Van Houts and Turpijn named Dutch mountain bikers of the year

Dutch mountain bikers of the year were honored at the National Bike Museum Velorama in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, this weekend. The awards, given by Wielerland Magazine and as an initiative of the Club van 5, covered five categories.

Rudi van Houts was honored as Dutch mountain biker of the year. He finished fifth at the European Championships and also was nominated for the 2012 Olympic Games. He is the current Dutch national champion.

Laura Turpijn took top honors as the female mountain biker of the year. The 33-year-old is the Dutch national champion, the champion of Benelux and the top-ranked Dutchwoman according to the UCI.

Anne Terpstra and Henk Jaap Moorlag were recognized as top Mountain Bike Talent of the year. Terpstra finished fifth at the under 23 cross country world championship while Moorlag was second at the under 23 cross country European championships and third at Worlds.

Anneke Beerten received the Best Gravity Mountain Biker Award. She won the UCI World Cup for the fourth time and earned her first four cross world championship title.

The Club van 5, which was involved in the awards includes Leo van Zeeland, Lieske Liebregts, Marcia Jansen and Marcel Slagman.