Mirjam Melchers
Encyclopedia
Maria Wilhelmina Johanna 'Mirjam' Melchers-Van Poppel (born September 26, 1975 in Arnhem
, Gelderland
) is a female racing cyclist from the Netherlands
, married to former sprinter Jean-Paul van Poppel
. She is one of the leading cyclists in the world, having held the UCI
number one ranking as well as winning highly-rated races. She is a one day specialist but has managed smaller stage races.
In year 2003 she won the GP Feminas Castilla y Leon round of the World Cup and finished third overall in the series behind Nicole Cooke
and German sprinter Regina Schleicher
. Melchers also finished first in the Damesronde van Drenthe and the Emakumeen Bira, before bringing her season to a close with a silver medal at the world championship road race in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
.
On September 7, 2006 Melchers crashed during the third stage of the Euregio Tour. She broke her pelvis
, a hip
and her jaw
.
Note: Beginning in 1997, the Union Cycliste Internationale
in partnership with the Wendy Tang organization awarded points to riders based on performances in races. Races were classified in categories. Although the system has evolved, major stage races are generally category 1 (strongest) and category 2. In the listings below, these categories, where known, are in parentheses. GC stands for General Classification
.
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
, Gelderland
Gelderland
Gelderland is the largest province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem. The two other major cities, Nijmegen and Apeldoorn have more inhabitants. Other major regional centers in Gelderland are Ede, Doetinchem, Zutphen, Tiel, Wijchen,...
) is a female racing cyclist from the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, married to former sprinter Jean-Paul van Poppel
Jean-Paul van Poppel
Jean-Paul van Poppel is a former Dutch racing cyclist, who was nicknamed Popeye.Van Poppel was one of the most successful Dutch road sprinters. He won stages in mass sprints in all three Grand Tours, sometimes from positions that appeared lost. In the Tour de France he won 9 stages altogether...
. She is one of the leading cyclists in the world, having held the UCI
Union Cycliste Internationale
Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland....
number one ranking as well as winning highly-rated races. She is a one day specialist but has managed smaller stage races.
In year 2003 she won the GP Feminas Castilla y Leon round of the World Cup and finished third overall in the series behind Nicole Cooke
Nicole Cooke
Nicole Denise Cooke, MBE is a Welsh professional road bicycle racer for the Mario Cipollini - Giordana Team team, and is the current Olympic road race champion.-Early life:...
and German sprinter Regina Schleicher
Regina Schleicher
Regina Schleicher is a German professional cyclist.Whilst young, Regina's family moved to Marktheidenfeld where she attended school. Her father, Hans Schleicher is a cycle racing coach and led her cycling career which began when she competed in the RV Concordia Karbach in Karbach, Lower...
. Melchers also finished first in the Damesronde van Drenthe and the Emakumeen Bira, before bringing her season to a close with a silver medal at the world championship road race in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
On September 7, 2006 Melchers crashed during the third stage of the Euregio Tour. She broke her pelvis
Pelvis
In human anatomy, the pelvis is the lower part of the trunk, between the abdomen and the lower limbs .The pelvis includes several structures:...
, a hip
Hip (anatomy)
In vertebrate anatomy, hip refer to either an anatomical region or a joint.The hip region is located lateral to the gluteal region , inferior to the iliac crest, and overlying the greater trochanter of the femur, or "thigh bone"...
and her jaw
Jaw
The jaw is any opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term jaws is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth and serving to open and close it and is part of the body plan of...
.
Career highlights
Note: Beginning in 1997, the Union Cycliste Internationale
Union Cycliste Internationale
Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland....
in partnership with the Wendy Tang organization awarded points to riders based on performances in races. Races were classified in categories. Although the system has evolved, major stage races are generally category 1 (strongest) and category 2. In the listings below, these categories, where known, are in parentheses. GC stands for General Classification
General Classification
The general classification in bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for bicycle riders in multi-stage bicycle races...
.
1998
- 1st Ronde van Dordrecht
- 1st stage Holland Ladies Tour
- 1st Westerbeek
1999
- 1st stage Street Skills Women's Classic
- 1st stage Tour de l'AudeTour de l'Aude Cycliste FemininThe Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin was the longest running UCI event on the women's elite cycle racing calendar. It had been held annually in the Aude region of south-central France since 1985 until its cancellation after the 2010 edition....
- 1st stage Women's ChallengeWomen's ChallengeThe Women's Challenge bicycle race was held annually in and around southern Idaho beginning in 1984 until its demise in 2002. During much of its 19 year history, it was the most prestigious women's cycle race in North America...
- 1st stage Grande BoucleGrande BoucleThe Grande Boucle, formerly known as the Tour Cycliste Féminin, or simply Tour Féminin, is one of the Grand Tours of women's cycle races. Grande Boucle means "great loop" and describes the individual stages which form a circuit around France....
Feminine - 1st stage Holland Ladies Tour
2000
- 1st road championships
- 1st GC + 2 stages Holland Ladies Tour2000 Holland Ladies TourThe 3rd edition of the annual Holland Ladies Tour was held from September 5 to September 9, 2000. The women's stage race with an UCI rating of 2.9.2 started in Bergeijk, and ended in Dronten.-2000-09-05: Bergeijk — Bergeijk :...
- 1st, 2 stages Tour de Snowy
- 1st stage Grande BoucleGrande BoucleThe Grande Boucle, formerly known as the Tour Cycliste Féminin, or simply Tour Féminin, is one of the Grand Tours of women's cycle races. Grande Boucle means "great loop" and describes the individual stages which form a circuit around France....
Feminine - 1st Ronde van Haarsteeg
- 1st Ronde van Geldrop
- 1st Ronde van de Witte Brug
- 3rd Canberra World Cup
- 3rd overall World Cup
2001
- 1st GC + stage, Int.Thüringen-Rundfahrt der Frauen
- 1st GC + 2 stages, Giro dell Alto Adige
- 1st stage, Tour de SnowyTour de SnowyThe Tour de Snowy was an international women's road bicycle race held in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia from 1998 to 2002...
- 2nd overall World Cup
- 2nd Canberra World Cup
- 2nd Amstel Gold Race
- 5th World Championships road race
2002
- 1st Primavera RosaPrimavera RosaThe Primavera Rosa was an elite women's professional one-day road bicycle race held between 1999 and 2005 in Liguria, Italy as part of the UCI Women's Road Cycling World Cup. The race was a female version of Milan – San Remo being organised on the same day and finishing in Sanremo shortly before...
World Cup - 1st stage (TTT), Grande BoucleGrande BoucleThe Grande Boucle, formerly known as the Tour Cycliste Féminin, or simply Tour Féminin, is one of the Grand Tours of women's cycle races. Grande Boucle means "great loop" and describes the individual stages which form a circuit around France....
Feminine - 1st stage + 2nd GC, Tour de SnowyTour de SnowyThe Tour de Snowy was an international women's road bicycle race held in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia from 1998 to 2002...
- 1st prologue + 3rd GC, Thüringen-Rundfahrt der Frauen
- 1st stage 6b + 2nd GC, Holland Ladies Tour
- 1st stage, Emakumeen BiraEmakumeen BiraThe Emakumeen Bira is a women's cycling race held in the Basque region of Spain. It has been held annually since 1992, starting out as a two stage race and building up to five stages in 2007. One of these stage is always a double stage.-Past winners:...
- 1st Ronde van Oud-Vossemeer
- 2nd UCI rankings
- 2nd overall World Cup
- 2nd Amstel Gold Race
- 3rd Castilla y Leon
- 3rd Canberra World Cup
2003
- UCI Points list - 2nd place
- World Road Race Championships - 2nd place
- World Cup (overall points) - 3rd place
- Holland Ladies Tour (cat. 1) - 4th place
- Rund um die Nurnberger Altstadt (Ger) World Cup - 6th place
- GP de Plouay (Fra) World Cup - 3rd place
- Emakumeen BiraEmakumeen BiraThe Emakumeen Bira is a women's cycling race held in the Basque region of Spain. It has been held annually since 1992, starting out as a two stage race and building up to five stages in 2007. One of these stage is always a double stage.-Past winners:...
(cat. 1) - 1st place GC, stage victory - Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin (cat. 1) - 4th place
- La Fleche Wallonne (Bel) World Cup - 9th place
- Amstel Gold (Ned) World Cup - 6th place
- Damesronde van Drenthe (cat. 1) - 1st place, stage victory
- Castilla y Leon (Spa) World Cup - 1st place
- Vuelta a Castilla-Leon (cat. 1) - 2nd place
- Bellarine Tour (cat. 2) - 4th place
- 1st GC + stage, Ster van Walcheren - 1st place GC, stage victory
- Ronde van Oud-Gastel - 1st place
- Ronde van Oud-Vossemeer - 1st place
2004
- UCI Points list - 2nd place
- World Road Race Championships - 9th place
- World Time Trial Championships - 6th place
- Giro della Toscana (cat. 1) - 8th place GC
- Rund um die Nurnberger Altstadt (Ger) World Cup - 9th place
- Holland Ladies Tour (Ned) - 1st place GC, stage victory
- GP Plouay (Fra) World Cup - 2nd place
- Olympic Games Road Race - 6th place
- Thuringen-Rundfahrt (cat. 1) - 3rd place GC
- Giro d'Italia FemminileGiro d'Italia FemminileThe Giro d'Italia Femminile is one of the Grand Tours in women's cycle road racing. It is currently called the Giro Donne. The Giro Donne is a 10-stage event taking place in Italy in early July each year, which means that it generally competes for attention with the men's Tour de France.With the...
(cat. 1) - 4th place GC - Emakumeen BiraEmakumeen BiraThe Emakumeen Bira is a women's cycling race held in the Basque region of Spain. It has been held annually since 1992, starting out as a two stage race and building up to five stages in 2007. One of these stage is always a double stage.-Past winners:...
(cat. 1) - 2nd place GC - Ronde van Vlaanderen - 4th place
- Castilla y Leon (Spa) World Cup - 3rd place
- Castilla y Leon Tour (cat. 1) - 1st place GC, stage victory
- Primavera Rosa (Ita) World Cup - 2nd place
2005
- UCI Points list - 4th place
- World Championships
- Road Race - 13th place
- Time Trial - 7th place
- Cyclocross - Bronze Medal
- Giro della Toscana (cat. 1) - 3rd place GC, stage victory
- Holland Ladies Tour (cat. 1) - 3rd place GC
- GP de Plouay (Fra) World Cup - 8th place
- GP Wales World Cup - 7th place
- Sparkassen Giro - 3rd place
- Giro d'Italis Femminile (cat. 1) - 8th place GC, stage victory
- Emakumeen BiraEmakumeen BiraThe Emakumeen Bira is a women's cycling race held in the Basque region of Spain. It has been held annually since 1992, starting out as a two stage race and building up to five stages in 2007. One of these stage is always a double stage.-Past winners:...
(cat. 1) - 3rd place GC - Emakumeen Saria (cat. 2) - 1st place
- Montreal (Can) World Cup - 3rd place
- Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin (cat. 1) - 6th place
- Fleche Wallonne (Bel) World Cup - 4th place
- Damesronde van Drenthe (cat. 1) - 4th place GC
- Ronde van VlaanderenTour of Flanders for WomenTour of Flanders for Women is a road bicycle racing event held in Flanders, Belgium. It is held every spring, in conjunction with the men's event Tour of Flanders and is part of the UCI Women's Road World Cup.-Past winners:...
(Bel) World Cup - 1st place - Primavera Rosa (Ita) World Cup - 5th place
- GeelongGeelong World CupThe Australia World Cup was a women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in Australia from 1998 to 2008 as part of the UCI Women's Road World Cup...
(Aus) World Cup - 6th place - Geelong Tour (cat. 2) - 4th place GC
2006
- Ronde van VlaanderenTour of Flanders for WomenTour of Flanders for Women is a road bicycle racing event held in Flanders, Belgium. It is held every spring, in conjunction with the men's event Tour of Flanders and is part of the UCI Women's Road World Cup.-Past winners:...
(Bel) World Cup - 1st place
2007
- Grote Prijs Gerrie KnetemannGrote Prijs Gerrie KnetemannGrote Prijs Gerrie Knetemann is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in June–July in Gelderland, Netherlands. Since 2007, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour.- Winners men's race :- Winners women's race :...
- 1st place - Emakumeen Saria - 2nd place