Updated August 7, 2026 04:59AM
Anna van der Breggen Exits Tour de France Femmes After Brutal Week
Tour de France Femmes loses one of its podium favorites as Dutch superstar Anna van der Breggen exits after a brutal week crushed her yellow jersey hopes.
Van der Breggen will not start Friday's stage as the Tour de France Femmes loses a big favorite. (Photo: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
Anna van der Breggen said goodbye to her yellow jersey ambitions Friday and pulled out of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift just hours before the race tackles the giant of Mont Ventoux.
The 36-year-old Dutch rider was expected to be in the hunt for the final podium but struggled from the start.
She lost time in the time trial stage and again the classics-style monster stage 5, but bled more than 13 minutes on Thursday. She dropped 16 places to 28th at 17:20 back.
Team officials did not indicate she was suffering from a health issue or if the extreme heat was a factor.
“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,” said SD Worx-Protime sports manager Danny Stam. “Therefore, we have decided not to take any unnecessary risks and to give her the rest she needs.”
Van der Breggen is the biggest name to leave the 2026 Femmes so far.
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She arrived at the Tour as one of the yellow jersey contenders after second at the Vuelta a España Femenina and third at the Giro d’Italia Women.
She was 11th in last year’s Femmes in her comeback season after taking a three-year hiatus to work as a sport director.
Tour loses another big name in brutal conditions
A lackluster time trial with 14th at 1:09 slower indicated she wasn’t at her best when typically she would be among the fastest against the clock. Thursday’s massive losses in another classics-style rollercoaster stage confirmed something was clearly off.
“The 36-year-old Dutch rider will take an early period of rest following a difficult week of racing, during which it quickly became clear that she was unable to perform at her usual level,” a SD Worx-Protime team note read.
She is the latest pre-race favorite struggling in brutal racing conditions that have already chewed up several contenders.
Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot has also struggled through the opening stages, although the Visma-Lease a Bike star remains in the race, sitting 15th overall at 5:00 back.
Some 16 riders have already pulled out of the 2026 Femmes that’s been contested in sweltering heat over a challenging parcours. The hardest climbing stages are yet to come.
Marlen Reusser (Movistar) starts Friday’s stage 6 nursing a slender 12-second lead on Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez).