One Cycling Discipline isn't Enough, A Marianne Vos Profile

Dutch rider Marianne Vos is probably the definition of an all-rounder, winning races in mountain biking, cyclo-cross, road and track racing.

Born 13th May 1987 in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands; she took to cycling, aged six, after watching her brother racing. Vos would have to train with her brother’s team as she couldn’t take part in racing. Eventually she took up cyclo-cross at the age of eight, where she was old enough to take part in races. Not satisfied with just one sport she also took up, the popular Dutch sports, inline and speed skating.


Early Success
At 14 Vos began to find success after replacing inline speed skating with mountain biking. In 2002 she put her name on the map by becoming Dutch mountain bike and took third in the junior road race and time-trial. It was a sign of things to come as she repeated the feat again in the following year despite still only being 16.

Although she first competed in cyclo-cross it wasn’t until 2004, that she won her first international race. Her road racing season wasn’t as successful, only managing third in the junior road race and time-trial. Her popularity was growing around the country and she was voted Sport FM Sportswoman of the year on two consecutive occasions.


Rainbow Jersey’s Galore
Yet to turn 20 Vos became world champion in two disciplines in 2006 with the Elite Road Race and the Elite cyclo-cross championships. The Dutch rider hung on to the wheel of Nicole Cooke, who would beat her the following year, after the Brit launched an attack on the final six laps in Salzburg. The road race went down to a 15 rider sprint in comparison to the two rider sprint for the cyclo-cross championship. Since winning in Salzburg, Vos has come second in every Elite Road Race, most recently in Geelong.

2008 eight was a record breaking year when she added the points race to her world championship belt, becoming the first woman to win in those three different disciplines. Vos later went on to win the points race at the Olympic Games in Beijing. She regained her cyclo-cross world champion the following year and claimed her third La Fleche Wallonne Feminine.

In total Vos has taken six World Championships in three different disciplines and is probably one of the most diverse cyclists around. In 2011 she has already taken the National and World Cyclo-Cross championships, making it her fourth world title. She has been at the top of the UCI rankings since 2007 and is unlikely to be knocked off anytime soon.