Anna van der Breggen (Rabo Liv) returns to the Giro Rosa this year with the number one of defending champion on her back. Van der Breggen took an emphatic victory in what was a superb season for the young Dutch rider.
Her preparation has not been ideal with a crash at the Women’s Tour that forced her to abandon. Fortunately, there were no long-lasting injuries for her, and she is looking forward to seeing how she fares.
“It’s nice. Every year is a new year so each time you are wondering again if you’re good enough and how hard it’s going to be,” she told Cyclingnews prior to her abandon at the Women’s Tour. “I like the Giro very much so I’m looking forward to it. I’m sure that the shape will come. I really like the circuit and the parcours in the Giro.”
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This year’s Giro Rosa has a testing course that includes an ascent of the Mortirolo on stage 5, plus a 21km time trial two days later. Van der Breggen will face some tough competition in the defence of her title from the likes of Mara Abbott (Wiggle-High5) and Megan Guarnier (Boels Dolmans). Like both Guarnier and Abbott, the Dutch rider will have half an eye on the Olympic Games in Rio. The lure of a medal at the Games will change both van der Breggen approach and how the general classification fight plays out.
With almost a month between the end of the Giro Rosa and the road race in Rio, timing will be key for those targeting both. “Rio is coming up, it’s a climbing circuit so I think that the Giro will show some climbers that you don’t expect,” she explained.
“I don’t want to be in shape too early, so I’m not in shape now so that is good. I hope that the shape will come in time for the Giro or otherwise it is going to be a hard Giro. After the Giro I will have a good rest and try to keep the shape until Rio, that’s the plan. You never know, because it is difficult. You can plan something, but it works out differently. Last year I was still ok in that moment, so I think it is possible.”
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