Leontien Van Moorsel

Leontien Van Moorsel

Leontine Martha Henrica Petronella Zijlaard-van Moorsel (born 22 March 1970 in Boekel, Netherlands) is a former Dutch racing cyclist.

Van Moorsel started her career in the late 1980s and was soon one of the best cyclists in the world. 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 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, but successfully defended her time trial title. With four gold, one silver, and a bronze Olympic medal, van Moorsel is one of the most successful Dutch athletes ever.

She retired from professional cycling after the 2004 Olympics.