Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Niels Albert | |||||||||||||||||
Born | Bonheiden, Belgium | 5 February 1986|||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||||
Weight | 66 kg (146 lb; 10.4 st) | |||||||||||||||||
Team information | ||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Retired | |||||||||||||||||
Discipline | Cyclo-cross and road | |||||||||||||||||
Role | Rider | |||||||||||||||||
Professional team | ||||||||||||||||||
2005–2014 | Palmans–Sapim–Collstrop | |||||||||||||||||
Major wins | ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Niels Albert (born 5 February 1986 in Bonheiden, near Antwerp, Belgium) is a former professional cyclo-cross racing cyclist who currently resides in Tremelo. He became World Champion twice, in 2009 and 2012.
Similarly to Sven Nys, Albert began BMX racing, in which he was two times Belgian National Champion, before switching to cyclo-cross. On 8 October 2006 Albert took his first major senior victory at Grote Prijs Pro Cycling Neerpelt, Belgium. Albert won the first International cyclo-cross of the 2007/08 season with a victory in Erpe-Mere, Belgium. [1] Albert scored another big victory with the Superprestige in Gieten, the Netherlands where riding for the first time in the Elite category of the annual Gieten race, he beat Sven Nys and Lars Boom. [2]
He finished second at the 2008/09 Belgian Cyclo-cross Championships (behind Sven Nys).
In 2009, he became the Cyclo-cross world champion in Hoogerheide, The Netherlands. He took a second World Champion title in 2012, after a solo victory in Koksijde. [3]
His career ended abruptly on 19 May 2014, when Albert, aged 28, announced his retirement as a professional cyclist, due to heart problems. [4]
Sven Nys is a former professional cyclist competing in cyclo-cross and mountain bike. With two world championships, seven world cups, and over 140 competitive victories, he is considered one of the best cyclo-cross racers of his generation, and remains a prominent figure in cyclo-cross. Apart from cyclo-cross, Nys is also fivefold national mountainbike champion, and has competed in that discipline in two Olympic games.
Bart Wellens is a Belgian former professional cyclo-cross and road cyclist. He now works as the team manager of UCI Cyclo-cross Team 777.
Erwin Vervecken is a Belgian former professional cyclist specialising in cyclo-cross. Vervecken was professional cyclist for 16 seasons (1995–2010) and works since his retirement as an external sportive consultant for sportmarketing company Golazo where he helps organize cyclocross and mountainbike races and does the coordination of the UCI Gran Fondo World Series.
Sanne Cant is a Belgian racing cyclist, who currently competes in cyclo-cross for UCI Cyclo-cross Team IKO–Crelan, and in road cycling for UCI Women's Continental Team Fenix–Deceuninck. Cant's cousin Loes Sels is also a professional cyclist.
Helen Wyman is a British cyclist for the Experza-Footlogix team. She participates in both road cycling and cyclo-cross, and, since she began competing at the age of 14, Wyman has represented her country at many international events including World Cups and World Championships. Except for 2013, she was the British national champion in cyclo-cross from 2006 to 2015.
Zdeněk Štybar is a Czech professional cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Team Jayco–AlUla. While best known as a cyclo-cross racer, in 2011 Štybar began his professional road career while continuing to race cyclo-cross.
Kevin Pauwels is a Belgian former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2004 and 2019 for the Fidea and Pauwels Sauzen–Bingoal teams. Pauwels retired on 24 February 2019 after winning the Sluitingsprijs Oostmalle.
Danny De Bie is a former Belgian professional cyclist and directeur sportif, who won the men's race at the 1989 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships. His brothers Eddy De Bie and Rudy De Bie also competed professionally.
Nikki Louise Brammeier is an English former professional racing cyclist from Draycott, Derbyshire. She began cycling at five and has won championships in various disciplines. Brammeier has competed in international events including the UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics and the Commonwealth Games. She won her first UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in 2015 at Cyclo-cross Namur.
Tom Meeusen is a Belgian cyclo-cross and road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Cyclo-cross team Group Hens–Maes Containers.
Lars van der Haar is a Dutch professional cyclo-cross and road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team Baloise–Trek Lions.
Laurens Sweeck is a Belgian cyclo-cross and road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team Alpecin–Deceuninck Development Team for road racing and Crelan–Fristads for cyclo-cross. He represented his nation in the men's elite event at the 2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Heusden-Zolder.
Michael Vanthourenhout is a Belgian cyclo-cross and road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team Pauwels Sauzen–Bingoal. He represented his nation in the men's elite event at the 2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Heusden-Zolder.
Eli Iserbyt is a Belgian cyclo-cross and road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team Pauwels Sauzen–Bingoal. As a junior, he won the silver medal at the 2015 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships. He won the gold medal in the men's under-23 event at the 2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Heusden-Zolder and took another gold in the under-23 race at the 2017 UEC European Cyclo-cross Championships in Tábor. In 2018 he won another gold medal in the men's under-23 event at the World Championships in Valkenburg.
Quinten Hermans is a Belgian road and cyclo-cross cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Alpecin–Deceuninck.
Toon Aerts is a Belgian professional cyclo-cross and road cyclist, who last rode for UCI Continental team Baloise–Trek Lions. Aerts is a two-time winner of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup standings, and also won the men's elite race at the 2016 European Championships and the 2019 Belgian National Championships. His brother Thijs is also a professional cyclist.
Annemarie Worst is a Dutch cyclist, who currently competes in cyclo-cross for UCI Cyclo-cross Team 777, and in road cycling for UCI Women's Continental Team Fenix–Deceuninck. She became world under-23 cyclo-cross champion in 2017.
Denise Betsema is a Dutch cyclo-cross cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Cyclo-cross team Pauwels Sauzen–Bingoal.