Van der Breggen to start season with mountain bike race

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Olympic Champion road race Anna van der Breggen will begin her 2017 season with a spot of mountain biking. At the end of this month, Van der Breggen will compete in Spain at the Costa Blanca Bike Race.

The four-day event, which begins on January 26, is done in pairs and Van der Breggen will ride with the 22-year-old French rider, Margot Moschetti. The stages range between 65 and 11 kilometres with as much as 2,700 metres of climbing on the final, and longest, stage. Teams must complete each of the stages together with no more than two minutes between them at any given time or risk a time penalty.

The decision to compete in the mountain bike race received the seal of approval from Van der Breggen’s new team manager at Boels Dolmans, Danny Stam. “The Costa Blanca Bike Race is a good way to gain experience. Anna can, with Margot, learn a lot about mountain biking,” he said.

Van der Breggen ended last season at the World Championships in Qatar after a bumper year that culminated in victory at the Olympic road race and the road race at the European Championships. She will ride with Dutch team Boels Dolmans this season after joining them over the winter.