Do we like them?

Do we like Annemiek van Vleuten?

Our score: 8 out of 10. A decent record on both tests, a few sharp-elbowed race moments, and no harmful words or acts found, but not much on record about wider causes.

Annemiek van Vleuten is a Dutch cyclist who became one of the most decorated riders in women's road racing. By the numbers on her profile page, she won the 2022 Tour de France Femmes, the Giro four times, La Vuelta Femenina in 2023, two road world titles, two time trial world titles and Olympic time trial gold in Tokyo. She retired at the end of 2023 after a final season with Movistar.

Her biggest win was also a bit of a milestone for the sport. When she took the first modern Tour de France Femmes in 2022, she said she was “super proud to be the first winner” of the new race. She hoped it would be a big start for something that grows, and she won it despite health problems and several bike changes early on.

The messy bits are mostly racing rows. In the 2023 Vuelta Femenina, rival Demi Vollering stopped for a nature break while Movistar attacked in the crosswinds, and Vollering accused her of ignoring the unwritten rule on bathroom breaks. Van Vleuten argued you stop at a good moment, not with crosswinds coming, and later said she did not hate Vollering. It's a gamesmanship stoush, not an allegation of misconduct, and the sources here are search listings I couldn't open in full.

On the harm test, nothing turned up. I found no statements from her against LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants or science, and no sign she's worked with people who push that stuff. Her public positions are about women's cycling: she has argued for a minimum wage for riders and for live broadcasting ahead of equal prize money. I couldn't find her on trans inclusion or climate, so that's an honest gap, not a clean sheet.

The recent thing is small but telling. After the Giro disqualified Lorena Wiebes in June 2026 for a bike 20 grams under the weight limit, van Vleuten said she accepted losing the stage win but called the exclusion from the race a disproportionately heavy punishment. She also questioned why SD Worx ran so close to the limit, which is a rider talking from experience rather than throwing mud.

Away from the road, she took on a performance mentor and coaching role at Fenix-Premier Tech. In March 2026 she said it meant she couldn't keep working with NOS. That's a rider turning her experience into help for younger riders, which fits the pattern of a woman who's stayed in the sport to lift it up.