Annemiek van Vleuten's Tour de France Femmes winning ride smashes Strava records
Movistar's Dutchwoman gets most kudos ever for a women's ride


The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for signing up to The Pick. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
For most, winning the inaugural Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift would be enough of a prize, but not for Annemiek van Vleuten. The Movistar rider can now add most-kudosed women's bike ride on Strava to her long list of achievements.
Van Vleuten powered to her second consecutive stage victory at the Tour on Sunday, triumphing on the Super Planche des Belles Filles, and taking overall victory as a result. In the end, she won by almost four minutes over Demi Vollering (SD Worx).
The 39-year-old uploads most, if not all, of her bike rides onto the popular exercise tracking-cum-social network Strava, and so fans have been able to follow her seminal victory as it happened.
At time of writing, the activity, titled "Super win at La Planche! :)" has received 23,106 likes, or "kudos" on Strava, the most for any women's bike ride ever.
In fact, it is currently the third most "kudosed" activity for a woman ever, behind Molly Seidel's third place in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics last year, and the same athlete's fourth place at the New York Marathon in 2021.
Van Vleuten took 19 "Queen of the Mountain" records on the way to her victory on the Super Planche, including the original La Planche des Belles Filles climb.
She averaged 33.8km/h across the 122.83km raced, which included 2,491 metres of elevation.
On the previous day, stage seven, where she all but wrapped up her Tour win, Van Vleuten achieved 43 QoM records on Strava. This included the climb of the Petit Ballon, where she put seven minutes into the previous holder.
That day, the Dutchwoman attacked with Vollering 70km from the finish, and then dropped her rival less than 10km later. As a result of this monster solo effort, the only rider seen to be in her group that day was solely Vollering, not the 123 other riders in the race.
Her win was all the more impressive considering she considered quitting the race after stage two as she was so ill.
“In day two and three it was very hard and I can't believe, with how sick I was, now I am here in the yellow jersey,” she said in her post-stage press conference. “Until yesterday I still felt sick, at some point you can start to eat and drink again.
“I dug so deep in stage 2 and 3, being sick and racing, which is awful for your body. I could feel in stage 5 and 6 that my legs still had muscle pain. I was not sure, even on stage 7, that I was recovered from being ill.”
However, the Movistar rider bounced back to take a comprehensive victory, and get the win in yellow on the Planche that she dreamed of.
"When I did the recon of the stage, it was something I told my team that if it were possible I would like to go for the win, with the victory in yellow on the Planche the best way to finish this off,” Van Vleuten said. “It was special – all the spectators cheering my name.”
Strava kudos might not mean as much as titles, but Van Vleuten is continuing to smash records.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!

Adam is Cycling Weekly’s senior news and feature writer – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling on tarmac, he's happy. Before joining Cycling Weekly he spent two years writing for Procycling, where he interviewed riders and wrote about racing, speaking to people as varied as Demi Vollering to Philippe Gilbert. Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to cycling.
-
-
'They aren't just good, they're brilliant' - Meet Great Britain's junior super-talents
There’s a golden generation of women coming through the GB ranks
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Primož Roglič confirms he will leave Jumbo-Visma
Giro d'Italia champion does not reveal his destination for 2024 yet, though
By Adam Becket Published
-
‘Maybe I will do some gravel’ - Annemiek van Vleuten hints at post-retirement plans
Dutchwoman has no doubts about calling time on her career, but promises to stay in the sport
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Meet the cyclist who logged a six-hour training ride - without telling his coach - before winning World Championships
Daniel Abraham Gebru refuses to miss training days, even when he has a race
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Demi Vollering and Jonas Vingegaard both finished in yellow - but the Tour de France Femmes winner took home less than a tenth of the prize money
To put it in Euro per Kilometer, the 2023 men's Tour paid €146.8 per km while the women earned €52.3 per km.
By Anne-Marije Rook Published
-
There’s a secret hypnosis chamber at the Tour de France Femmes for one team’s marginal gains
FDJ-Suez have a high-tech recovery protocol which they hope will deliver results on the road
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Riders union calls for stricter motorbike safety after rider clipped at Tour de France Femmes
'It shouldn't happen,' said Kathrin Hammes, who came close to crashing on stage four
By Tom Davidson Published
-
The best bike tech of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2023
From special edition wheels to raised stems, here's what's being used at the race
By Tom Davidson Published
-
The 10 North Americans to watch at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift
The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift kicks off on Sunday, July 23, departing from Clermont-Ferrand for eight days of racing. Here are the 10 North Americans among the 154 riders.
By Henry Lord Published
-
Lifeplus-Wahoo give away 10,000 free GCN+ passes to watch Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift
The team has purchased thousands of GCN+ passes to help the race reach a wider audience
By Tom Davidson Published