Something incredible happened as the Netherlands named their Player of the Year

Netherlands This Wednesday, Dutch professional athletes and a professional jury voted to select the best athletes of the year. And then there was a surprise in the men’s department. max verstappen He holds several records in F1, winning 18 out of 22 GPs and winning the title three years in a row, but that didn’t help him win the Dutch trophy for the third year in a row. Netherlands’ best male athlete of 2023 will be considered a cyclist Mathieu van der Poel Won the title of road world champion in Glasgow.

There is no discussion about the best female athletes.it was for athletes Femke Bol He received his first award for his two gold medals and 400m indoor world record at the Budapest World Athletics Championships.The other two candidates were also athletes. Sifan Hassan (London Marathon and Chicago Marathon winner) and T-shirt Carolien Florin (Skiff World Champion).

Van der Poel, 28, took a tumble on Glasgow’s wet and steep roads just before the finish line and received the majority of votes from his team-mates, who wanted him to reward his feat by getting up and donning the rainbow jersey. He was the first person to do so since Joep. Zoetemelk won the gold medal in the men’s road race in 1985. Van der Poel also won the cyclocross world title earlier this year after an exciting battle with his eternal rival Wout van Aert.

Van der Poel was absent from the Utrecht Gala, but his award was collected by his national cycling coaches Koos Meerenhout and Gerben de Knecht, while Max Verstappen and track cyclist Harry Labresen broke.

Boll was deemed world champion in the women’s 4×400 meters in Budapest and took second place as a member of this year’s best Dutch team, which also included Evelyn Saalberg, Lieke Claver, Katelyn Peters and Femke Boll did. By Eelco Meenhorst, National Rowing Team Coach.

Tennis player Dide de Groot, athlete Joel de Jong and the world and European champion Dutch wheelchair basketball team have been named the Paralympic athletes of the year.