Van Vleuten crowned Dutch cyclist of the year for a third time

Annemiek van Vleuten was named Dutch cyclist of the year on Monday night for a stellar year that included gold in the Olympic Games individual time trial.

The awards, organised by Wielerflits, saw the Dutchwoman win the Keetie van Oosten-Hage Trophy for the third time. Track sprinter Harrie Lavreysen won the men's equivalent, the Gerrit Schulte Trophy. 

As well as Olympic gold in Tokyo, Van Vleuten finished second in the road race. The 39-year old also won the Tour of Flanders, the Clásica San Sebastián and Dwars door Vlaanderen in 2021, part of the 12 wins she had in total.

Meanwhile, Lavreysen won Olympic gold in the individual sprint and team sprint, and bronze in the Keirin. He is also world champion in all three of those events, defending his titles in Roubaix. It is the first time in the 21st century that the award has not been given to a road cyclist. 

In Germany, the women's team pursuit squad was awarded Team of the Year at the country's Sportsman of the Year awards. 

Franziska Brauße, Lisa Brennauer, Lisa Klein and Mieke Kröger won gold on the track at the Tokyo Olympics, breaking the world record in both qualifying and in the final. A slightly different squad, with Laura Süßemilch instead of Klein, also won gold at the World Championships later in 2021.

In an Instagram post Brennauer wrote: "A grand award at the end of a fantastic season that couldn’t have ended any better!"

The season for awards is in full swing. On Sunday, Wout van Aert scooped up his second successive win of Belgian Sportsman of the Year on Sunday.

The Jumbo-Visma rider is national champion on the road and in cyclocross, following his success, he was reported by Sporza to have said: "I thought it would be difficult to win again, certainly with this opposition. But that makes it all the more beautiful."

In the UK, cyclist Dame Sarah Story was nominated for Sports Personality of the Year, with the win going to Emma Raducanu, the tennis player who became Britain's first female grand slam winner for 44 years when she won the US Open in 2021.