Illness forces seven-time winner Anna van der Breggen out of return to La Flèche Wallonne Femmes

There won't be a historic eighth La Flèche Wallonne Femmes title arriving for Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime), at least for now, after the former Ardennes master was forced to pull out on the morning of the race due to illness.

Returning to the women's peloton from three years of retirement meant that Van der Breggen would get the chance to again take on the iconic Mur de Huy finish at La Flèche Wallonne, which she conquered seven times in a row between 2015 and 2021.

However, since struggling with illness and fitness since Brabantse Pijl, and being forced to abandon Amstel Gold Race on Sunday, Van der Breggen has not recovered enough to take a 12th start at the hilly Classic in Wallonia.

"Anna van der Breggen won't start in today’s Flèche Wallonne. She’s not completely recovered & therefore, as a precaution, won’t race today," read a statement from SD Worx-Protime on X. 

"The hope is Anna will be fit again for Liège-Bastogne-Liège."

After kickstarting her return to racing with third overall at the Volta Valenciana, before confirming she was still one of the top riders in the peloton by losing only to her former protégé Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) at Strade Bianche, Van der Breggen looked set to be at her top shape in time for the Ardennes.

They are races she dominated throughout her pre-retirement career, as the first woman to complete the famed triple at Amstel, Flèche and Liège in 2016, with Vollering following suit six years later.

However, after returning from a Sierra Nevada altitude camp and taking 11th at the Tour of Flanders, behind teammate Lotte Kopecky, who took victory, illness seems to have dented her chances at her previous best races.

"Anna is not fit," SD Worx-Protime sports manager Danny Stam told HLN after Amstel Gold. 

"She didn't feel well on Friday in the Brabantse Pijl, and on Saturday she also complained of a headache and sore throat. She started anyway in the hope of getting through it, but that soon turned out to be vain hope."

If Van der Breggen can recover in time for Liège, she's likely to still play a support role for Kopecky, who, despite starting Flèche on Wednesday, won't be "one of the favourites", according to her own team.

"We don't have one of the top favourites. You cannot ignore that Elisa Longo-Borghini and Demi Vollering are currently the best on this explosive finish," said DS Gian Paolo Mondini.

"Lotte Kopecky's form is on an upward trend. But we should not put too much pressure on her. In terms of values, the Mur de Huy is a climb that on paper suits her less. A lot will depend on how that last kilometre is ridden. 

"Lotte is mainly aiming for Liège-Bastogne-Liège. So we go into the race in a kind of relaxed way because the pressure is not on us. If the course is unpredictable, that plays into our hands."