{"id":106232,"date":"2022-06-29T08:31:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-29T06:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movistarteam.com\/?p=106232"},"modified":"2022-06-29T10:46:54","modified_gmt":"2022-06-29T08:46:54","slug":"annemiek-van-vleuten-2023-extension-retires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movistarteam.com\/en\/2022-06-29\/annemiek-van-vleuten-2023-extension-retires","title":{"rendered":"Annemiek van Vleuten to stay with Movistar Team in 2023, her last season"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Movistar Team is thrilled to announce Wednesday that Annemiek van Vleuten<\/strong> (Wageningen, NED; 1982), the great leader of its women\u2019s squad since the start of the 2021 season, has re-signed with the Telef\u00f3nica-backed project managed by Sebasti\u00e1n Unzu\u00e9 for an additional year, 2023<\/strong>, after which she will put an end to 16 years in the pro peloton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Storming towards glory in ‘La Doyenne’ – which is actually her latest race to date. (c) Sprint Cycling Agency<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Van Vleuten\u2019s extraordinary career -almost 90 pro wins- has gone through some of its biggest highlights while racing for the Movistar Team. 2021 was Miek\u2019s best season to date, with 12 victories that include her gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics\u2019 time trial, her second Ronde van Vlaanderen and the national tours of Spain and Norway, a palmar\u00e8s she\u2019s further increased in 2022 with a new Monument classic, her second Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge, as well as wins in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad or the Setmana Valenciana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, above those results and the big ambitions Van Vleuten holds for the next year and a half with the Abarca Sports organisation, remains the huge step forward her arrival meant for the whole group. The implication, commitment and work ethic Van Vleuten has instilled in everyone part of the Blue outfit is a mark we\u2019ll carry well after her retirement – one that we\u2019ll proudly enjoy with her next season. Thanks for the confidence, Miek!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Loved and appreciated by everyone in the Movistar Team, a feeling we’re certain Miek shares. (c) Sprint Cycling Agency<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Annemiek van Vleuten:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy career, my driving force as a professional athlete, has always been about improving, not winning. Refining every physical ability or mental aspect on the bike, both as an individual and together with the team I\u2019m part of, is what really gives me energy.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to contribute a bit more to the team\u2019s improvement, just like I\u2019ve done with the Movistar Team for the past two years, in 2023. To be part of it is why I wanted to re-sign for another season. We\u2019re on the way up, we\u2019re developing, and it\u2019d be sad to stop halfway through that development process. Two years feels like too short, while three is a nicer period. I\u2019m fully confident the organisation will continue to improve in 2024 and the years after that.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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She’s got only one way to understand cycling: going on the attack at every opportunity. (c) Sprint Cycling Agency<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIndividual-wise, I didn\u2019t feel like stopping right now – I\u2019m still super motivated, while also aware that there will be a moment when I\u2019ll have to stop. And it suits me better to stop when I\u2019m still at my highest level, playing the game at the front in the biggest events. I just want to finish on a high, and doing it with this wonderful group of people feels like the right thing to do.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome people will surely wonder why I\u2019m retiring before the Paris Olympics. For me, this, my career, has always been about finding motivating, long-term projects, like the Movistar Team and every organisation I\u2019ve been part of, that I can invest my energy in. It\u2019s not strictly about specific goals or races. It doesn\u2019t look like the Alpe d\u2019Huez is going to feature on the 2024 course, either (laughs), but as you can understand, that\u2019s not the most important reason.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The two leaders of the Movistar Team, Van Vleuten and Norsgaard, have shared roles with elegance and joy. (c) Sprint Cycling Agency<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe main reason, as I explained, to retire in 2023 is to do so while on top of my game, to round out that improvement process we and the team took up in 2021, and look for new challenges in life. I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll stop with a little tear in my eye, because I love this sport so much, but I\u2019d like to leave cycling, the \u2018professional athlete\u2019 part of it, at the top.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Olympic champion + World No. 1 to bid farewell to professional cycling with Telef\u00f3nica-backed squad; aiming at biggest success with Blues over next year and a half after brilliant 18 months together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":103364,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,158],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-female-team","category-announcement"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t