"I did not expect to arrive solo" - Anna van der Breggen surprises herself with stage 4 win at La Vuelta Femenina 2025

For the first time since making her return to the sport in 2025, Anna van der Breggen has been able to celebrate a victory. In some style too, as a demon descent in the finale of stage 4 at the 2025 La Vuelta Femenina fired the Dutch leader of Team SD Worx - Protime to a stunning win.

"I did not expect this at all, it was also not the plan," admitted a surprised Van der Breggen in her post-stage interview at the finish line afterwards. "We were in a small group in the downhill at that point I was alone, I don’t know, the speed was out on a good moment and I went. I did not expect to arrive solo but it feels really nice."

"We knew it could be a hard last climb and we just wanted to be there with Mischa Bredewold, Gerri [Femke Gerritse] and me for sure. The girls fought, but in the end it was a really small group so the idea was actually to try with Gerri again," continues the two-time world champion. "It’s nice, yesterday was already such a good day, to see Gerri winning, and getting that confidence that she can beat one of the best sprinters like Marianne Vos. It gave her a boost, so that was a great day for the team. We did not expect this, not at all, so it was really nice."

And having arrived at the startline of La Vuelta Femenina 2025 with Red Jersey ambitions, Van der Breggen has sent an early message to the rest of her general classification rivals. "It’s going really well, but tomorrow will be honest," she concludes. "The speed on the climb was hard, and you saw how small the group was, so it’s going to be fighting for sure. This is in the pocket, so really good days for us to start with."