Annemiek van Vleuten

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] She 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]

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]

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]

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) for a third time, having previously won the award in 2017 and 2019.[36][37]

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.

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]