Annemiek van Vleuten facts for kids
Van Vleuten at the 2017 UEC European Track Championships
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| Personal information | |||
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| Full name | Annemiek van Vleuten | ||
| Nickname |
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| Born | 8 October 1982 Vleuten, Netherlands |
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| Height | 1.68 m | ||
| Weight | 59 kg | ||
| Team information | |||
| Current team | Retired | ||
| Discipline | Road | ||
| Role | Rider | ||
| Rider type | All-rounder | ||
| Major wins | |||
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Annemiek van Vleuten (born 8 October 1982) is a retired Dutch professional road racing cyclist. She rode for the UCI Women's WorldTeam Movistar Team before she retired.
Annemiek is a two-time winner of the road race (in 2019 and 2022). She also won the time trial twice (in 2017 and 2018) at the UCI Road World Championships. At the 2016 Olympic Games, she had a serious crash while leading the road race. But she came back strong to win a gold medal in the time trial and a silver medal in the road race at the 2020 Olympics.
She has won all three of the biggest women's cycling races, known as Grand Tours. These include the Giro Donne (five times), the first ever Tour de France Femmes (in 2022), and the La Vuelta Femenina (in 2023). She was the first woman to win both the Giro and the Tour in the same year! Annemiek van Vleuten won six Grand Tour races in a row.
Annemiek also won the UCI Women's Road World Cup in 2011 and the UCI Women's World Tour three times. She won many other important races, like Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes, Strade Bianche Donne, and Tour of Flanders for Women. She is thought to be one of the greatest female cyclists ever. Annemiek retired from cycling at the end of the 2023 season.
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Annemiek's Cycling Journey
As a child, Annemiek van Vleuten enjoyed playing football, gymnastics, and horse riding. She also rode her bike to school every day. She studied animal sciences at the University of Wageningen and earned a master's degree in 2007. In 2005, after a knee injury from playing football, her doctor suggested she try cycling.
Starting Her Career
Annemiek began her cycling career with amateur teams in 2007 when she was 25. In 2009, she joined the Dutch DSB Bank–Nederland bloeit team. In 2010, she quit her office job to become a full-time professional cyclist. Her first big win was at the 2010 Novilon Eurocup Ronde van Drenthe. She then won La Route de France later that year. In 2011, she won the UCI Women's Road World Cup. This included wins at important races like Tour of Flanders for Women, GP de Plouay – Bretagne, and Open de Suède Vårgårda.
In 2012, Annemiek represented the Netherlands at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Women's road race. She also won the Dutch National Road Race Championships. After a challenging year in 2013, she won the Dutch National Time Trial Championships for the first time in 2014. In 2015, she joined the Bigla Pro Cycling Team team. She won a bronze medal in the time trial at the 2015 European Games.
Joining Orica–AIS (2016–2020)
In 2016, Annemiek joined the Orica–AIS team. On August 7, 2016, during the road race at the 2016 Summer Olympics, she had a serious crash. This happened while she was leading the race, about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) from the finish line. Despite her injuries, Annemiek was back on her bike within ten days! She made an amazing return to racing just one month later. She won the overall victory and two stages at the Belgium Tour. That same year, she also won her second Dutch National Time Trial Championships.
World Championships and Giro Rosa Wins
In 2017, Annemiek became a world champion for the first time. She won the time trial event in Norway. She also won the Holland Ladies Tour, La Course by Le Tour de France, and kept her national Time Trial Championship title.
The year 2018 was Annemiek's most successful so far. She won the Giro Rosa, winning three stages. She also won her second world title in the time trial at the 2018 UCI Road World Championships in Austria. She won the UCI Women's World Tour after many victories, including La Course by Le Tour de France and the Holland Ladies Tour. She finished 2018 with 13 wins!
In 2019, Annemiek won the Giro Rosa again. She won by over 3 minutes and took home all the main titles: overall winner, points, and mountains. At the UCI Road World Championships, she won the road race. She rode alone for 100 kilometers (62 miles) of the 149-kilometer (92.6 miles) race, staying ahead of the other riders. She also won the Dutch national time trial championship for the fourth time.
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In the 2020 season, which was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, she won the road race at the European Road Championships. She also won Strade Bianche for the second time.
Joining Movistar Team (2021–2023)
For the 2021 season, Annemiek joined the Movistar Team team. She started the year by winning Tour of Flanders for Women, 10 years after her first win there.
Olympic Medals and More Wins
In July, she competed in the women's Olympic road race in Tokyo. She won the silver medal, finishing 75 seconds behind Anna Kiesenhofer. Annemiek had a crash during the race but managed to rejoin. Three days later, she became an Olympic champion by winning the gold medal in the time trial.
She won the UCI Women's World Tour for the second time. This was thanks to her victories at the Challenge by La Vuelta and Ladies Tour of Norway. In October, she crashed in the first ever Paris–Roubaix Femmes race, which ended her season. In December, Annemiek was named Dutch cyclist of the year for the third time.
Historic Triple Win in 2022
In 2022, Annemiek started her season by winning two classic races: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes. In June, she signed a contract to stay with the Movistar Team team, planning to retire at the end of the 2023 season. She then won her third Giro Donne race, winning two stages and the points title.
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Later that month, she was a favorite to win the first ever Tour de France Femmes. She had some stomach issues early in the race. But on the second-to-last stage, she attacked and rode away from everyone else. She won the stage by over three minutes and took the overall lead. The next day, she won again, securing her victory in the Tour de France Femmes. She became the first woman to win both the Giro and the Tour in the same year!
In September, she won the Challenge by La Vuelta. The next week, she finished seventh in the time trial at the 2022 UCI Road World Championships. Three days later, she crashed in the mixed team relay race, breaking her elbow. This made it uncertain if she could race in the road race three days later. But Annemiek did race! She made a surprise attack near the end of the race and won the world championship. By doing this, she became the first female rider to win the "Triple Crown of Cycling" (Giro, Tour, and World Championships in the same year).
Final Season in 2023
In the first few months of 2023, Annemiek did not win any major classic races. However, she won the first edition of La Vuelta Femenina. This made her the first woman to win all three of women's cycling's biggest races (Giro, Tour, and Vuelta). Annemiek then won her fourth Giro Donne by almost 4 minutes. She won three stages and also took the points and mountains titles. She finished 4th overall in the second Tour de France Femmes. She said she was disappointed with this result, explaining that she had been ill.
Annemiek's Life Outside Cycling
When she's not cycling, Annemiek van Vleuten enjoys a quiet life. She likes scuba diving, watching football, and playing the board game Settlers of Catan with her friends.
Career achievements
See Also
In Spanish: Annemiek van Vleuten para niños
- List of Dutch Olympic cyclists
