{"id":258547,"date":"2025-07-12T09:16:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T09:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/258547\/"},"modified":"2025-07-12T09:16:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T09:16:16","slug":"when-i-quit-i-was-done-with-all-the-pressure-and-suffering-but-i-like-cycling-again-anna-van-der-breggen-on-her-comeback-and-feeling-stupid-in-the-peloton-pink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/258547\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWhen I quit, I was done with all the pressure and suffering. But I like cycling again\u201d: Anna van der Breggen on her comeback and \u201cfeeling stupid\u201d in the peloton + Pink jersey Anna Henderson, Pfeiffer Georgi, and Mia Griffin talk Giro d\u2019Italia debuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s July, it\u2019s hot, the men\u2019s and women\u2019s pelotons are both deep into grand tour season \u2013 and the road.cc Podcast is hitting the road and embracing all the stage racing madness, as part of a new mini-series we\u2019re calling\u2026 errr, \u2018road.cc on the road\u2019. I\u2019ll think of something better, I promise.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Listen to the road.cc Podcast on Apple Podcasts<\/a>
Listen to the road.cc Podcast on Spotify<\/a>
Listen to the road.cc Podcast on Amazon Music<\/a><\/p>\n

And kicking off this tentatively titled podcast series, I headed to northern Italy and the self-proclaimed cheese capital of Europe, Bergamo, for the start of the Giro d\u2019Italia Women, one of the biggest, most prestigious week-long races on the calendar.<\/p>\n

During my weekend in Bergamo, in-between eating as much casoncelli as I could physically manage, eavesdropping on interminable cat selfie shoots, and dodging thunderstorms and VIP mascots (you\u2019ll have to tune in to find out what that\u2019s about), I caught up with four riders on extreme ends of the Giro experience spectrum: four-time Giro winner Anna van der Breggen, and debutants Anna Henderson, Pfeiffer Georgi, and Irish champion Mia Griffin.<\/p>\n

\"AnnaAnna van der Breggen, stage one, 2025 Giro d\u2019Italia Women (credit: Marco Alpozzi\/Lapresse)<\/p>\n

Speaking in the media area at the team presentation, located beside a children\u2019s playpark (of all things) in Bergamo\u2019s new ChorusLife district, Van der Breggen cut a relaxed, upbeat figure as she prepared for her long-awaited return to a race she\u2019s won four times in the past.<\/p>\n

The 35-year-old, after spending three seasons in the SD Worx team car following her initial, temporary retirement from the sport at the end of 2021, has enjoyed a strong comeback season \u2013 finishing second at Strade Bianche and third at the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, where she also won a stage, her first victory since the 2021 Giro \u2013 despite, she admits, the jump in quality that\u2019s taken place in women\u2019s cycling since she last raced.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was quite difficult in the beginning in the peloton, you need to get used to it again,\u201d the double world champion told the road.cc Podcast. \u201cI was scared of a lot of things, and you forget a little bit how to do it. And I felt really stupid!<\/p>\n

\"AnnaAnna van der Breggen, 2025 Giro d\u2019Italia Women (credit: Alessandro Garofalo\/Lapresse)<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it also came back really fast \u2013 positioning is more important than it was before, because the pace is higher. It\u2019s definitely harder now, for sure. There are more girls who can do a hard pace.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe level went up, but there are also more teams and more riders, so girls are more professional. It makes sense that it\u2019s improving and that\u2019s what we need. But for me, I used to be able to get to the front at the last moment, but you can\u2019t do that anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

After years of internal external pressure being placed upon her to be the best in the world, this time around, the Dutch star says, she\u2019s doing her best to simply enjoy racing her bike.<\/p>\n

\"AnnaAnna van der Breggen, stage one, 2025 Giro d\u2019Italia Women (credit: Marco Alpozzi\/Lapresse)<\/p>\n

When asked if the improved quality of women\u2019s racing played a factor in her return to the sport, Van der Breggen laughed: \u201cNo, because it\u2019s made it harder \u2013 and I like it easy! It was more a feeling that I like cycling again and I could do it myself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I quit, I really was done with the pressure, the suffering, everything to do with cycling. So, I really enjoyed my years not riding, sitting in the car, drinking coffee and wine! Those years were good, but I realised more and more that I can still do this.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now I enjoy a lot of things more, as well. There is less pressure than before, because of what I\u2019ve done in the past. I\u2019ve won the Giro four times \u2013 if I don\u2019t win it this year, my life doesn\u2019t change. I\u2019m still happy, I still have a good time preparing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I realise more that it\u2019s not about how strong you are, and you need to do everything well \u2013 that\u2019s not really the case for me anymore. If it\u2019s not working, but I still tried, I\u2019m happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

>\u00a0I tried to watch Anna Henderson\u2019s win at the Giro d\u2019Italia, but Discovery+ wouldn\u2019t let me\u2026 Do they care about cycling at all?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

While Van der Breggen\u2019s GC podium bid is currently going to plan at the time of writing (teammate Lotte Kopecky\u2019s withdrawal notwithstanding), it\u2019s fair to say that Anna Henderson\u2019s first crack at the Giro has exceeded all expectations, the British rider winning stage two with a stunning breakaway ride to Aprica<\/a>, launching her into the fabled pink jersey, which she held for two days.<\/p>\n

\"AnnaAnna Henderson, 2025 Giro d\u2019Italia Women (credit: Massimo Paolone\/Lapresse)<\/p>\n

During our chat at the team presentation, where she described herself as \u201chot and bored\u201d, the British star and Olympic silver medallist chats about her Giro debut, how she\u2019s adapted to life at new team Lidl-Trek after four years at Visma-Lease a Bike, and the future of the women\u2019s calendar, as the Giro gets ready to move to a late May, early June slot next year.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Pfeiffer Georgi\u2019s debut Giro didn\u2019t quite go to plan like Henderson\u2019s, however, the Picnic-PostNL rider failing to finish the mountain top finish on stage four to Pianezze.<\/p>\n

Before the race, Georgi also discussed her plans for the season and how she\u2019s getting her confidence back, both physically and psychologically, following that horrendous season-ending crash at the Tour de France Femmes last year.<\/p>\n

\"MiaMia Griffin, 2025 Giro d\u2019Italia Women (credit: Massimo Paolone\/Lapresse)<\/p>\n

And finally, during the opening time trial through the streets of Bergamo, held in scorching conditions and won by pre-race favourite Marlen Reusser, I chased down and caught up with Roland\u2019s newly crowned Irish champion Mia Griffin.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old from Kilkenny is enjoying her first year on the WorldTour and is the first Irish rider in 15 years to ride the Giro, a debut grand tour ride she will immediately follow up by heading across the border for the Tour de France Femmes later this month.<\/p>\n

As she recovered from her 14km time trial effort, Griffin chatted about learning how to race at the highest level, her ambitions for the season and beyond, and why a new generation of Irish talent \u2013 led by Tour stage winner Ben Healy \u2013 is emerging in both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s pelotons.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0road.cc\u00a0Podcast is available on\u00a0Apple Podcasts<\/a>,\u00a0Spotify<\/a>, and\u00a0Amazon Music<\/a>, and if you have an Alexa you can just tell it to play the\u00a0road.cc\u00a0Podcast. It\u2019s also embedded further up the page, so you can just press play.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s July, it\u2019s hot, the men\u2019s and women\u2019s pelotons are both deep into grand tour season \u2013 and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258548,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4104],"tags":[4230,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-258547","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114839512115134408","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258547\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}