Floortje Mackaij
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born |
18 October 1995 Woerden, Netherlands |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Team Liv-Plantur |
| Discipline | Road cyclist |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 2013– | Team Argos-Shimano |
| Major wins | |
| Gent–Wevelgem (2015) | |
Floortje Mackaij (born 18 October 1995) is a Dutch professional road racing cyclist riding for Team Liv-Plantur.
After switching from speed skating to road cycling she became as the 2013 junior Dutch National time trial Champion and won a silver medal in the junior's time trial at the 2013 European Road Championships. In the same year she represented her country at the UCI Road World Championships in the junior's time trial and road race.
Floortje Mackaij lives with her parents in Woerden and has one older brother. Her father, Ron Mackay, was also a professional cyclist. Mackaij graduated from the Minkema College, Woerden, in 2012 and went to the Johan Cruijff College afterwards.
Mackaij started her career as a speed skater. When she was seven years old she became a member of a local speed skating club. As a 'Junior C' and 'Junior B' she skated on national level and was part of the regional selection. Between 2011 and 2013 she participated every year at the Dutch Junior Championships. Her best result is the 6th place as a Junior B in the 3000m at the Single Distance Championships in 2012. As part of her skating training she undertook cycling as part of cross-training in summer. She joined the local road cycling club and started riding official races a few years later when she was 14 years old. At the end of 2012 she joined the national selection and changed her main sport from speed skating to cycling.
In one of the most prestigious stage races for junior riders, the Energiewacht Tour, Floortje Mackaij won one stage and the overall points classification. She finished third in the general classification. In June she became Dutch National Time Trial Champion for juniors. A month later she won the silver medal in the time trial for junior riders at the 2013 European Road Championships and finished 21st in the road race. After training several times during the year with Team Argos-Shimano she joined the team as a stagiar in August. Mackaij was selected to ride the time trial and road race at the 2013 UCI Road World Championships where she finished 8th and 13th respectively. Floortje Mackaij was awarded the title for sport talent of Woerden of the year 2013.
...
Wikipedia