# Natascha den Ouden

Natascha Knaven-den Ouden (born 1973) is a cyclist, physical therapist and cycling team manager from the Netherlands. Den Ouden is a four time Dutch National Cyclo-cross Champion. In her active days there weren't any international cyclo-cross championships yet. She won silver in the individual pursuit, at the 1989 World Juniors Track Cycling Championships in Moscow. At that tournament she became friends with Servais Knaven, with whom she married and got four cycling daughters: Britt, Senne, Mirre and Fee. They all ride for AG Insurance-NXTG, the development team of which Den Ouden is the owner, co-founder and team manager.

## Women's cycling in development
### Missing international women´s cyclo-cross races

The first official Dutch National Cyclo-cross Championships for Women were held in 1988, and Den Ouden was only 14 when she won the silver medal. The women had only one category, which started in the same race as the 15 and 16-year-old boys, but they started one minute later. This meant that the best women had to overtake the slower boys, who didn't want to step aside nor get beaten by a girl. Den Ouden dominated the next championships, and only didn't get gold when she fell twice with a concussion (Gieten, 1991), or didn't compete because she had a torn ankle ligament (1995) or quit crossing (1993). She won her fourth title in 1994, which was the first women-only championships race, with 45 riders.
Den Ouden raced in cyclo-cross as a training for the next road season. She excelled at cyclo-cross when it was still regarded as a men's sports. She regularly requested to participate in men's (junior) crosses, but was denied access. In 1994 she was quoted: 'In Belgium I recently had yet another discussion with an official about women on a cross bicycle. This man said: 'It's way too dangerous to let women ride in the woods.' The Royal Dutch Cycling Union didn't want to organise more than a few women's crosses, because of their low profile, but that's what you get when you don't send invitations and don't promote women's races. The UCI swiftly denied a request to have a demonstration women's race at the 1996 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, but they were very interested in organising a silly mixed madison race with famous veterans, and women.
It was the organisation of the UCI World Cup Cyclo-cross Heerlen that launched the first international women's race in October 1995. It was international, because three Great-Britain riders joined the field of 21 Dutch riders. Den Ouden won the 11,5 km race in 30:13, followed by Isla Rowntree (GB) at 1:53 and Dutch Champion Reza Ravenstijn at 2:10. Den Ouden was no longer active by the time that the first World Championships were organised in 2000. The European Championships and international competitions started at an even later date.

### The first non-national women's road team

Competitors in women's cycling races had traditionally been divided into national teams. Olympic Champion Monique Knol was not happy within the Dutch national team and founded her own independent women's road team in 1991, with Den Ouden in its ranks. The intended main sponsor abandoned the project before it started, and then the Dutch chain of candy stores JAMIN stepped in. The first (semi) professional women's cycling team was born.

## Major results

Sources:

### Cyclo-cross
#### 1988

    2nd National Cyclo-cross Championships

#### 1989

    1st National Cyclo-cross Championships

#### 1990

    1st National Cyclo-cross Championships

#### 1991

    2nd National Cyclo-cross Championships

#### 1992

    1st National Cyclo-cross Championships

#### 1994

    1st National Cyclo-cross Championships
    1st Zevenbergen

#### 1996

    2nd National Cyclo-cross Championships

#### 1997

    3rd National Cyclo-cross Championships

### Road cycling
#### 1992

    2nd National Time Trial Championships

#### 1993

    3rd National Time Trial Championships

#### 1994

    3rd National Time Trial Championships
    4th Overall GP du Portugal Féminin
       1st Stage 2

#### 1995

    3rd National Time Trial Championships

### Track cycling
#### 1989

    2nd Individual pursuit World Juniors Track Cycling Championships

#### 1990

    Junior National Championships
       1st individual pursuit
       1st Points race

#### 1994

    National championships
       2nd Individual pursuit
       3rd Points race