Van Houts and Turpijn named Dutch mountain bikers of the year

Rudi van Houts and Laura Turpijn were awarded the titles of 2012 Dutch Male and Female Mountain Bikers of the Year at the end of last week.

Van Houts took top honors as the best elite male mountain biker after finishing 12th at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships and sixth at the European Championships. He also represented the Netherlands at the Olympic Games in London, where he finished in 17th place.

Turpijn won both the elite women's Dutch cross country and marathon national titles in 2012.

Both Van Houts and Turpijn were the Dutch elite mountain bikers of the year in 2011.

Among the younger riders, Michiel van der Heijden was named Best Male Mountain Bike Talent after his second place at the U23 cross country Worlds and after winning the 2012 U23 World Cup. He also earned a silver medal at the U23 European championships.

Anne Terpstra earned the Best Female Mountain Bike Talent award. She was third at the U23 European championships and seventh at mountain bike Worlds.

Anneke Beerten won the Gravity Award due to her overall classification in the Four Cross ProTour and winning the four cross world championships in Saalfelden. She was also a regular participant in eliminator races throughout the year.

The Dutch Mountainbike Awards of the Year are handed out by Club van 5, a group that promotes the sport of mountain biking in the Netherlands in cooperation with the Dutch Wieler Magazine.