This page covers Anna Van Der Breggen's 2026 season race-by-race, including results, roles, key moments, and incidents for each race. Each entry is a spoiler for the corresponding race. Read no further if you intend to watch any of them unspoiled.
Isolated on the final climb when Vollering attacked, she could not respond and lost the maglia rosa she had held since Stage 4, finishing +2:23 and dropping to 3rd overall. A painful end to a race she led for five days.
Isolated from ~36 km out after losing helper Cavallar, she still followed every Vollering attack on the Finestre to limit the damage to a single second and keep the maglia rosa. A defensive masterclass that protected a +0:49 lead into the last day.
Crashed with about 50 km to go and lost as much as 1:30, but chased back to the bunch within roughly 7 km to defend the maglia rosa. A scare that could have ended her race lead, weathered.
Followed every Vollering attack and finished 2nd in the four-up sprint, taking 6 bonus seconds and defending the maglia rosa. Conceded only the winner's bonus on the day.
A dominant uphill TT, winning by over a minute and taking the maglia rosa. The ride established her as the GC leader and the rider everyone else had to overturn on the mountains — a position she held until the final day.
Led the Giro from Stage 4 to the final day after a dominant Nevegal time trial (won by 1:04). She defended through a Stage 7 crash and the shortened Finestre stage, but was isolated on Stage 9's final climb when Vollering attacked — losing +2:23 on the stage and dropping from 1st to 3rd overall. A near-miss at a Grand Tour victory in her comeback season.
Carried an 18-second lead onto the Angliru but couldn't match Blasi's acceleration on the brutal upper ramps, cracking when it mattered and conceding the time that cost her the race. Fifth on the stage at 59 seconds dropped her to second overall by 24 seconds — an agonisingly narrow defeat after she had looked the strongest rider at Les Praeres a day earlier.
Produced the ride of the race so far, attacking on the vicious Les Praeres wall and distancing every GC rival to win solo and take the red jersey. After her late-career return, it looked like the platform for an overall victory — she led Blasi by 18 seconds with one stage to go. The Angliru would prove a step too far against the climbing of Blasi.
Caught in a major crash late in the stage but awarded the same finish time, so her GC position was unaffected. It was an anxious moment for the SD Worx GC plan, but Van der Breggen came through unscathed and would take the red jersey two days later at Les Praeres.
Second behind her own teammate, a tidy result that kept the SD Worx GC leader near the top of the standings and within striking distance heading into the decisive mountain stages. Van der Breggen was clearly the team's protected rider for the overall, with Kopecky free to chase stages and points.
Looked set for overall victory after a commanding solo win at Les Praeres gave her the red jersey and an 18-second cushion. But on the Angliru she cracked when Blasi attacked, losing 36 seconds on the day and the race by 24. Combined with two stage wins from teammates and the team title, it was a dominant week for SD Worx that ended one place short of the prize she wanted.
Protected early by SD Worx-Protime's tempo work, Van der Breggen produced the most aggressive move of the chase, bridging across with about 10 km to go and immediately lifting the pace — enough to drop Holmgren but not to threaten Vollering. She finished fourth, just off the podium.
A serial former winner of the race, Van der Breggen was again among the strongest on the Mur de Huy, taking fifth at eleven seconds. Her punch on the wall remains formidable even if it was no longer enough to deny an in-form Vollering.