear that the Amersfoort rider is now truly one of the team’s leading ladies. How does she view that herself? “It all happened quite organically, I think. I haven’t felt much pressure from the team. Of course, we did start last year saying: this is the direction we want to go together, and this process is starting now,” she continues. “But the team has helped me a lot with that. In the end, you also just have to make it happen yourself, of course.”
“The team naturally wants us to take another step and grow even more this year, so there’s always a bit of searching. And maybe at the same time a bit scary, thinking: how will this year go? You want to at least repeat your success, but I actually feel pretty relaxed,” she concludes.
