Few female cyclists have left such a mark on the sport as Annemiek van Vleuten. World champion after a solo breakaway of more than 100 kilometers in Yorkshire. Olympic time trial champion in Tokyo. Winner of the Tour de France Femmes, the Giro, and the Vuelta. And then there’s that world title in Wollongong, clinched with a broken elbow, in an attack that really shouldn’t have been possible. On November 2, she will be the special guest at De Laatste Etappe at the Beatrix Theater in Utrecht.
Van Vleuten embodied everything that makes cycling beautiful: attacking when she didn’t have to, pushing on when it seemed impossible. Her career had its deep lows—with the horrific crash in Rio as the lowest point—and precisely because of that, its peaks were all the higher. Since her retirement, she’s been watching the sport through the eyes of someone who’s experienced it all firsthand—sharp, honest, and with infectious enthusiasm. Exactly the perspective you want when looking back on the 2026 season.
De Laatste Etappe is the ultimate season finale of the cycling year: a theatrical evening featuring music, the presentation of the cycling awards, and a live cycling talk show with prominent figures and standout riders from the peloton. The stories behind the results, the moments of silence after the finish, the hardship, and the beauty of a sport that can never be tamed. In addition to Van Vleuten, Wout Poels, José De Cauwer, Blaudzun, and Sander Kleikers, among others, will be in attendance. More guests will be announced over the course of the summer.
