In the high-stakes world of professional cycling, having too much talent can be as volatile as having too little. For SD Worx-Protime, the challenge isn’t beating the opposition—it is often managing the internal friction that arises when multiple world-class riders occupy the same narrow stretch of asphalt.
The team’s recent displays of dominance at the Vuelta Femenina served as a masterclass in tactical synergy, but they also highlighted the delicate tightrope walked by sports director Danny Stam. By securing back-to-back 1-2 finishes across Stage 4 and Stage 5, the squad proved that their internal hierarchy can function with surgical precision, provided the riders are willing to subordinate their own ambitions for the collective good.
For those of us who have spent decades on the road—covering five Olympics and three World Cups—the sight of a single team occupying the top two steps of a podium is common for a powerhouse like SD Worx-Protime. However, the human story lies in the unspoken agreements made in the team car and the split-second decisions made at 40 kilometers per hour. It is the difference between a victory celebrated in unison and a win marred by resentment.
The Burden of Dominance
The sequence began on Stage 4, where Lotte Kopecky and Anna van der Breggen crossed the line in a dominant 1-2 finish. On paper, it was a routine victory for the strongest team in the peloton. In reality, it was the first move in a complex strategic game. Kopecky, wearing the red jersey as the overall leader, held the strongest card in the deck, but the team’s objective was broader than a single rider’s glory.
By Stage 5, the pressure shifted. As the race climbed toward the finish in Astorga, the team sought to diversify its success. Mischa Bredewold emerged as the primary target for the win, but the execution required Kopecky to transition from the protagonist to the protector. In a display of leadership that Stam described as the mark of a “real champion,” Kopecky pulled alongside Bredewold on the uphill finishing straight but resisted the instinct to sprint past her.
Instead, Kopecky acted as a physical and psychological barrier, shielding Bredewold from the rest of the field and ensuring that no rival could disrupt the team’s “dream plan.” It was a calculated act of self-sacrifice: the woman in the red jersey, capable of winning the stage herself, chose to ensure the team won it instead.
The Art of the ‘Plan B’
Cycling is rarely a sport of perfect execution. Femke Markus, a key component of the team’s lead-out, noted that while the victory looked seamless, it was the result of a contingency-based strategy. The team operated with a “Plan A” and a “Plan B,” recognizing that the unpredictability of an uphill sprint—where speeds are lower and gaps are harder to close—requires flexibility.
The tactical nuance of the Astorga finish relied entirely on Kopecky’s positioning. “I just had to protect the wheel of Mischa,” Kopecky explained. “I knew she was going to sprint, so I was just hoping that nobody came from behind so she could take the victory.”
This level of trust is the currency of any successful sports franchise. When a leader like Kopecky explicitly states, “If I can give something back, I do,” it removes the toxicity that often plagues teams with multiple alphas. However, as Danny Stam admitted, balancing these ambitions is never a simple task. The risk of a “Plan B” is that it can easily devolve into a loss for everyone involved if the timing is off by a fraction of a second.
| Stage | Winner | Runner-Up | Tactical Objective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 4 | Lotte Kopecky | Anna van der Breggen | Establish dominance/Control race |
| Stage 5 | Mischa Bredewold | Lotte Kopecky | Distribute wins/Protect Red Jersey |
Lessons from the Tour of Britain
The discipline shown in the Vuelta was born out of a specific, painful memory. The team remains haunted by Stage 4 of the 2024 Tour of Britain Women, a race that served as a cautionary tale in the dangers of “giving” a victory. In that instance, the team attempted a similar maneuver to hand the win to Christine Majerus.
The result was a tactical collapse. By hesitating and attempting to orchestrate a specific winner rather than simply winning the race, SD Worx-Protime opened the door for Liv AlUla Jayco’s Ruby Roseman-Gannon to steal the victory. The powerhouse team found themselves finishing second, third and fourth—a humbling reminder that in professional cycling, generosity can be a liability if it creates a vacuum for the opposition to exploit.
The lesson learned was clear: the priority must always be the win first, and the specific rider second. In Astorga, they applied this lesson by ensuring Kopecky remained an active part of the sprint, acting as a shield rather than simply stepping out of the way. They didn’t just hope Bredewold would win; they forced the win to happen.
The Human Cost of the Red Jersey
Beyond the tactics, there is the psychological weight of the red jersey. The leader of a race is not only the target for every other team but also the focal point of internal team expectations. Kopecky’s willingness to pivot her role from finisher to facilitator is what separates a talented rider from a generational leader.
For Danny Stam, the success of the Vuelta campaign is a validation of his management style. By fostering an environment where riders feel their ambitions are recognized—even when they aren’t the primary option for a specific day—he minimizes the friction that can tear a team apart from the inside. The “dream plan” only works when every rider believes they are part of a sustainable system of reward.
As the season progresses, the focus now shifts to the upcoming UCI Women’s WorldTour events, where the team will once again face the challenge of managing its star-studded roster against an increasingly competitive field. The next official checkpoint for the team’s strategic evolution will be the upcoming team briefings and roster announcements for the late-season classics, where the hierarchy will likely be recalibrated once more.
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