Annemiek van Vleuten was appointed Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau during the cycling gala in Utrecht on Monday evening. The cyclist, who retired this year, was presented with the royal honor by outgoing Sports Minister Conny Helder.
Van Vleuten, previously named a Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau, is only the third athlete to be appointed commander. The award recipient must have carried out very special or important activities. Or values have global appeal and importance.
In his illustrious career, Van Vleuten won the Olympic gold medal, three Grand Tours (Tour, Giro and Vuelta) and many important classics such as Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Tour of Flanders.
Minister Helder, who is nearing the end of his term, congratulated the award-winning cyclists on Instagram:
The Order of Orange-Nassau has many degrees: from member to Knight Grand Cross. Van Vleuten became the third athlete to be appointed commander. Former skater Ireen Wüst and chess player Max Euwe also belong to the third degree (six degrees) of the Order of Orange-Nassau.
Other athletes such as Max Verstappen and Johan Cruijff were appointed officers with a rank lower than the rank of commander. Olympic champions are usually awarded the Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau, a fifth-degree award.
Knight Vollering
Demi Vollering has also been in fifth grade since Monday. This wasn’t the only award of the night; The Tour de France Femmes winner won the Keetie van Oosten-Hage Award as the best cyclist of the year for the first time. Last month, Vollering also won the Velo d’Or, an international award given to the best cyclist of the year.
In addition to the Tour de France, 27-year-old Vollering also won the Strade Bianche, Dwarfs’ gate Vlaanderen, Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. At the World Championships, Vollering finished second behind Lotte Kopecky.
The Gerrit Schulte Award went to Mathieu van der Poel for the third time. He was chosen as the best cyclist of the year, as in 2019 and 2020. In addition to his fifth cyclocross world championship title, van der Poel also won the Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix classics this year. In August, he became the first Dutchman to win the world title since Joop Zoe Temelk in Glasgow in 1985.
Puck Pieterse was named Talent of the Year and received the Gerrie Knetemann Award. Pieterse, 21, won the national cyclocross championship and became European champion and Dutch mountain bike champion, among other things, and also won the World Cup class.
The New Cycling Team of the Year award was given to Team Jumbo-Visma, which won the final classification in the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta. The elections and the cycling gala were organized by Club 48, the association of former professional cyclists.
Source: NOS
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
