Nat Bromhead
Annemiek van Vleuten has completed her final professional race, the 40yo Dutch legend leaving the racing side of the sport as one of the greatest female cyclists of all time.
Her record includes 104 pro victories including the Tour de France, four wins of the women’s Giro, three Vuelta victories and two road world championships including her sensational Wollongong win.
Van Vleuten has twice been the world Time Trial Champion and has won the Tour of Flanders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Strade Bianche.
Annemiek’s professional career began in 2007 when she was 24, and since then she’s enjoyed more than a century of professional victories.
But her major successes may not be measured in medals, trophies and cups, but the countless other girls and women she has inspired, encouraged and motivated over the years.
“I could write books about how women’s cycling has changed since I started,” she told journalists at the Glashow World Championships.
“I started in 2007, 2008 was my first UCI team with Ellen van Dijk in the Vrienden van het Platteland squad. We travelled in a camper van, with all the bikes in the back, and we travelled to Sweden in that camper van. I’m super proud of being part of the whole development of women’s cycling, and I think I helped to raise the bar a little bit, to make the sport more professional.”
“I was the first one to go to altitude, now everyone’s going to altitude. I’m happy to have been part of the journey, and to leave the sport now that it’s on a super high level. I’m sure it will take more steps and continue to develop,” said Annemiek.
“When I started it was an amateur sport, and now it’s a professional sport. I’m proud to have been a little part of that.”
