Van Der Breggen's last
April 23 rd 2021 - 17:03
After her seventh Flèche Wallonne triumph, Anna van der Breggen will compete in Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes for the final time in her career, having won the first two editions.
In the absence of defending champion Elizabeth Deignan, several favourites will be lining up to join Van der Breggen and Annemiek van Vleuten on the list of winners: Niewiadoma, Longo Borghini, Garcia, Labous...
And to think that she was afraid of being not quite ready on Wednesday. Anna van der Breggen, who was ill last week, regained her iridescent panache to win wearing her rainbow jersey at the top of the Mur de Huy on La Flèche Wallonne Femmes. And she is now the odds-on favourite for victory on Sunday in the fifth edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes, a UCI Women's WorldTour event that she previously won in 2017 and 2018. The stars of the women's peloton will compete in La Doyenne, and the Ardent City, namely Liège, is now preparing to salute its first champion one last time since Anna van der Breggen will retire from the sport at the end of the year. For her final assault on Liège, Anna van der Breggen will once again have the support of an impressive SD Worx team, which also includes Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio and Demi Vollering.
Annemiek van Vleuten, who won spectacularly in 2019 and is well-known for her jaw-dropping breakaways, will, along with Norwegian Katerine Aalerud lead the Movistar team. Both rode strong on Wednesday in Huy and will aim higher on Sunday. Elizabeth Deignan (withdrawal) will not have the opportunity to defend her 2020 title. But the Trek-Segafredo team has an impressive list of contenders for a first success in Liège: Lucinda Brand, Elisa Longo Borghini, Ruth Winder... Many of them will try to counter the collective strength of the American team. Mavi Garcia, Amanda Spratt, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and Juliette Labous also showed that they were in top form and that the challenges of La Doyenne corresponded perfectly to their racing style. But perhaps the biggest threat to the Dutch star will come from Kasia Niewiadoma? After her wheel-to-wheel duel with Anna van der Breggen on the Mur de Huy, the Polish rider heads to Liège with the all-important support of Alena Amialiusik and Hannah Barnes.
24 teams, the leading riders
Australia
Team BikeExchange: Spratt (AUS)
Belgium
Bingoal Casino - Chevalmeire: De Jong (NED), Ratto (ITA)
Doltcini - Van Eyck Sport - Proximus Continental Team: Docx (BEL)
Lotto Soudal Ladies: Nilsson (SWE)
France
Arkéa Pro Cycling Team: Levenez (FRA)
FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope: Ludwig (DEN)
Germany
Canyon//SRAM Racing: Amialiusik (BLR), H. Barnes (GBR), Niewiadoma (POL),
Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling Team: Magnaldi (ITA)
Team DSM: Labous (FRA), Mackaij (NED), Lippert (GER)
Great Britain
Drops-Le Col supported by Tempur: Lowden (GBR)
Italy
Ale’ BTC Ljubljana: Garcia (SPA)
A.R. Monex Women’s Pro Cycling Team: Novolodskaia (RUS)
Bepink: Alessio (ITA)
Valcar - Travel & Service: Arzuffi (ITA)
Luxembourg
Andy Schleck - CP NVST - Immo Losch: Ottestad (NOR)
Russia
Cogeas Mettler Look Pro Cycling Team: Zabelinskaya (UZB)
Spain
Movistar Team Women: Van Vleuten (NED), Aalerud (NOR)
The Netherlands
Jumbo-Visma Women Team: Vos (NED)
Liv Racing: Paladin (ITA), Stultiens (NED)
Parkhotel Valkenburg: Van Bokhoven (NED)
Team SD Worx: Moolman-Pasio (RSA), Van der Breggen (NED), Vollering (NED)
United States
Rally Cycling: Doebel-Hickok (USA)
Team Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank: Faulkner (USA)
Trek-Segafredo: Brand (NED), Longo Borghini (ITA), Winder (USA)