TREK AND THE DUTCH HEGEMONY
The best female cyclist in the world since 2017 has been either Anna van der Breggen or Annemiek van Vleuten. The Dutch duo have been way ahead. One or other of them has won the Giro Femminile since 2017, the Worlds since 2018 and Strade Bianche since 2018. Van der Breggen is currently also on a run of six consecutive Flèche Wallonne wins. The last different rider to finish a season atop the procyclingstats.com ranking was Lizzie Deignan in 2016.
As we go into 2021, the two Dutch riders still look better than the rest - there’s no other rider who can match them. There’s an echelon of increasing size in the space behind them, however - Deignan, Kasia Niewiadoma, Lorena Wiebes, Marianne Vos, Elisa Longo Borghini, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, Lotte Kopecky, Lisa Brennauer, Grace Brown… the list shows that the depth of women’s cycling is increasing every year.
However, the best chance of an interruption to the Van Vleuten/ Van der Breggen hegemony is still with TrekSegafredo, who are the strongest team, and showed signs of being able to work out their Dutch rivals in 2020. Deignan’s long-range attack at Liège showed that industrious tactics can beat superior strength. The Brit also developed an excellent tactical partnership with Elisa Longo Borghini - neither rider might match the two Dutch riders watt for watt, but they have the luxury of being able to take turns to attack.
2021 will be Van der Breggen’s last, as she retires at the end of the year. There are a lot of improving riders coming up behind her, but Trek still have the best chance of spoiling her retirement party.