Laurine van Riessen

Club / Team

BEAT Cycling: Netherlands

Most influential person in career	Her family. (Athlete, 04 Dec 2011)
Nicknames	BamBam (kipcarpenter.name, 04 Feb 2009)

Reason for choosing this sport

Having already represented the Netherlands in speed skating at the Olympic Winter Games, she switched to cycling in an attempt to qualify for the summer version of the event.

Hero / Idol

US swimmer Michael Phelps. (Athlete, 04 Dec 2011)

When and where did you begin this sport?	As a speed skater, she would go cycling as part of her training. She entered her first competition at the cycling club in Leiden, Netherlands.
Name of coach	Adriaan Helmantel [national]

twitter.com/LaurinevRiessen

Other sports	She represented the Netherlands in speed skating at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, where she won a bronze medal in the 1000m. (SportsDeskOnline, 21 Jun 2021; laurinevanriessen.nl, 14 Jun 2016)
Other information	MULTI TALENTED She won a bronze medal in speed skating at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. She switched to track cycling as she was looking for a new challenge, and went on to compete at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. "I really enjoying learning something new and trying new things. I still enjoy skating, but I have always had confidence I was good enough [at track cycling]. I have never regretted the move. It ended up being a very obvious choice for me because I do not want to experience putting half my effort into cycling. Then you don't have enough time to be really good." (schaatsen.nl, 22 Sep 2016; laurinevanriessen.nl, 14 Jun 2016; heldenonline.nl, 07 Jan 2016) FURTHER EDUCATION She has studied for a master's degree in tax law at the University of Amsterdam. (folia.nl, 18 Jun 2021)

www.facebook.com/laurinevriessen

Injuries	In June 2015 she broke a shoulder blade after falling during a race. (schaatsen.nl, 03 Jun 2015)
Ambitions	To win a medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (folia.nl, 18 Jun 2021)