Lieke Nooijen joined a local cycling club at 14 and soon made her debut in competition. At the World Junior Championships in Yorkshire (2019), she captured the bronze medal. The young talent cycled for several years at Wielervereniging Schijndel and made the switch to Parkhotel Valkenburg as a second-year promise.
In her first year for Team Visma | Lease a Bike Women, Nooijen immediately showed her class. The young Dutch rider won the overall classification of the Princess Anna Vasa Tour by winning three stages, including two individual stages. Not much later, Nooijen soloed impressively to victory in the Egmont Cycling Race.