After becoming Olympic champion in Rio de Janeiro and winning the European title in Plumelec, France, Anna van der Breggen could win the only major international road race title she does not yet have at the UCI World Championships Doha 2016.
Van der Breggen defeated Polish Kasia Niewiadoma and Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini at the European Championships. The three had jumped clear from the peloton inside the final kilometre and Van der Breggen proved to be the strongest in an uphill sprint.
The Dutchwoman, who took silver in the road race and in the time trial and bronze in the team time trial at last year’s UCI World Championships in Richmond, may not be her country’s main trump at the Doha 2016 road race, however.
“The course in Qatar does not suit me very well because it’s very flat,” Van der Breggen said. The fresh European Champion believes that her team is well-placed to perform strongly at the UCI Road World Championships Doha 2016: “It’s going to be difficult in Doha, but everything is possible, especially if there’s a lot of wind, because that’s what we Dutch girls are good at.”
The Women’s Elite Road Race will be held on Saturday, 15 October, with the 134.5km course finishing at the iconic Pearl-Qatar.
Anna Van der Breggen
