In Huy, the world of women’s cycling thought that the shadow of Anna van der Breggen would stop hovering over the Walloon Flèche on the day of her retirement from sport, at the end of 2021. Admittedly, the Dutchwoman is no longer playing for victory on the arduous slopes of the mythical wall of Ardennes classics, the 26th edition of which takes place on Wednesday 19 April. But van der Breggen, who has become sports director of SD Worx, her former team, now distills her precious advice to guide the runners of the Dutch formation to success.
It is with this same jersey that Anna van der Breggen has established herself as a monument in her own right to the Flèche Wallonne. Holder of the record for the number of victories, with seven successes, she also managed the feat of achieving all of them in a row, between 2015 and 2021. A stranglehold on the race, which she owes in particular to optimal management of the final obstacle, the wall of Huy, 1.3 km long, with passages at 26%.
“I’ve always sought to run my own race”
“You go up the wall so fast that you can make a huge difference,” says the Rio 2016 Olympic Games gold medalist. »
According to the double world champion, to reach the top first, you have to stay focused on your own effort: “I never tried to follow the offensives that started at the bottom of the climb, explains the former puncher of 33 years. Most of the time, those who attacked then collapsed. For my part, I tried to keep the same pace until the finish. “A rule that has allowed him, on many occasions, to follow the fastest, then to overtake them in the last hectometres to snatch the final victory.
In a 131-kilometre long race that will take the Huy wall three times, collective strength is a major asset: “The goal for the runners is to arrive as cool as possible at the bottom of the wall”, explains Stephen Delcourt, manager of the FDJ-Suez team. Thanks to the sacrifice of the teammates, only a few names should emerge in the final climb: “It risks being played between a maximum of ten girls”, estimates the head of French training.
In two years of sports management, Anna van der Breggen has gradually established herself as a privileged contact for the members of SD Worx: “We have a small team, a very small staff. So it’s much easier to trade and improve things quickly. If something is wrong, we change. And ultimately, that’s also how we run. »
“She understands the race better”
Strengthened by this support, the riders of SD Worx are well placed to seek success at this Flèche Wallonne. The best team in the UCI women’s ranking, which has three of the five best riders at the start of the season, is accumulating good results. If the Italian Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ) deprived the Dutch Demi Vollering of success on the Flèche Brabançonne on April 12, the latter took over the Amstel Gold Race, on April 16, her teammate, the Belgian Lotte Kopecky, accompanying him on the podium, in second place.
Also, Demi Vollering will arrive with revenge. In 2022, the puncher from the Dutch team had to settle for third place, overtaken by the Italian Marta Cavalli (FDJ-Suez Futuroscope) and the reigning world champion, Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar), who fought hard to the finish line. This year, the cards are reshuffled: “Our greatest chance is Demi,” confirms Anna van der Breggen. I think she passed an important milestone this winter. She is much stronger, and she understands the race better. »
Conversely, in poor form since the start of the season, Marta Cavalli seems to be in retreat this year. A situation that does not worry Stephen Delcourt: “The Ardennes, and in particular the Flèche, are races that we are doing well. Cécilie [Ludwig] is in good shape, Evita [Muzic] is back at the top level. “However, the strategy may be different for the French formation:” We have several cards to play, and we may bet on different scenarios from other years, another tactic, says the one who has been leading the structure since 2008. Because the SD Worx team is so strong, that on the pedals, it could be complicated. »
Faced with the collective strength of SD Worx, other favorites could do well. In addition to the French Juliette Labous, leader of the DSM team, we can thus count on Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar), reigning world champion , or even the young Shirin van Anrooij (Trek-Segafredo), a defector from cyclo-cross, to dynamite the race.
