"At Worlds, you need each other to go far" - Dutch coach explains why he left home Wiebes, Vos and Van der Breggen
CyclingWednesday, 16 September 2026 at 01:00
The Dutch women's cycling overflows with talented individuals, but this precisely has often been the top nation's downfall in many of the biggest cycling events. The prime example were the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, but the truth is that the Netherlands have not podiumed the World Championships road race in two most recent editions, and have last won in 2022 thanks to Annemiek van Vleuten.
The main issue often ended up being that so many individualities simply weren't ready to sacrifice one for another, leading to counter-intuitive tactics and race scenarios, such as when Demi Vollering kept attacking only to drop Marianne Vos - one of the best sprinters in the group - at the Zurich 2024 World Championships.
In 2026, the national coach Laurens ten Dam wants to avoid as many mistakes from the past as possible, sacrificing part of the Dutch firepower in the process. This means that neither Marianne Vos, Anna van der Breggen, nor Lorena Wiebes are heading to Canada.
No doubt, Vollering takes charge
That is how the nomination - Demi Vollering, Mischa Bredewold, Riejanne Markus, Lieke Nooijen, Puck Pieterse, Karlijn Swinkels, and Femke de Vries - came to be. There's no doubt who is the designated leader anymore, even though for example Pieterse could end up in a key role deep into the race as well.
"Demi is our leader, but at a World Championships, you need each other to go far. The key is to bring all those individual qualities together as a team. If we capitalise on our opportunities at the crucial moments, we can look forward to a great World Championships with confidence," outlined Ten Dam at AD.
This seems like a massive downgrade to what the "maximized" Dutch selection could look like. But at a closer inspection, the coach's choice to leave several stars at home begins to make sense.
As for Anna van der Breggen, the explanation is at hand; the Vuelta runner-up and third woman from Giro this year arrived to Tour de France still a bit mentally battered by the Giro upset on last stage, and struggled to perform to the best of her abilities. In the end, she pulled out before the mountains even started. Since then, Ten Dam did not receive convincing reports, making the choice to leave Van der Breggen out relatively easy.
"Anna's been feeling under the weather. I would have loved to have her here, but she’s been sick a few times since the Tour de France," said Ten Dam. "Lorena will still compete in a championship, but not this one. She’s doing so well, though, that I even joked with her that maybe I wanted to take her along after all."
Demi Vollering wins European Championships 2025
No point in overloading Wiebes
As for the world's best sprinter Lorena Wiebes, it makes sense to skip the hilly World Championships in Montréal. It's not as though Wiebes cannot handle a bit of hills, but she's got a more befitting goal on her mind; the Track World Championships across the ocean in China.
"Tthis course isn't really suited for her, and she's also competing in the Track Cycling World Championships in Shanghai," Ten Dam explains. "Dragging her all over the world all the time, just because she can handle so much, isn’t such a good idea. She could burn out at some point, even though it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen right now."
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And finally, the three-time World Champion (2006, 2012 and 2013) Marianne Vos won’t be competing either. The veteran of women's peloton was hit by a family tragedy earlier this season, and Ten Dam prefers to let his star deal with the situation at calm, and hopes to have Vos back at her best in 2027.
"She was disappointed, though," Ten Dam admits that Vos was still motivated to ride the Worlds. "But due to personal circumstances - the situation with her father - she’s had such a rough winter that she just hasn’t been able to maintain consistency. I noticed she did have a bit of trouble going uphill every now and then. She’s a top rider, but even top riders feel the effects when they’ve had other things on their minds all winter," he concludes.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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