Leontien Martha Henrica Petronella Zijlaard-van Moorsel (born 22 March 1970) is a Dutch retired racing cyclist. She was a dominant cyclist in the 1990s and early 2000s, winning four gold medals at the Olympic Games and holding the hour record for women from 2003 until 2015.[1]

Leontien van Moorsel
Leontien van Moorsel in 1991
Personal information
Full nameLeontien Martha Henrica Petronella Zijlaard-van Moorsel
Born (1970-03-22) 22 March 1970 (age 54)
Boekel, Netherlands
Team information
DisciplineRoad & track
RoleRider
Amateur teams
1992KNWU AMEV Batavus A-selectie Nederland
1997VKS
1999Opstalan
Professional team
2000–2004Hartol–Farm Frites
Major wins
Stage races
Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale (1992, 1993)
Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin (1991)
Emakumeen Bira (2000)
Trophée d'Or Féminin (2000)

One day races & classics

Olympic Road Champion (2000)
Olympic Time Trial Champion (2000, 2004)
World Road Champion (1991, 1993)
World Time Trial Champion (1998, 1999)
National Road Champion (1998–2000, 1992, 1993, 1998, 1999)
National Time Trial Champion (1997, 1998–2002)

Career

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Leontien van Moorsel at the 2018 Women's Amstel Gold Race.

Van Moorsel started her career in 1977.[dubiousdiscuss] She won major races both on the track, and on the road. In the first half of the 1990s, she won the Tour Féminin twice, after fierce competition with Jeannie Longo.

Van Moorsel dropped out of cycling in 1994 with anorexia nervosa[2] but recovered to compete at the World Championships in 1998, winning the time trial and coming second in the road race.

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, van Moorsel won gold medals on the road (road race and time trial), and on the track (3 km pursuit). At the 2004 Summer Olympics, she fell in the penultimate lap of the road race and was stretchered off and taken to the hospital by ambulance,[3] but nevertheless successfully defended her time trial title two days later.

She set a new world hour record for women of 46.065 km, in 2003 in Mexico City,[4] which was not improved upon for almost 12 years, when UCI rule changes prompted a new succession of attempts.

Van Moorsel retired from professional cycling after the 2004 Olympics.

In 2017 Van Moorsel became director of the Women's Amstel Gold Race.[5]

In September 2017, Van Moorsel was accused by sports physician Peter Janssen of using EPO in 2000 and 2001.[6]

Major results

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1985
1st   National Novice Road Race Championships
1987
1st   National Novice Road Race Championships
1988
1st   National Road Race Championships
1989
1st   National Road Race Championships
1st Stage 1 Tour of Norway
1990
1st   UCI Track Cycling World Championships (Individual Pursuit)
1st UCI Road World Championships Team Time Trial
1st   National Road Race Championships
2nd Overall Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin
National Track Championship
3rd Points race
3rd Individual sprint
3rd Chrono des Nations
1991
1st   UCI Road World Championships Road Race
1st   National Track Championships (Team pursuit)
1st   Overall Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin
3rd National Road Race Championships
1992
1st   National Road Race Championships
National Track Championship
1st   Individual pursuit
2nd Points race
1st   Overall Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale
1993
1st   UCI Road World Championships Road Race
1st   Overall Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale
1st   National Road Race Championships
2nd Overall Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin
1997
1st   National Time Trial Championships
National Track Championships
1st   Individual pursuit
2nd Points race
1st Overall Boekel
1st Stages 1 & 3
1998
1st   UCI Road World Championships Time Trial
National Road Championships
1st   Road Race
1st   Time Trial
National Track Championships
1st   Individual pursuit
1st   Points race
1st   Overall Ster van Zeeland
1st Stages 1 & 3
1st Parel van de Veluwe
1st Omloop der Kempen
2nd Overall Boels Rental Ladies Tour
1st Stage 1
2nd UCI Road World Championships Road Race
2nd UCI Track Cycling World Championships (Individual Pursuit)
1999
1st   UCI Road World Championships Time Trial
National Road Championships
1st   Road Race
1st   Time Trial
National Track Championships
1st   Individual pursuit
1st   Points race
1st   Overall Boels Rental Ladies Tour
1st Stages 2 & 7
1st   Overall Ster van Zeeland
1st Stages 2 & 3
1st Overall Greenery International
1st Stages 1, 2 & 3
1st Overall Boekel
1st Prologue, Stages 1 & 2
1st Damesronde van Drenthe
1st Omloop van Kanaleneiland
1st Omloop der Kempen
2nd Rotterdam Tour
2000
Olympic Games
1st   Road Race
1st   Time Trial
1st   Individual pursuit
2nd   Points race
National Road Championships
1st   Time Trial
2nd Road Race
National Track Championships
1st   Individual pursuit
1st   Points race
1st   Overall Emakumeen Bira
1st   Overall Trophée d'Or Féminin
1st   Overall Ster van Zeeland
1st Stages 1 & 2
1st Overall Westfriese Dorpenomloop
1st Prologue & Stage 1
1st Overall Boekel
1st Stages 1, 2a & 2b
1st Ronde van het Ronostrand
1st Omloop der Kempen
1st Stages 1, 2 & 4 Giro d'Italia Femminile
2001
1st   UCI Track Cycling World Championships (Individual Pursuit)
1st   National Time Trial Championships
National Track Championships
1st   Individual pursuit
1st   Points race
1st Overall Ster van Zeeland
1st Stages 2 & 3
1st Overall Boekel
1st Stages 2 & 3
1st Acht van Chaam
1st Egmond-Pier-Egmond
1st Souvenir Magali Pache
1st Profronde van Stiphout
1st Profronde van Surhuisterveen
1st Prologue Giro d'Italia Femminile
1st Stage 1 Boels Rental Ladies Tour
3rd Amstel Gold Race
2002
1st   UCI Track Cycling World Championships (Individual Pursuit)
National Road Championships
1st   Time Trial
2nd Road Race
National Track Championships
1st   Individual pursuit
1st   Points race
1st Overall RaboSter Zeeuwsche Eilanden
1st Stages 1, 2 & 3a
1st Overall Westfriese Dorpenomloop
1st Stages 1 & 2
1st Amstel Gold Race
1st Damesronde van Drenthe
1st Acht van Chaam
1st Egmond-Pier-Egmond
1st Profronde van Stiphout,
2003
1st   UCI Track Cycling World Championships (Individual Pursuit)
1st Overall Boekel
1st Stage 3
1st Omloop van Borsele
2nd National Time Trial Championships
World Hour record
2004
Olympic Games
1st   Time Trial
3rd   Individual pursuit
1st   National Road Race Championships
1st Ronde van Gelderland
1st Omloop der Kempen
1st Profronde van Stiphout
1st Acht van Chaam

Personal life

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Van Moorsel married former track cyclist Michael Zijlaard in October 1995.[7] They have a daughter.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Leontien van Moorsel Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  2. ^ "Leontiens eigen verhaal" (in Dutch). Leontienfoundation.nl. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  3. ^ "Cycling: Ulmer's rival crashes out - Sport - NZ Herald News". Nzherald.co.nz. 16 August 2004. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  4. ^ Clemitson, Suze (19 September 2014). "Why Jens Voigt and a new group of cyclists want to break the Hour record". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  5. ^ "It's official: there will be a women's Amstel Gold Race in 2017 | CyclingTips". CyclingTips. Archived from the original on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  6. ^ Thomas Blom & Misha Wessel, "Oud-wielerarts: Leontien van Moorsel gebruikte epo" (in Dutch), de Volkskrant, 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  7. ^ Knapp, Gerard (2001). "Cyclingnews talks with Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
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Awards
Preceded by Dutch Sportswoman of the Year
1990
Succeeded by
Preceded by Dutch Sportswoman of the Year
1993
Succeeded by
Preceded by Dutch Sportswoman of the Year
1999, 2000
Succeeded by
Preceded by Dutch Sportswoman of the Year
2003, 2004
Succeeded by
Preceded by Rotterdam Sportswoman of the Year
1998–2000
Succeeded by
Preceded by Rotterdam Sportswoman of the Year
2002–2004
Succeeded by
Records
Preceded by UCI women's hour record (46.065 km)
1 October 2003 – 12 September 2015
Succeeded by