Annemiek van Vleuten becomes only third Dutch athlete to recieve the Commander of the Order award

Annemiek van Vleuten was appointed Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau at the Cycling Gala in Utrecht. She is only the third athlete to receive this award. Only chess player Max Euwe and skater Ireen Wüst preceded her.

Van Vleuten, who had previously been appointed Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau, was presented with the royal award on Monday evening by outgoing minister Conny Helder. She had some nice words for the retired cyclist.

"You are one of the best cyclists our country has produced, with perseverance that borders on the impossible and a list of honors that is unparalleled," began Helder, who then listed part of Van Vleuten's palmares. She then continued: "Great athletes are not only characterized by great successes, but it is also important: how do you deal with setbacks and injuries. In that respect, your second world title, in 2022 in Australia, is perhaps the best illustration. In that race you started with a fracture in your elbow and ended up in the rainbow jersey."

Van Vleuten herself was then given the word. What was going through her mind? "If everyone here stands in front of you like this, when there is applause, then that is a very nice token of appreciation. I have also felt that since I stopped, when people thank me, say that I inspired them or that they enjoyed watching me."