In the latest chapter of her glittering career, Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) has won the individual standings for the 2021 Women’s WorldTour series, and finished atop the UCI World Rankings.
Although she was unable to compete in the last Women’s WorldTour race of the season, the Ronde van Drenthe, due to a broken shoulder and pelvis sustained at Paris-Roubaix Femmes, van Vleuten had already established an unassailable lead. She finishes the season 600 points ahead of her younger compatriot, Demi Vollering (SD Worx), with a total of 3,177 points.
To accumulate this total for the Women's WorldTour, van Vleuten has taken seven top-tier victories this season, out of a total of 12 victories on the international calendar.
After kicking off the season with a win at the Dwars door Vlaanderen (1.1), her first top-tier win came at the Tour of Flanders back in April where she attacked from a small group of favourites 14km from the finish before soloing to the line.
She won in a similar fashion at the top-tier events Donostia San Sebastian Klasikoa, while also taking GC victories at the Ladies Tour of Norway and Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta.
Other victories included the overall win at Setmana Ciclista Valenciana (2.1) and the one-day win at Emakumeen Nafarroako Women's Elite Classics (1.1).
Van Vleuten has remained consistent throughout the season, finishing second in Liège–Bastogne–Liège and Vuelta a Burgos Feminas, and third at Amstel Gold Race, all top-tier events.
Moreover, her dominance was underlined by a gold medal in the individual time trial and a silver medal in the road race at the Tokyo Olympics, though these races are not included within the structure of the Women’s WorldTour.
Behind her, Vollering marks her breakthrough season with a second place overall in the Women’s WorldTour, following victories in Liège–Bastogne–Liège, La Course by Le Tour de France and The Women’s Tour. Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) completes the podium in third place after her own impressive season.
SD Worx, meanwhile, have finished top of the Women's WorldTour team standings, scoring 8,188 points with 13 riders contributing to this total.
In the best young rider competition, Niamh Fisher-Black (SD Worx) emerged victorious, in a season that also saw her win the young rider classification at three prestigious stage races- the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas, Ladies Tour of Norway and Giro d’Italia Donne.
In the UCI World Ranking, Van Vleuten has accumulated 5,053 points and led the ranking ahead of runner-up Longo Borghini who has 3,485 points and third placed Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) with 3,378 points.
