As a child, van Vleuten played football, gymnastics and horse riding, and rode her bike to school. Van Vleuten studied
animal sciences and specialised in
zoonoses and
epidemiology at the
University of Wageningen, graduating with a master's degree in epidemiology in 2007. In 2005, she was advised by her doctor to take up cycling following a knee injury playing football.
Early career Starting her cycling career at amateur teams in 2007 aged 25, van Vleuten joined the Dutch team in 2009. 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. 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. Van Vleuten also won the
Dutch National Road Race Championships. After a less than successful 2013, she won the
Dutch National Time Trial Championships for the first time in 2014. In 2015 she joined the . 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. The crash knocked her unconscious, and she was hospitalised with three
lumbar spinal fractures and a severe
concussion. Despite her injuries, van Vleuten was riding a bicycle within ten days of her accident and made a winning return to competition one month later, taking the overall victory and two stage wins at the
Belgium Tour. Earlier in the season, she had also won her second
Dutch National Time Trial Championships.
2017–2019: World Championships, Giro Rosa victories 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. 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. She ended the 2018 season with a total of 13 victories. At the
UCI Road World Championships in
Harrogate, she won the
road race after riding solo for of the race, holding back the chasing groups. She also won the Dutch national time trial championship for the fourth time. 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. 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.
Movistar Team (2021–2023) 2021: Olympic Games medals For the 2021 season, van Vleuten joined the . She started her season by winning
Tour of Flanders for Women, 10 years after her first victory. With around left in the race, van Vleuten crashed, but rejoined the race. Three days later, she became Olympic champion by winning the gold medal in the
time trial. 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. In October, she crashed in the first ever
Paris–Roubaix Femmes, breaking her
pubis bone in two places, ending her season. In December, van Vleuten was named Dutch cyclist of the year () for a third time, having previously won the award in 2017 and 2019.
2022: Giro–Tour–Vuelta triple, second world road race title In 2022, van Vleuten started her season by winning two classics –
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, and the
Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes for the second time. In June, van Vleuten signed a one-year contract extension with the , with the intention to retire from cycling at the end of the 2023 season. She won her third
Giro Donne the following month, winning two stages and the points classification. Later the same month, she was named as one of the pre-race favourites for the
inaugural edition of the
Tour de France Femmes. 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. Having moved up to eighth overall following the sixth stage, van Vleuten split the race apart on the penultimate stage (Stage 7); 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 and ultimately won the stage by over three minutes, moving into the race lead. The next day she cemented her victory, extending her lead in the process; she attacked with 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. She became the first woman to complete a Giro–Tour double in the same year. as well as winning the second stage. 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". 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. Van Vleuten ultimately took the start of the race, initially riding as a
domestique for
Marianne Vos. By the end, van Vleuten capitalised on a late-race stalling of pace, attacking with around remaining, holding off around a dozen riders by a second to take the rainbow jersey. In doing so, van Vleuten became the first female rider to win the
Triple Crown of Cycling.
2023: La Vuelta Femenina and 4th Giro Donne 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. This made van Vleuten the first woman to win all three of women's cycling major races. 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. Van Vleuten retired at the end of the 2023 season. She has also worked as a pundit for Dutch television. ==Personal life==