SD Worx-Protime has admitted that La Vuelta Femenina will be an essential stepping stone to Anna van der Breggen's and her teammates' summer stage racing targets at the Tour de France in July.
Sports director Christian Kos believes that while an overall victory might be out of reach for Van der Breggen, her early-season performance trajectory indicates that a podium place is possible at the seven-day race set to begin in Barcelona on Sunday.
"The Spanish leg is an intermediate stage for us, building towards the big goals this summer. With Anna van der Breggen, we have a good card for the GC. The overall victory will probably be too high, but we will fight for the podium," Kos said in a team press release.
The Spanish block of racine begins at La Vuelta Femenina and then moves on to Itzulia Women and Vuelta a Burgos, all held in May. SD Worx-Protime revealed a roster to support van der Breggen that includes Mikayla Harvey, Femke Gerritse, Mischa Bredewold, Femke Markus, Elena Cecchini and Lisa Van Belle making her debut with the team in Spain.
Van der Breggen has had a whirlwind start to her comeback year with SD Worx-Protime after taking three years away from the sport. She has stated that her form is not where it needs to be this spring, but she has shown glimmers of her previous strength with a third place overall at Setmana Valenciana and second at Strade Bianche.
Illness affected her Ardennes Classics, which the team admitted they were hoping to use to gauge her form ahead of La Vuelta. They will still aim for Van der Breggen to be their primary GC card, where her vast tactical racing experience and climbing strengths will play a role in their efforts during the seven days of racing.
"Anna's comeback is going well. Nobody expected her to be at this level already. It's a pity she was ill during the Ardennes week. These were important goals for her, and it would have been a good gauge to see exactly where she stands. Then we could also have gone towards the Vuelta with a different point of view and known better what to expect," Kos said.
"But we should be very happy with the level she is already performing at. To say right now that we are going to win the Vuelta Femenina with her is probably overstating things. But of course, we hope to go for a good classification if we notice it's in there."
As the season progresses into the summer racing season, Van der Breggen has indicated that she would target the Tour de France, but that the team would also support Lotte Kopecky's GC hopes in France.
La Vuelta Femenina will indeed be a place to both build form and gauge her GC ambitions against the top riders in the world.
Kos indicated that outside of Van der Breggen's GC ambitions, the team will also look to Bredewold for stage wins. Bredewold won a stage at the Setmana Valenciana in February and then went on to win the Amstel Gold Race in April.
"Mischa Bredewold is definitely eligible for a stage win," he said. "Together, we will see which stages we will pick out to try and score. Mischa's development is gradual. She is taking the steps that a top rider takes. She has taken the right path. Witness also her nice win in the Amstel Gold Race."
