DOHA: Dutch Olympic champion Anna van der Breggen will retire from cycling after defending her road race title at the rescheduled Tokyo Games in 2021.
The 30-year-old, who won road race gold at the Rio Olympics in 2016, will become a coach with the Boels-Dolmans team after ending her professional career.
“The Olympic Games in Tokyo are, of course, a great challenge and an important reason for continuing another year,” Van der Breggen said in a statement by Boels-Dolmans.
She was one of the most dominant cyclists on the road over the past five years, winning the Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile twice, La Flèche Wallonne Féminine five straight years, the 2016 Rio Olympic Games road race, the 2018 World championship and the 2017 WorldTour title.
“I also want to end my career with a great, full season. Especially after this year, which was largely lost due to the corona pandemic, I am enormously motivated to continue for one more year.
“I’ve been thinking about a role as team leader/coach for some time. I was quickly excited about the team’s proposal. In 2021, I want to get the best out of myself on my bike for one more season. After that, I will focus on this new job,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, her team-mate Chantal Blaak will join her in retirement after the spring of 2022.
The pair will continue to work for the Boels-Dolmans (soon to become SD Worx) cycling team as directors through to the end of 2024.
