Annemiek van Vleuten

Annemiek van Vleuten is a retired professional who most recently rode for Movistar. Her final season proved to be 2023, but the Dutchwoman hung up her cleats with one of the most illustrious palmarès you are ever likely to see.

Grand Tours, Monuments, World Championships - you name it, Annemiek van Vleuten has won it. Throughout her 16-year career, the two-time world champion achieved almost everything there is to achieve, including winning the first Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in dominant fashion. For a long time, the Dutchwoman was likely the best climber in the peloton, meaning that when the road went up - the longer and more mountainous the better - she was often seen taking minutes out of her nearest competitors.

A relative latecomer to the sport, Van Vleuten only started racing in her late 20s. She wasn’t necessarily a breakout star but had a turning point in 2016 - a strong season that ended dramatically with a crash at the Rio Olympics - following which she solidified herself as the best stage racer in women’s cycling. In 2022 she pulled off an unprecedented feat, winning the Giro d’Italia Donne, Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta all in one season, and topped it all off by taking her second World Championship Road Race victory in Australia.

In 2023, Van Vleuten won the Vuelta Femenina and the Giro Donne, but fell short of completing the triple again, with Demi Vollering taking over her Tour de France Femmes crown. Her final victory proved to be the general classification of the Tour of Scandinavia.