Van der Breggen soars to Women's WorldTour lead after California win

Image 1 of 5

Anna van der Breggen’s overall victory at the Amgen’s Women’s Race has propelled her to the top of the WorldTour rankings. The Boels Dolmans rider beat UnitedHealthcare’s Katie Hall by a single second after taking second in the intermediate sprint on stage 4.

Van der Breggen had a slow start to the season with illness delaying her first race and a reduced spring campaign. She jumped into fifth place on the WorldTour following her historic run at the Ardennes Classics and began the race in fine form and full of confidence. Her victory in California earned her the princely sum of 160 points, giving her a total of 544, just 16 more than Coryn Rivera.

“Everyone tries to be good. The spring for me was not that good, but you don’t see that anymore with victories like today,” Van der Breggen said after her victory. “It has to do with a lot of things. It’s timing, having the right shape in the right moments, and also a team around you like in a race like this. I couldn’t do it without them. Everybody has goals, and I totally go for it, and if it works out that’s great, and sometimes it doesn’t, and that’s what cycling is.”

Former WorldTour leader Rivera racked up a serious haul of points herself with a top 10 finish in every single stage, including victory on stage 3. Rivera has enjoyed a superb season in which she has taken wins at the Tour of Flanders and the Trofeo Alfredo Binda. After choosing to skip the Amgen Women's Race as she prepares for her next set of goals, Annemiek van Vleuten dropped from first to third in the standings and remains on 469 points with Katarzyna Niewiadoma just behind her in fourth place. Lizzie Deignan, who also missed the Amgen Women's Race, rounds out the top 5.

Astana's Arlenis Sierra was the biggest climber in the WorldTour rankings with her third overall in California moving her into the top 10 for the first time this season.

Boels Dolmans continues to sit at the top of the team rankings over 600 points clear of the next best team. Rivera’s score of points has moved Sunweb back up the rankings to second from fourth, while Wiggle-High5 remains in third place thanks to Giorgia Bronzini. Orica-Scott was not in racing stateside and fell two places into fourth with Cervelo Bigla sitting in fifth.

Women's WorldTour rankings