Four-time winner Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) did not reach the top spot of this year's Giro d'Italia Women, but says the race was "the incentive [she] needed" ahead of her next big goal, the Tour de France Femmes.
The Dutchwoman ended up finishing sixth overall, after never really being part of what ended up more or less a two-horse race between Marlen Reusser (Movistar) and Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ), with the latter coming out victorious in the end.
Sarah Gigante's (AG Insurance-Soudal) two stage wins earned her the third place on the podium, whilst Van der Breggen finished behind Pauliena Rooijakkers (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto), 3:32 behind winner Longo Borghini.
After being on the back foot for much of the race, however, Van der Breggen had her best day on the final stage, going on the attack with Liane Lipper (Movistar) and finishing second on the stage in Imola, a positive end to a week where she "hoped for more".
"This second place is a nice way to end the week. It was a super tough Giro. Of course, we had hoped for more in the general classification," Van der Breggen said, though SD Worx-Protime did play down their overall ambitions pre-race.
"Hopefully this was the incentive I needed with a view to the Tour de France Femmes. Other than that, it was a good week with two stage wins and how we rode as a team. Today was a nice way to end it. Now I'm flying home and the next few days will be all about recovery and rest. There aren't many days left before the Tour de France Femmes."
Despite losing Lotte Kopecky mid-race to back pain, SD Worx-Protime won two stages in Italy with Lorena Wiebes living up to her status as the peloton's dominant sprinter, and nearly won a third in Imola, with Mikayla Harvey and Wiebes on the attack before Van der Breggen's move.
Though that may fall short of the haul SD Worx might have been hoping to take home from this race, there were personal positives for the Dutch veteran.
"In the end, I was left alone in the leading group in the final kilometres. If I waited for the sprint, I wouldn't have had anything. Movistar was in control, because they probably wanted to sprint for Marlen Reusser. But I wanted to give it a try on this special course," she explained.
"Of course, having Liane Lippert on my wheel wasn't ideal. I also knew it would be difficult to beat her in the sprint. But otherwise, I would have had nothing. I thought: you never know, she might make a mistake in the sprint. But of course, that didn't happen."
The return to Imola, where Van der Breggen won her last world title in 2020, was special, and also a confidence boost.
"I have some fond memories of this place. The World Championships were quite a tough championships. I remember thinking at the time that I wasn't really good, but in the end I won. I reminded myself of that today as well," she said.
With sixth overall in the end, Van der Breggen now heads to the Tour de France Femmes (July 26-August 3) without a stage race title to her name in 2025, something which many of her rivals will have.
However, whilst she may no longer be the dominant force she once was, a stage win in the Vuelta Femenina and a runner-up stage finish at the Giro will be positive signs to take into the biggest stage race of the season.
