It's like a story repeating itself after almost 5 years, Anna Van Der Breggen dominated the time trial and wore the pink jersey. The Dutch champion has never hidden her love for our country and this victory tastes even more special. For many it was madness to return to racing after several seasons away from the peloton, but she wanted to try, made many sacrifices driven by her love for cycling and now here she is again, victorious in a stage of her favorite race.

It was an unexpected result, she herself said so after crossing the finish line. She was certainly aware of being strong, but not of managing to beat those athletes she had been following as a sports director just a few years ago by over 1 minute. A surprising performance, but one that left nothing to chance, from the course reconnaissance this morning to the choice of time trial bike. "I didn't know this climb before this morning, we did a quick reconnaissance and I realized how extremely difficult it was. I admit I was a bit uncertain whether to choose the road bike or the time trial bike, but fortunately we have a brand that provides us with a very light time trial bike and so the decision was much simpler - Van Der Breggen explained - I believe that for an athlete like me who has no problem pushing uphill on a time trial bike, this was the right choice. I'm very happy with how it went, I didn't know what to expect, I just had to go all out"

The happiness in Anna is palpable and in an instant it seems time hasn't passed, returning victorious to the Giro was a dream she had never hidden. In the press conference at the beginning of 2025 she had stated that a stage at the Giro was a great desire, but almost impossible, yet here she is on the top step of the podium in a stage that was nothing short of emotional. "My last victory at the Giro was a very long time ago, but I have beautiful memories. My last two years have been extremely difficult, I wanted to return competitive and this required time and sacrifice. Today's victory rewards all of this, it's proof that if you want something and truly believe in it you just have to remain patient, sooner or later it will come and it will be beautiful" Anna added, sharing the joy of the pink jersey with her entire team.

Thanks to the incredible performance today, Van der Breggen has accumulated a nice advantage of over 1 minute over her rivals, but the Giro has just begun. What is certain is that it's a strong signal that she and the SD Worx Pro Time team wanted to send after the exclusion of Lorena Wiebes and the withdrawal of Mikayla Harvey. "It's a good advantage, but it's only the beginning of the Giro and already tomorrow there's a very difficult stage. We'll need to have good legs and not be caught off guard in the group, but I believe that the weather will also be a determining factor: it's a long stage with many difficult and dangerous descents. I feel good and I know that behind me I have a team that is ready to give 100%, this victory is for them and for Mikayla and Lorena who had to leave the Giro. For us these have been very difficult days, unfortunately things happen and you don't always have the power to do something about it, today I could do it with my legs and I gave everything I had."