Demi Vollering Crowned Strava's Athlete of the Year

Demi Vollering has been crowned Strava's Athlete of the Year 2023. The Dutch cycling sensation, who enjoyed a stellar year with her team SD Worx, capped off an incredible 2023 by taking the coveted crown. Average Rob won the Strava Community Vote for Best Follow, while Team Jumbo Visma finished their stellar season with a win in the Team of the Year category.

2023 has been an outstanding year for Demi Vollering. With wins at the Tour de France Femmes, Ardennes classics, Dutch National Road Race Championships and the Women’s Vélo d’Or award, it's easy to see why she was crowned Strava's Athlete of the Year. The 26-year-old, who hails from Pijnacker in the Netherlands, fended off strong competition from Sam Ruddock, Cal Calamia and Jim Walmsley to take the Athlete of the Year title.

Check out all of the Winners in the Strava Year In Sport 2023 Awards

The Strava Community voted for their favorite follow for the first time in 2023, with Average Rob (aka Rob van Impe) emerging victorious in a tight vote. The Belgian, who tags himself as a 'mediocre dude' and has built up a formidable social following, dove headfirst into the world of IRONMAN in 2023 - and the Strava community rewarded his efforts.

“People who follow my channel know that I enjoy challenging myself, however, when we came up with the idea of completing a full IRONMAN, everyone considered us crazy,” said Average Rob. “I trained for eight months with my little brother and documented every training session on Strava because, if it's not on Strava, did it really happen?"

In other individual awards, cycling legend Annemiek van Vlueten won Crown Collector of the Year, Teniel Campbell was awarded trailblazer of the year, Hillary Gerardi took activity of the year for her female FKT on Mont Blanc, and Deo Kato - who is currently running from Cape Town to London - was a resounding winner in Endurance Athlete of the Year.

The Strava Awards is a celebration of the athletes and Clubs on the platform, and it was Team Jumbo Visma that won Strava's Team of the Year title.

Check out all of the Nominees for the Strava Year In Sport 2023 Awards

The Dutch-based cycle team enjoyed unprecedented success in 2023, with their men winning cycling's three Grand Tours (Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, La Vuelta a España). Along with their women's team, Jumbo-Visma scooped more than 70 victories in total during 2023 - an incredible haul of victories for a single Team.

This year, Strava is also giving back to the clubs that made a significant impact in the pursuit of improving gender equity and getting more women to their own starting lines. As part of Strava’s Strive for More™ initiative, three clubs shared the Award, with each receiving a $10,000 donation to further their missions. The winning clubs were: Black Girls Run, Latinas Run and Black Girls Do Bike.

Meanwhile, in the Event of the Year category, Black to the Trails took the Award after organizing the first-ever Black-owned and led trail running festival in the UK. With races of varying distances, live DJs and activities for all ages, Black to the Trails is fast becoming one of the standout events on the UK running calendar.

In other Club awards, Kings / Queens Rule Together won the Most Active Club of the Year, while the Sad Girl Track Club won the Most Fun Club of the Year - it's well worth heading over to their profile to find out why...!