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Annemiek van Vleuten

In this Dutch name, the surname is van Vleuten, not Vleuten.

Annemiek van Vleuten (Dutch: [ɑnəˈmik fɑn ˈvløːtə(n)]; born 8 October 1982) is a retired Dutch professional road racing cyclist, who most recently rode for UCI Women's WorldTeam Movistar Team.[3][4]

Annemiek van Vleuten
Van Vleuten at the 2017 UEC European Track Championships
Personal information
Full nameAnnemiek van Vleuten
Nickname
  • Vleuty
  • Peluchen
  • Miek
  • AVV
Born (1982-10-08) 8 October 1982 (age 42)
Vleuten, Netherlands
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight59 kg (130 lb)
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeAll-rounder
Amateur teams
2007Therme Skin Care
2008Vrienden van het Platteland
Professional teams
2009–2014DSB Bank–Nederland bloeit
2015Bigla Pro Cycling Team
2016–2020Orica–AIS[1][2]
2021–2023Movistar Team
Major wins
Major Tours
Tour de France
General classification (2022)
2 individual stages (2022)
Giro Donne
General classification (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023)
Points classification (2018, 2019, 2023)
Mountains classification (2019, 2023)
16 individual stages (2014, 2015, 2017–2020, 2022, 2023)
La Vuelta Femenina
General classification (2023)

Stage races

La Route de France (2010)
Belgium Tour (2014, 2016)
Holland Ladies Tour (2017, 2018)
Ladies Tour of Norway (2021)
Challenge by La Vuelta (2021, 2022)

One day races

Olympic Games time trial (2020)
World Road Race Championships (2019, 2022)
World Time Trial Championships (2017, 2018)
European Road Championships (2020)
National Road Race Championships (2012)
National Time Trial Championships
(2014, 2016, 2017, 2019)
Tour of Flanders (2011, 2021)
Liège–Bastogne–Liège (2019, 2022)
La Course by Le Tour de France (2017, 2018)
Strade Bianche (2019, 2020)
Open de Suède Vårgårda (2011)
GP de Plouay (2011)
Ronde van Drenthe (2010)
GP Stad Roeselare (2012)
Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race (2017)

Other

UCI Women's Road World Cup (2011)
UCI Women's World Tour (2018, 2021, 2022)
Medal record
Women's road cycling
Representing  Netherlands
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Time trial
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo Road race
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Bergen Time trial
Gold medal – first place 2018 Innsbruck Time trial
Gold medal – first place 2019 Harrogate Road race
Gold medal – first place 2022 Wollongong Road race
Silver medal – second place 2013 Florence Team time trial
Silver medal – second place 2020 Imola Road race
Silver medal – second place 2021 Flanders Mixed team relay
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Harrogate Time trial
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Flanders Time trial
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2020 Plouay Road race
European Games
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Baku Time trial
World University Cycling Championship
Silver medal – second place 2008 Nijmegen Time trial
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Nijmegen Road race
Women's track cycling
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2018 Apeldoorn Individual pursuit

Van Vleuten is twice a winner of both the road race (2019 and 2022) and the time trial (2017 and 2018) at the UCI Road World Championships. In the Olympic Games, she crashed out of the lead of the road race in 2016, before winning the gold medal at the time trial event and a silver in the road race at the COVID-19 pandemic-delayed 2020 Olympics. She won the Dutch National Road Race Championships in 2012, and won the Dutch National Time Trial Championships four times between 2014 and 2019.

Van Vleuten has won all three of women's cycling Grand Tours equivalents – winning the Giro Donne in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023, winning the inaugural Tour de France Femmes in 2022 and winning La Vuelta Femenina in 2023. She became the first woman to complete a Giro–Tour double in the same year. Van Vleuten has won six of women's cycling Grand Tours equivalents in a row.

In winning the UCI Women's Road World Cup in 2011, and the UCI Women's World Tour in 2018, 2021 and 2022, van Vleuten won multiple stage races and one day events. She has won cycling monuments including Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes, Strade Bianche Donne and Tour of Flanders for Women on multiple occasions. She has been awarded Dutch women's cyclist of the year three times, and is considered one of the greatest female cyclists ever.[5][6] Van Vleuten retired at the end of the 2023 season.[6]

Career

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As a child, van Vleuten played football, gymnastics and horse riding, and rode her bike to school. Van Vleuten studied animal sciences and specialised in zoonoses and epidemiology at the University of Wageningen,[7] graduating with a master's degree in epidemiology in 2007. In 2005, she was advised by her doctor to take up cycling following a knee injury playing football.[8][9]

Early career

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Starting her cycling career at amateur teams in 2007 aged 25, van Vleuten joined the Dutch DSB Bank–Nederland bloeit team in 2009.[9] Quitting her office job in 2010 to become a full time professional cyclist, her first major win was at the 2010 Novilon Eurocup Ronde van Drenthe. She then won La Route de France later that year.[10] In 2011, she won the UCI Women's Road World Cup, winning key races like Tour of Flanders for Women, GP de Plouay – Bretagne and Open de Suède Vårgårda.[11]

In 2012, van Vleuten represented the Netherlands in the Women's road race at the 2012 Summer Olympics, along with Ellen van Dijk, Marianne Vos and Loes Gunnewijk. The race was won by Vos.[12] Van Vleuten also won the Dutch National Road Race Championships.[13] After a less than successful 2013,[14] she won the Dutch National Time Trial Championships for the first time in 2014.[15] In 2015 she joined the Bigla Pro Cycling Team.[16] She took part in the 2015 European Games for the Netherlands, in cycling; van Vleuten won a bronze medal in the time trial, and finished seventh in the road race.[16]

Orica–AIS (2016–2020)

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In 2016, van Vleuten joined the Orica–AIS team. On 7 August 2016, while leading the road race at the Olympic Games, van Vleuten crashed head first on the steep descent from Vista Chinesa after missing her braking point before a sharp bend, 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) before the finish.[17][18] The crash knocked her unconscious, and she was hospitalised with three lumbar spinal fractures and a severe concussion.[19] Despite her injuries, van Vleuten was riding a bicycle within ten days of her accident[20] and made a winning return to competition one month later, taking the overall victory and two stage wins at the Belgium Tour.[21] Earlier in the season, she had also won her second Dutch National Time Trial Championships.[9][22]

2017–2019: World Championships, Giro Rosa victories

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In 2017, she became world champion for the first time, winning the time trial event in Bergen, Norway. She also won the Holland Ladies Tour, La Course by Le Tour de France, and retained her national Time Trial Championship.[9][23]

 
Van Vleuten defended her world title in the time trial at the 2018 UCI Road World Championships

2018 was van Vleuten's most successful year of her career – she won the Giro Rosa (winning 3 stages), she defended her world title in the time trial at the 2018 UCI Road World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria, and she won the UCI Women's World Tour after multiple victories at events such as La Course by Le Tour de France and the Holland Ladies Tour.[24] She ended the 2018 season with a total of 13 victories.[9]

In 2019, van Vleuten defended her Giro Rosa title, winning by over 3 minutes and taking all the major classifications (general, points and mountain).[9][25] At the UCI Road World Championships in Harrogate, she won the road race after riding solo for 100 kilometres (62 miles) of the 149-kilometre (93-mile) race, holding back the chasing groups.[26] She also won the Dutch national time trial championship for the fourth time.[27] Despite winning the Giro Rosa and major races such as Liège–Bastogne–Liège and Strade Bianche, van Vleuten finished second in the UCI Women's World Tour standings behind fellow Dutch rider Marianne Vos.

 
Racing bike used by van Vleuten in 2020

In the COVID-19 pandemic-disrupted 2020 season, she won the road race at the European Road Championships, as well as Strade Bianche for the second time.[28]

Movistar Team (2021–present)

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2021: Olympic Games medals

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For the 2021 season, van Vleuten joined the Movistar Team. She started her season by winning Tour of Flanders for Women, 10 years after her first victory.[29]

In July, she was one of four Dutch cyclists competing in the 137-kilometre (85-mile) women's Olympic road race in Tokyo, where she won the silver medal in the race, crossing the finish line 75 seconds behind Austria's Anna Kiesenhofer.[30][31] With around 60 kilometres (37 miles) left in the race, van Vleuten crashed, but rejoined the race.[31] Her attack with 2.1 kilometres (1.3 miles) to go secured her second place.[31] When van Vleuten finished the race, she celebrated thinking she had won, as she was unaware of Kiesenhofer being in front of her.[32][33] Three days later, she became Olympic champion by winning the gold medal in the time trial.[34]

She won the UCI Women's World Tour for the second time, following victories at the Challenge by La Vuelta and Ladies Tour of Norway.[29] In October, she crashed in the first ever Paris–Roubaix Femmes, breaking her pubis bone in two places,[35] ending her season. In December, van Vleuten was named Dutch cyclist of the year (Keetie van Oosten-Hage Trophy [nl]) for a third time, having previously won the award in 2017 and 2019.[36][37]

2022: Giro–Tour–Vuelta triple, second world road race title

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In 2022, van Vleuten started her season by winning two classics – Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, and the Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes for the second time.[38] In June, van Vleuten signed a one-year contract extension with the Movistar Team, with the intention to retire from cycling at the end of the 2023 season.[39] She won her third Giro Donne the following month, winning two stages and the points classification.[40][41]

 
Van Vleuten in the yellow jersey at the 2022 Tour de France Femmes

Later the same month, she was named as one of the pre-race favourites for the inaugural edition of the Tour de France Femmes.[42] During the race, she suffered from stomach issues early on, which had left her more than a minute behind race leader Marianne Vos after three stages.[43] Having moved up to eighth overall following the sixth stage, van Vleuten split the race apart on the penultimate stage; having attacked on the first climb of the day, the Col du Petit Ballon, only Demi Vollering was able to keep pace with van Vleuten. Before the top of the next climb, the Col du Platzerwasel, van Vleuten was on her own, having accelerated clear of Vollering. Van Vleuten remained clear for the remaining 62 kilometres (39 miles) and ultimately won the stage by over three minutes, moving into the race lead.On stage 7 she blew the race apart with a solo attack for the stage win, which also put her in the yellow jersey as overall race leader by over 3 minutes ahead of Demi Vollering.[44] The next day she cemented her victory, extending her lead in the process; she attacked with 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) remaining, passed the remaining breakaway riders, and soloed to win by 30 seconds ahead of Vollering. In the general classification, van Vleuten won by nearly four minutes from Vollering, with only five other riders within ten minutes.[45] She became the first woman to complete a Giro–Tour double in the same year.[38]

In September, she won the Challenge by La Vuelta,[46] as well as winning the second stage.[47] The following week, van Vleuten recorded her worst result in the time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong, finishing in seventh place – a result she described as a "shit day".[48] Three days later, in the mixed team relay, van Vleuten crashed shortly after leaving the start, which resulted in a fractured elbow and made her a doubt for the road race three days later.[49] Van Vleuten ultimately took the start of the race, initially riding as a domestique for Marianne Vos.[50] By the end, van Vleuten capitalised on a late-race stalling of pace, attacking with around 700 metres (2,300 feet) remaining, holding off around a dozen riders by a second to take the rainbow jersey.[51] In doing so, van Vleuten became the first female rider to win the Triple Crown of Cycling.

2023: La Vuelta Femenina and 4th Giro Donne

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Van Vleuten did not win any major classics in the first few months of the season, with rival Demi Vollering achieving a clean sweep of the Ardennes Classics. However, she won the inaugural edition of La Vuelta Femenina, beating Vollering by nine seconds.[52] This made van Vleuten the first woman to win all three of women's cycling major races.[52] Van Vleuten then won her fourth Giro Donne by a margin of nearly 4 minutes, winning three stages, the points classification and the mountains classification.[53] The second edition of Tour de France Femmes was won by Vollering, with van Vleuten finishing 4th overall. She stated disappointment with the result, explaining that illness had dampened her performance.[54] Van Vleuten retired at the end of the 2023 season.[6]

Personal life

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Outside of cycling, van Vleuten lives a low-key life, enjoying scuba diving, watching football, and playing the Settlers of Catan board game with friends.[7][9]

Career achievements

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Main article: List of career achievements by Annemiek van Vleuten

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Mitchelton-Scott women announce 10-rider roster for 2019". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  2. ^ Weislo, Laura (8 January 2020). "2020 Team Preview: Mitchelton-Scott Women". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Movistar Team Women". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Annemiek van Vleuten: World champion to join Movistar next year". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  5. ^ Becket, Adam (31 July 2023). "Opinion: There will never be another bike rider like Annemiek van Vleuten". cyclingweekly.com. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Gay, Jason. "'Feels Like Death.' Why Is the Most Feared Rider at the Women's Tour de France Retiring?". WSJ. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  7. ^ a b Been, Josė (25 August 2020). "The person behind the rainbow bands: One-on-one with Annemiek van Vleuten". Cycling Tips.
  8. ^ Eulen, Bart (29 June 2019). "De Geertjesweg in Wageningen vuurt 'hun' Annemiek van Vleuten aan". De Gelderlander (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Bailey, Mark (26 June 2019). "Dutch courage: Annemiek van Vleuten profile". Cyclist. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Annemiek van Vleuten 2010". ProCyclingStats.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Annemiek van Vleuten 2011". ProCyclingStats.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Annemiek van Vleuten – Events and results". london2012.com. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  13. ^ "Annemiek van Vleuten 2012". ProCyclingStats.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  14. ^ "Annemiek van Vleuten 2013". ProCyclingStats.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  15. ^ "Annemiek van Vleuten 2014". ProCyclingStats.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  16. ^ a b "Annemiek van Vleuten 2015". ProCyclingStats.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  17. ^ Kirshner, Alex (7 August 2016). "Annemiek van Vleuten crashes horrifically while leading women's Olympic cycling road race". Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  18. ^ "Annemiek van Vleuten in stable condition after accident during women's road cycling race". Rio2016. 7 August 2016. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  19. ^ Westby, Matt (7 August 2016). "Annemiek van Vleuten suffers horror crash in Olympic road race". Sky Sports. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  20. ^ Elton-Walters, Jack (17 August 2016). "Annemiek van Vleuten back on a bike after Olympic Games horror crash". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  21. ^ Clarke, Stuart (9 September 2016). "Annemiek van Vleuten wins Belgium Tour with Muur van Geraardsbergen victory". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  22. ^ "Annemiek van Vleuten 2016". ProCyclingStats.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  23. ^ "Annemiek van Vleuten 2017". ProCyclingStats.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  24. ^ "Annemiek van Vleuten 2018". ProCyclingStats.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  25. ^ "Giro d'Italia Internazionale Femminile 2019 Stage 10 results". ProCyclingStats.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  26. ^ Long, Jonny (30 September 2019). "Annemiek van Vleuten posts Strava data from her magnificent 100km solo ride that claimed world title". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  27. ^ "Annemiek van Vleuten 2019". ProCyclingStats.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  28. ^ "Annemiek van Vleuten 2020". ProCyclingStats.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  29. ^ a b "Annemiek van Vleuten 2021". ProCyclingStats.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  30. ^ McCurry, Justin (25 July 2021). "Anna Kiesenhofer claims shock road race glory as van Vleuten mistakes silver for gold". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  31. ^ a b c Benson, Daniel (25 July 2021). "Olympics: Shock gold for Anna Kiesenhofer in women's road race". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  32. ^ Parker, Ian (25 July 2021). "Anna Kiesenhofer storms to gold as runner-up crosses line thinking she had won". Yahoo! Sports. PA Media. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  33. ^ Gay, Jason (25 July 2021). "The Math Ph.D. Who Just Shocked Olympic Cycling". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  34. ^ McCurry, Justin (28 July 2021). "Van Vleuten quells Olympic road race pain with gold in women's time trial". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  35. ^ "Annemiek van Vleuten suffers broken pubis bone in Paris-Roubaix fall that has ended the Dutch star's season". Eurosport.com. 2 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  36. ^ "Wielerprijzen voor Lavreysen en Van Vleuten" [Cycling awards for Lavreysen and van Vleuten]. RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). RTL Nederland. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2022. Het is de derde keer dat Van Vleuten de Keetie van Oosten-Hage Bokaal wint. Ze deed dat eerder in 2017 en 2019. [It is the third time that van Vleuten has won the Keetie van Oosten-Hage Cup. She previously did that in 2017 and 2019.]
  37. ^ Becket, Adam (21 December 2021). "Van Vleuten crowned Dutch cyclist of the year for a third time". Cycling Weekly. Future plc. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  38. ^ a b "Annemiek van Vleuten 2022". ProCyclingStats.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  39. ^ Dabbs, Ryan (29 June 2022). "Annemiek van Vleuten to retire at end of 2023". Cycling Weekly. Future plc. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  40. ^ "Giro d'Italia Donne 2022: Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten wins her third title". BBC Sport. BBC. 10 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  41. ^ Price, Matilda (10 July 2022). "Giro d'Italia Donne: Annemiek van Vleuten wins overall race". VeloNews. Outside. Retrieved 10 July 2022. The ciclamino points jersey goes to van Vleuten after her two stage wins.
  42. ^ "Tour de France Femmes 2022: Riders to watch as women's race returns after 33 years". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  43. ^ Snowball, Ben (26 July 2022). "Tour de France Femmes is 'going to kick off' when Annemiek van Vleuten is back at 100% from stomach bug". Eurosport. Warner Bros. Discovery. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  44. ^ Lewis, Niamh (30 July 2022). "Van Vleuten goes on mountain rampage to win stage 7 of Tour de France Femmes". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  45. ^ "Annemiek van Vleuten takes final stage by 30 seconds to win women's Tour de France". ESPN.com. ESPN Inc. Associated Press. 31 July 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  46. ^ Frattini, Kirsten (11 September 2022). "Annemiek van Vleuten wins 2022 Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  47. ^ Knöfler, Lukas (8 September 2022). "Annemiek van Vleuten stamps authority on Ceratizit Challenge with stage 2 victory". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  48. ^ Frattini, Kirsten (18 September 2022). "'Bad day' knocks van Vleuten out of rainbow contention in Worlds time trial". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  49. ^ "Van Vleuten a doubt for world championships road race after relay crash". Reuters. Thomson Reuters. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  50. ^ Pender, Kieran (24 September 2022). "Shocked van Vleuten rides through pain to cap stellar year with road race gold". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  51. ^ Davidson, Tom (24 September 2022). "Annemiek van Vleuten soars to victory in World Championships road race despite broken elbow". Cycling Weekly. Future plc. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  52. ^ a b Knöfler, Lukas (7 May 2023). "La Vuelta Femenina: van Vleuten narrowly secures GC while Vollering wins stage 7". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  53. ^ "Dominant van Vleuten wins fourth Giro d'Italia Donne". BBC Sport. 9 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  54. ^ Frattini, Kirsten (30 July 2023). "Annemiek van Vleuten disappointed with final Tour de France Femmes, looks ahead to retirement". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
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