Anna van der Breggen has made the surprise announcement that she will retire at the height of her career and become the sporting director of the SD Worx women's cycling team at the end of 2021. She will try to defend her gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics next August, which will be the last major goal of her dazzling 10-year run as a professional cyclist.
In an interview with Cycling News, van der Breggen promised not to quit women's cycling altogether, but rather to move into a position where she can continue to develop the sport. She intends to use her knowledge as a world-class competitor, her experience in sports science and nutrition, and her coaching to further develop women's racing and her athletes.
"I'm retiring, but I don't feel like I'm quitting what I'm doing in this sport," Van der Breggen told Cycling News in a phone interview Thursday. 'I can still work in women's cycling and develop women's cycling.'
Van der Breggen is one of the most successful cyclists of all time, building her career on her versatility as a rider, being able to win on any terrain. Her honors include the 2016 Olympic road race gold medal, time trail bronze medal, road race world champion (2018), two Giro Rosa overall titles (2015, 2017), and five consecutive Flèche Wallonne titles (2015-2019), Liège-Bastogne-Liège champion twice (2017-18), Amstel Gold Race winner (2017), and Tour of Flanders winner (2018).
Van der Breggen said he decided to retire because he realized he needed a new challenge in his life. The idea of trying new things to keep her career motivated is not new to van der Breggen; two years ago, she told Cycling News that she wanted to change the standard road racing season by adding World Cup mountain biking to the program She told Cycling News that she wanted to change the standard road racing season by adding World Cup mountain biking to the program. Her efforts to keep her cycling career fresh by incorporating off-road competitions were successful when she and teammate Annika Langbad won the Cape Epic.
By the time she retires, her professional career will have spanned nearly a decade, since she turned pro in 2012 with the Belgian team Sengers. She just turned 30, an age at which many professional cyclists are just beginning to find their legs. However, van der Breggen explained to Cycling News that she started racing at an early age at the Dicken Banden race in her hometown of Hasselt.
"I never thought about my age. 'I've been cycling since I was seven years old. For me, I had already decided that next year (2021), my last year as a rider, would be a good one. Of course, I also asked myself: what next? What do I want to do? What talents do I have?
"I was thinking about some of my favorite things to do, like sports nutrition, which is a big part of cycling and very interesting. I also thought about coaching the girls on the team and how to do that. I thought about the current state of the team and what we need to do to change it for the future.
"When the team asked me if I wanted to be the sports director, I turned it down because I had different things in mind at first. I wanted to do a lot of different things, so I didn't think about this. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there were many things about being a sports director that I had already experienced and found interesting."
"I think I can develop myself while also making this team better. We have just started and there are a lot of things to think about and improve on. It would be nice to already know the team and be able to help them work on areas that need improvement from the start. If I went to another team, it would be different.
"If I got another job, not in cycling, everything I know in cycling would disappear and I wouldn't be used to teach others to improve or share what I know. I am still young, but it is nice to be part of a team and to be involved in cycling in a different way."
Boels Dolmans has been the No. 1 ranked team in the world for the past five seasons, and van der Breggen has contributed greatly to its success. It is also one of the few world-class women's teams not affiliated with a men's World Tour program, and team manager Danny Stam has made it his goal to remain independent.
Boels Rentals and Dolmans will part ways with the team at the end of this year, with SD Works taking over for a four-year term through 2024. The team welcomed American Jack Seehafer as sporting director this year, Van der Breggen will become director at the end of 2021, and Chantal Van den Broeck-Blake will join the team in a similar role in 2022 after her retirement.
"I'm going to do everything that is right for a sport director," said van der Breggen, who hopes to take a sport director's course through the UCI in the fall and winter of 2021. Danny does a lot of the work, and Jack races, but Danny does most of the planning and is always directing the team." It's good to have a second sport director from time to time, but the team is ready to take the next step, the UCI rules are changing and we need more sport directors for our new sponsor SD Worx."
Boels Dolmans is currently not part of any of the eight top-level world teams, but Stam has indicated that he intends to apply for that status starting in 2021.
Before preparing to become sports director, van der Breggen has another major goal in mind for the 2021 season: the Tokyo Olympics. This year, due to the COVID-19 coronavirus, all bicycle races, including the Olympics, were cancelled. Van der Breggen said he plans to duplicate this year's training and racing program, including the 2021 Spring Classic campaign.
"I signed on for a year," he said. 'The big goal is the Olympics. The Olympics is the biggest goal. But if that's the really important goal, I don't know what my motivation will be for the different races after that.
"Winning (the Olympics) won't change my plans (for retirement) much. I won't be able to run in a special jersey, so that's not a big deal. The plan will be a little bit the same as it was this year; I made plans for the 2020 Olympics, so I think it will be the same exactly one year later. I will compete in some important races in the spring and then see how I feel, what I need, what kind of training camps I need, etc.
Van der Breggen said that while the coronavirus affected many companies that provide sponsorship money in the cycling world, it did not affect SD Worx's commitment to support the women's cycling team for the next four years.
"The girls are really into cycling and continue to work on future plans with our team. It also gives me great confidence for the next four years," she said.
Van der Breggen is under no illusions that the sport and its riders are facing significant financial pressure due to this year's coronavirus. And even in the best of times, athletes struggle to adjust to their new post-race careers. Van der Breggen says he feels fortunate to have secured a job in a field he knows well a year before he retires.
"I've been doing this for years, and especially this time of year when I'm not racing and I'm at home, everyone often thinks - what if I retire and stay home forever? [It can be difficult if you don't have any perspective on where you're going next and what you need to do. It's just too much to do nothing. As an athlete you are always working on something.
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