Although Annemiek van Vleuten may have officially retired from professional bike racing, the 41-year-old is clearly still bitten by the cycling bug.
Within a week of her retirement becoming official, the legendary Dutchwoman is set to return to racing on Sunday, January 7th at a national cyclocross race, Kasteelcross Vorden in the Netherlands. Although not renowned as a cyclocross expert, van Vleuten does have some past experiences in the discipline, most recently competing in a couple of races back in 2019.
Familiar names who will also be on the startlist include the likes of Ilse Pluimers and the sister of cyclocross superstar, Puck Pieterse, Isa Pieterse.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- let’s be honest, Alpecin is all about one rider - MVDP. I’m sure he gets whatever he needs, the rest get the scraps.mij15-11-2026
- there are more vicious injuries on a road bike than a mountain bike far and away.mij15-11-2026
- That'll be one crazy rider
Rafionain-Glas15-11-2026 - Many Europeans say that Austria, Switzerland and Slovenia are one of the most beautiful countries in Europe known for their stunning landscapes because of the Alp mountains, green forests, clean rivers and lakes, coastlines, and national parks.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
- Pogi=Baby Hulk=Smash !!!PogiSloFans15-11-2026
- I was in Maribor last summer (while spending time in Graz with family) but of course it was the day of independence and everything was shut. Sigh. Lovely walk on the river. (And yes, I’m Austrian and live in the US.)RidesHills15-11-2026
- Riding a mountain bike off road after his injuries is not very responsiblecaptmike15-11-2026
- disagreed. in this year's tdf he was unable to ride away from the young guns in the stages before his crash. there were several riders at least close to, if not on, his level in the second week: seixas, remco, del toro, lipo. next year jonas is a year older and the younger riders gained a year of experience and strength. if you then try to skip part of the high altitude training ... i doubt that jonas will make the podium at tdf 27. for sure he is not the favourite for runner up. he will be in the mix, yes. but not THE favourite for 2nd place.Ketterechts15-11-2026
- That means you're Austrian, like Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was born close to Gradec, very close to Maribor. We used to do a lot of shopping in Gradec in the 70's and 80's, when Slovenia was still a part of communist Yugoslavia. Today we have good relationships with the Austrians. Many Slovenians are working there.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
- headline criticism agreed. but otherwise he certainly has a point. you can negotiate extra perks if you are way above he rest ... however, these times have long gone ...Ketterechts15-11-2026
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