Anna van der Breggen (Boels Dolmans) moved directly to Austria to begin a 20-day high-altitude training camp after finishing fourth in Strade Bianche. The former world champion and current Olympic champion is expected to be selected to compete in the first women's Paris-Roubaix later in the season.

"I want to peak in September. The European Championships TT, the Giro, and the World Championships road race are my big goals for this season. That said, I will also run the Dutch Championships, GP Plouay, the European Championships Road, and the World Championships TT."

Van der Breggen missed the podium at Saturday's Strade Bianche behind winner Annemiek van Fluten (Mitchelton-Scott), runner-up Mavi Garcia (Ale BTC Ljubljana), and third-place Leah Thomas (Equipe Paul Ca).

The race marked the resumption of the Women's World Tour, whose races had been suspended due to the COVID-19 coronavirus. However, the Postnord-Valgarda team time trial and road race, the Ladies Tour of Norway, and the Boels Ladies Tour were cancelled, leaving only 14 of the original 22 events in the Women's World Tour.

Many top teams, including Boels Dolmans, tested their legs before Strade Bianche with three UCI 1.1 events in the Basque Country at the end of July: the Emacmén Nafaroaco Classicoa, Vuelta Ciclista a Navarre, Durango Durango Emacmén Sarria, officially launched the race.

Van Vleuten won all three events, while Van der Breggen finished third in the opening race in Pamplona and second in Durango.

"To be honest, the first four races were too early for our main goal for the season. That, plus the cancellation of other races like the Boels Ladies Tour, didn't help the situation much," van der Breggen said.

Her first target is the European Championships in France at the end of August. Organizers of the nine-day event have not announced details of the route, but have said it will be held in south-central Italy.

The opening stage will be a team time trial in Grosseto, while the second stage will be a Strade Bianche-style race with two gravel road sections on the 124.8 km route between Paganico and Archidosso.

"The parcours for the Giro has not been announced yet, so I don't know yet if the race will suit me. 'There is also the matter of the World Championships TT race being changed from Sunday to Wednesday. The World Championship TT takes place on a mostly flat course. The Martigny road race, on the other hand, has lots of uphill climbs. I am really looking forward to the World Route recon."

Van der Breggen will spend some time this week previewing the route for the World Championships in Switzerland. This year's World Championships will be held from September 20-27, and the road race route is expected to be mountainous, similar in that respect to the course she won at the 2018 Innsbruck World Championships.

After previewing the World Championships course, she will begin a 20-day high-altitude training camp in Austria with teammate Chantal van den Broeck-Braak.

After a busy September campaign, Van der Breggen will begin a series of classics in October, including Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Amstel Gold Race, and Tour of Flanders. The inaugural women's Paris-Roubaix is tentatively on her calendar, but whether or not she will participate will depend on her form later in the year.

"All these races suit me and are races I have won in the past," she said. The only question is how well I'll be in shape by then; it's going to be a very busy and intense season starting at the end of August." That is also why I am not sure if I will compete in Paris-Roubaix. If I'm in good shape, I will definitely be there for this epic cobbled race."