Anna van der Breggen rode her arms off to take the silver medal in the elite women's road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire on Saturday.

After teammate Annemiek van Grooten's incredible 100km solo victory, van der Breggen marked the chase group before soloing to second place, giving the Dutch team a 1-2 finish on the podium.

"It was a little far for Anne-Mike, but it was a good situation for us," van der Breggen said. 'There wasn't much in the way of tactics. She needed to run as long and as fast as possible.

"Gold and silver medals are great results. I'm satisfied."

In the elite women's 150km race between Bradford and Harrogate, Van Vleuten attacked on the second climb at the 45km mark, the Lofthouse, and went down alone to extend her lead to 50 seconds.

Van der Breggen was joined by time trial world champion Chloe Dygert Owen (USA), Lizzie Deignan (UK), Elisa Longo Borghini and Soraya Paladin (Italy), Cecily Uttrup-Ludwig ( (Denmark), Clara Koppenberg (Germany), and Amanda Spratt (Australia), along with a select group of competitors.

"I was expecting a bit more of a group rather than a solo attack," Van der Breggen said. "After the descent, I looked around to assess the situation and it was perfect."

Van der Breggen explained that the success of Van Vleuten's solo attack depended on how quickly the chase group organized. She sat at the back of the group and did not have to pull because her teammates were at the front. What she saw was a chase group that was not trying to close the gap to Van Breuten. [At that point] the race had just started and it all came down to our [chase group's] coordination and speed," van der Breggen said. At that point the race had just started and it all depended on how well we [the chase group] worked together and how fast we ran," van der Breggen said.

"They were chasing hard, but I expected a little more cooperation in the beginning. But I expected them to cooperate a little more in the beginning. But the longer it took, the more the girls skipped turns and got tired. The girls were also trying to conserve (energy) because it was a hard race. In the end, it was clear that it was going to be difficult (to close the gap)."

Van Vleuten won the world title with a solo run of 104 km. She crossed the finish line 2:15 ahead of van der Breggen, who attacked Spratt late in the race to take the silver medal. Spratt took the bronze medal.

The Dutch team went into the Yorkshire World Championships with the strongest team. Eight athletes, including van Vleuten and van der Breggen, who won the world title in Innsbruck, three-time winner Marianne Vos, Lucinda Brand, former winner Chantal Black, Amy Peters, Florche McKay, and Demi Vollering. participated in the event.

"There is a lot of talent," Van der Breggen said of the Dutch women's elite team. If you can race in the first group, it's a combination of dedication and talent, not just talent."

"It's not just talent, it's a combination of dedication and talent.

"It's great to wear the orange jersey and run for the world title. The Dutch team has that spirit."

Some questioned the team's cohesiveness, given that under the right scenario, one of them could win the world title. CyclingNews spoke with team director Loeth Gunwake, who said that the riders worked together and executed the team plan perfectly. The players demonstrated professionalism and were willing to sacrifice personal ambition for the common team goal.

"Our goal as a team was simple," he said.

"There is a lot of pressure on the whole team at the World Championships. Everyone thinks the Dutch will win, but it is still a race. All the pieces have to come together to be World Champion. Today was a long race and the team did very well."

Van der Breggen said the team tactics meeting earlier in the week allowed all riders to contribute and share ideas based on their individual knowledge, experience, and strengths.

"The coach, of course, had a say in the plan, but everyone was given the opportunity to say what they thought," van der Breggen said.

Gunwijk said she couldn't be happier with the way the Dutch girls executed the team plan and that they plan to celebrate their success together in Harrogate. 'We won a gold medal and a silver medal,' she said."