Ladies Annelies Nijssen continues remarkable cycling journey with Lotto-Intermarché

Until recently, Annelies Nijssen’s sporting career looked completely different. Back then, she was still officially a middle-distance runner and a familiar name within Belgian athletics. She stood on the podium at the Belgian Championships, competed at the European Junior Championships on the track and reached the final of the U20 World Championships. But persistent injury problems saw Nijssen make a rapid transition to cycling.

She first caught the eye at the 2025 Belgian Championships in Binche, where she was part of the early breakaway that was only caught 3.5 kilometres from the finish. That day, Nijssen appeared on Lotto-Intermarché’s radar, hung up her running shoes and fully committed to cycling.

Barely a year later, Nijssen already has some impressive results to show for it. She won the mountains classification at the Bretagne Ladies Tour and did the same at the Volta a Portugal Femenina. There, she also finished third in two stages and took third place in the general classification. Nijssen lined up at the Tour of Flanders and, with La Vuelta, immediately completed her first Grand Tour.

“I’ve been given some amazing opportunities”, says Annelies Nijssen. “Riding La Vuelta in my first year, but also all those big races in spring, is something I could only have dreamed of a year ago.” She has signed for another season and will therefore once again be part of the Lotto-Intermarché Ladies next year. “I entered a completely new world, but by now everything feels very familiar. I feel good within the team, I’m happy with everything I’ve already had the opportunity to do and I’m determined to keep learning over the coming year. I now know that the harder races suit me and that I also enjoy stage races. But I get just as much satisfaction from helping my teammates. I’m really curious to see what the next year will bring and how much further I can progress.”

Sports manager Kurt Van de Wouwer also sees plenty of room for further development. “When you look at where Annelies was a year ago and the races she has already ridden since then, her development has been remarkably fast. She comes from a completely different sport and still has so much to discover: positioning, race craft, technical skills... That is exactly what makes it so interesting. Physically, she has a very good foundation, she has the mindset of a top athlete and we don’t yet know where her ceiling lies. This season, she has also shown that she is eager to work for the team and learns quickly. We want to give her the time to continue developing and discover together what type of rider she can ultimately become.”

Photo: PhotoNews