The “most beautiful athlete in the world”, Dutch cyclist Puck Moonen, has told how she was stalked by a mentally-ill stranger.

The 27-year-old took to Instagram on 13th June to tell her 725,000 followers how “being stalked by a mentally-ill stranger” was “terrifying”.

Moonen wrote: “It’s been quite a stressful few weeks to say the least, dealing with a lot of personal sh*t but family, friends and a loving partner to drag me through the worst of it.

“Apart from that I’ve been pretty much flat out trying to juggle everything with travelling in between and so, training has at times taken a bit of a backseat.

“I have maintained fitness, but not improved so I hope to find my rhythm again from this week onwards as things have started to come down a bit.

“I felt absolutely exhausted going into the weekend and realised how much energy these few weeks have absorbed.

“It’s not something I can talk about in much detail as the police are involved as well, but being stalked by a mentally-ill stranger is… terrifying.

“So yeah, one of those things in life you cannot control so working on getting things back on track and hopefully it gets resolved soon!”

Moonen last rode for UCI Women’s Continental Team Duolar-Chevalmeire and is currently without a team.

She is currently in a relationship with South African former racing driver Callan O’Keeffe, who has lived in England.

After Moonen was inundated with messages from well-wishers, she took to Instagram again to write: “Thanks for all the heartwarming messages yesterday! It’s incredibly nice to have the level of support I’m enjoying.

“I’m feeling safe enough at the moment and am catching up on bits around the house and work, and training in the evenings as it’s been extremely hot here.

“Next race is coming up soon as well.”

In 2016, Moonen was dubbed the “most beautiful athlete in the world” by the British tabloid press.