Marianne Vos

At 37 years old, Marianne Vos has this physical status:

Marianne Vos (pronunciation, born 13 May 1987) is a Dutch cycle-cross, road bicycle racer, mountain bike racer, and track racer who currently competes for UCI Women's Team Liv.

Voters have compared Eddy Merckx to "the greatest cyclist of [her] generation" after winning a junior European and world championship in road racing, she has continued her success in senior cycling by becoming the world champion in cyclo-cross and road racing at the age of 19.

When she won the points race in 2008 and the scratch competition in 2011, she won the track racing world championships.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, she captured the gold medal in the points competition; at the 2012 Summer Olympics, she took gold in the women's road race.

She has competed in three world Road Race Championships, including 2006, 2012, 2013, and 2014.

Early years

Marianne Vos was born in 'Hertogenbosch, North Brabant, and lives in the tiny village of Babylonia. She began her career when she was six years old after watching her older brother, who was already a cyclist, start the journey. She started training with her brother's team at first because she was not allowed to compete in races; during the winter, she began training in cyclo-cross. She could ride horses when she was eight years old. Participants in speed skating and inline speed skating have also competed. She switched to mountain biking in line skating at 14 years old.

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Professional career

She won two national championships and finished second in another in 2002. She became the Dutch mountain biking champion and won the national junior road race, finishing second in the Dutch time trial championship behind Roxane Knetemann. In 2003, Vos successfully defended her national junior mountain bike title. Roxane Knetemann, the 2002 champion, placed second at the time trial championships, this time behind Maxime Groenegren, while 2002 champion Roxane Knetemann finished fourth, behind fourth place.

For the first time in 2004, Vos excelled in cyclocross in Gieten, defeating Birgit Hollmann and Arenda Grimberg. Ellen van Dijk, who won both events, came third in the Dutch junior road race and time trial, placing her third third. In Surhuisterveen and Pijnacker-Nootdorp, she won during her cyclo-cross season. In the last, she defeated Hanka Kupfernagel and Daphny van den Brand. For the third time in a row, she became the Dutch junior champion in mountain biking before heading to Verona for the junior road world championships. Vos, who was 17 years old and a first-year student, died in the final five laps on the climb. She stayed strong and became the world champion. At the end of 2004, she was named Sports FM Sportswoman of the Year 2004.

Vos, the junior world champion, won her first Dutch junior national road championship in front of 2004 champion Ellen van Dijk. Before Maxime Groenewegen, Van Dijk was able to defend her time trial title, while Vos placed third, placing Vos third. The Dutch cyclo-cross championship Vos came in second, behind Daphny van den Brand, who was competing as a senior. She then won her fourth Dutch junior mountain bike title before winning a junior World Cup match in Houffalize. She placed fourth at the world junior cyclo-cross championship and took home a race in Heeswijk a week later. Vosce began in the 1970s and was only occasionally involved in senior road races. One of the Omloop van Borsele was the Omloop van Borsele, which she won by beating Adrie Visser. The Netherlands had won the last three editions of the junior championship, including Vos' world championship in 2004 (the others being Loes Markerink in 2002 and Suzanne de Goede in 2003). Vos wanted to win her fourth title by defending her award in Salzburg, but she came in second, behind Denmark's Mie Bekker Lacota.

Voters were back in cyclo-crossing again. She won in Harderwijk and Suameer, six weeks after winning her silver medal in Salzburg. In Pontchâteau, France, her next target was the European cyclo-cross championship. She began in the high-end market and was supposed to assist Daphny van den Brand, but instead she met the favorites, including van den Brand, who won silver, and also named the company's president, who was named in the top category. She won two cyclo-crosses in Gieten and Loenhout after the European championship. In 2005, Vos was named Sport FM Sportswoman of the Year.

On January 1st of 2006, Vos ran in Pétange for the first time since becoming a citizen of the United States. The Dutch championship in Huijbergen was still a contest between Vos and van den Brand, this time between Vos and van den Brand, although Vos took gold. In Zeddam, voters concentrated on the world cyclocross championship in her own country. She was on fine form on January 29, 2006, with only Hanka Kupfernagel and Daphny van den Brand able to detect her. Van den Brand changed bikes and lost her position, finishing a minute behind in bronze for the first time. When Vos outsprinted Kupfernagel, the gold medal was decided in the last meters.

Vos participated in the Gracia-Orlová Tour in the Czech Republic during the 2006 road season, winning the 5th stage, 2:20 ahead of the pack. For the second time in a row, she lifted the Omloop van Borsele, defeating Vera Koedooder and Bertine Spijkerman. She competed in the Emakumeen Bira in Spain and took the 1st stage. She returned to Maastricht, Netherlands, for the national road championships. Voters rodeted in a crowd of all the favorites for the challenge, with Sharon van Essen and Suzanne de Goede outsprinted to win the title. Vos was named Dutch Sports Talent of the Year 2006 on June 28, 2006, ahead of pentathlete Laurien Hoos and gymnast Epke Zonderland. Erica Terpstra, a former swimmer, gave her the additional award.

She was the best in the Omloop van Valkenburg when she finished in front of de Goede just a few weeks later. Votes were still in the junior age group and took part in the European road race championship in Valkenburg. She won the sprint over Tatiana Guderzo of Italy. In the Tour Féminin en Limousin, she went on to win two stages and overall. In July, she gained criteriums in Steenwijk, Draai van de Kaai, Oostvoorne, and Pijnackerow.

She signed a five-year contract with the Dutch team DSB-Ballast Nedam in August. It wasn't long before she won her first race with DSB. Or Féminin Vos beat Tanja Schmidt-Hennes at the end of the 4th stage of the Trophée d'Or Féminin Vos.

Vos returned to Salzburg for the senior road race at the world road race championship with the silver medal won in 2005. Voters remained in the group until Nicole Cooke took the lead in the fifth of six laps. Cooke attacked on the second climb, but only Nicole Brändli and Vos were able to catch her. A few others returned a few kilometres later. Judith Arndt left the company alone. Vos made the leap to Arndt and lasted for a few minutes before the chasers returned home. Apart from attacks on either the flat road or the second climb, the team remained united from then. Vos was in another rainbow jersey as the run came to a conclusion.

Daphny van den Brand and Hanka Kupfernagel were among the European cyclo-cross championship winners who received a bronze medal behind Daphny van den Brand and Hanka Kupfernagel.

Vos won La Flèche La Flèche Béminine and the Rund um die Nürnberger Altstadt World Cup events before moving on to win the overall series. She also came in second in the road race world championships, losing her title to Marta Bastianelli of Italy, who died in the first 15 kilometers of the competition.

When she won the women's points race at the track cycling world championships, Vos added a track cycling world championship to her list. She became the first woman to hold world championship titles on the track, track, and cycle-cross in doing so. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Vos became the Olympic points race champion.

Vos got off to a promising start in 2009 by winning the cyclo-cross world championships. She also had success on the road, winning La Flèche Wallonne Féminine for the third time. She finished second in the road world championships later this year.

Vos became the road world champion for the third time in a row in 2010.

Vos received her fifth silver medal at the road world championships in 2011. She championed the scratch race in the track world championships and the world cyclo-cross championships.

In 2011, Vos was elected as a member of the inaugural UCI Athletes' Commission.

Vos captured the world cyclo-cross championship again in 2012. She won at the Ronde van Drenthe and the Trofeo Binda, but she fractured her collarbone after colliding with a motorcycle during the Valkenburg Hills Classic on May 25. Despite being able to finish the race in second place and did not require surgery, she did not return to action until the Dutch national championships, in which she came in second, 3 seconds behind Annemiek van Vleuten. She then competed in the Giro Donne, winning five stages and general classification for the second year in a row. On the return to London, she captured gold in the London Olympic Games road race, winning the sprint from a 3-woman breakaway after the final lap of the Box Hill, Surrey circuit. In the time trial, she came in 16th place. Vos captured her second road race world title in Valkenburg, Netherlands, in September, after five second positions in a row (2007–2011).

Vos started her year in 2013 with another strong showing at the 2013 world championships, her fifth in a row and her sixth overall. After winning mountain bike races for the first time in her career, and then winning the Tour of Flanders by outsprinting Ellen van Dijk, voters took their first victory. After riding away from her rivals on a steep climb in the final lap of the Florence, Italy course, Vos won another world road race championship on September 28. She was 15 seconds ahead of the second and third place riders.

With a historic seventh world championship in cyclo-cross, the year began. Six of those titles were based on consecutive dates. Later this year, she won the Giro d'Italia Femminile and the first edition of La Course. On the last day of the Tour de France for men, the Course took place. After a huge petition by Marianne Vos, Emma Pooley, Kathryn Bertine, and Chrissie Wellington, a women's race was introduced. She also won the inaugural edition of The Women's Tour.

With a third place in the cyclo-cross world championships, Vos began the year. She then turned to mountain biking, with a view on competing in the Rio Olympics. She won her first race but she ripped a rib preparing for a run in Austria. A persistent hamstring injury dominated the remainder of her 2015 season. She later revealed that she had been overtrained and would not participate in the 2016–2016 cycle.

Vos returned to action in stage 3 of the Tour of California in 2016. She was one of four women selected for the Dutch national team for the 2016 Summer Olympics the same month. She finished in ninth place in the Olympic road race, which was won by her colleague Anna van der Breggen.

In 2017, Vos took home a silver medal at the cyclo-cross world championships. She also won the road race in Herning, Denmark, and the general classification in the Ladies Tour of Norway stage competition.

At the 2018 European championships in Glasgow, Vos received a silver medal. For the second year in a row, she has also won two Women's World Tour events: the Open de Suède Vrgrda and the Ladies Tour of Norway. Both three stages, the general and the points classification of that competition, were won by the voters.

Vos began the year with a bronze medal at the cyclo-cross world championships in Bogense. For the fourth time, she lifted the Trofeo Binda in March. She was now tied for most victories in this series with Maria Canins. In May, she won the Tour de Yorkshire, and in July she won La Course for the second time.

Marianne was one of the first edition of Tour de France Femmes. She won stage 2 to Provins, defeating Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Elisa Longo Borghini, and Silvia Persico in the sprint. This gave her the overall lead and made her the holder of the yellow jersey. She also led the way in the points classification. She then won Stage 6 from Saint-Dié-des-Vosges to Rosheim, gaining a large advantage in the points classification and becoming the first woman to win a stage while wearing the yellow jacket. As a result, she shortened her lead by +0:30 over Niewiadoma and Persico. After stage 7, she fell out of contention for the yellow jersey, but she maintained the lead in the points classification. Despite having dominated this classification for many years, she would wear the green jersey for the first time on the final day of the competition. In the end, Vos came in 26th in the general classification, 36 minutes and 56 seconds behind champion Annemiek van Vleuten.

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