Amid mounting struggles at the Tour de France Femmes, Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) has pulled out of the race, deciding not to take to the start of Friday's stage 7.
The 36-year-old Dutchwoman, one of the most decorated riders in cycling history, has been off the pace since the race began but her troubles piled high on stage 6 as she lost 13 minutes and fell to 28th overall.
Her SD Worx-Protime team preferred she quit the Tour so she can recover as quickly as possible for her upcoming goals later this season.
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"From the very first stage, Anna was not feeling at her best. We kept hoping she would start to feel better as the race progressed, but unfortunately that improvement never came," sports director Danny Stam said.
"Therefore, we have decided not to take any unnecessary risks and to give her the rest she needs."
Anna van der Breggen's hopes of adding a Tour de France Femmes GC result to her 2026 Vuelta Femenina and Giro d'Italia podiums ended on the road to Tournon-sur-Rhône on Thursday.
Van der Breggen started the Tour with quiet hopes of finishing in the top five, her ambitions modest perhaps based on the knowledge that she no longer has the form of the spring that allowed her to fight with Paula Blasi at the Vuelta and Demi Vollering in Italy.
Van der Breggen lost eight seconds on the opening uphill finish of the Tour in Lausanne and then lost a minute to Marlen Reusser and Vollering in the stage 4 time trial. She lost 2:35 on stage 5 and was soon struggling on stage 6. She was dropped early and finished in a gruppetto, with teammate Lorena Wiebes, at 13:44.
"Anna van der Breggen once again did not have her best day and faded during the stage," sports director Christian Kos said after Thursday's stage 6.
"This was in line with our expectations after the opening stages, so it did not come as a surprise. As a result, we can now definitively put aside our general classification ambitions."
What now for SD Worx?
Nienke Vinke is now SD Worx best-placed GC rider in 11th place, at 3:54.
SD Worx have enjoyed a successful 2026 Tour thanks to Wiebes' two stage wins and first yellow jersey, with the Dutch sprinter now turning her focus to the green jersey of the points classification.
She was able to stay in the peloton on the early climbs on Thursday and so picked up 13 precious points. She has a total of 144 points, with teammate Lotte Kopecky second with 85 points and Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly) third with 84 points.
The GC contenders are arguably Wiebes's biggest threat as they fight for overall victory on the final three stages but she is on track to win green if she can finish the Tour in Nice on Sunday. She even has a chance of a third stage victory in Nice on Saturday if she can survive the long early climb.
"It was a tough day. Fortunately, I managed to stay in the peloton for a long time. Afterwards, we took it easy in the gruppetto," Wiebes explained after stage 6.
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