There is no doubt that the sport of competitive cycling is one of the biggest challenges in the world. To be ranked among the best of the best, you have to show real heart and real dedication to the activity. Thus, it is important to pay attention to those who not only push themselves beyond what is possible, but also take the game forward with their efforts and love.
We take a look at seven incredible women who showed amazing skill and determination in the sport of competitive cycling. Here is a list of famous women cyclists who changed the history of sports forever
Marianne Vos
This Dutch-born cyclist started running at the young age of 8, and ten years later she was already an established professional athlete. A fan of cycling since childhood, she began to dream and envision herself competing in the famous Tour de France. The vision became tangible and Marianne Vos began working to go further than anyone in the world of cycling.
She excelled in the disciplines of track, road, mountain biking and cyclocross, winning her first world titles in the cross and road categories at the age of 19. Her career was promising and the cyclist did not disappoint: in 2008 she won Olympic gold medal and continued to grow rapidly in records. At 25, Vos had already competed in five cross country world championships, been crowned world champion twice, once in Europe, and enjoyed her well-deserved Olympic medal haul.
Beryl Burton
Unlimited cyclist, able to constantly break records and hold titles for many years. British woman Beryl Burton was Britain’s best female cyclist for nearly 25 years.
Beryl’s record is unequaled – she won 11 medals at the World Track Championships between 1969 and 1973, and 3 medals at the World Road Championships between 1960 and 1967 record for two years.
Jeannine Longo
Jeanine Longo was seemingly unbeatable during her career. Not just casual fans of competitive cycling were familiar with the revered legend. During his career, Longo won over 1000 races from the late 1970s to the early 2000s. In that time, she won 13 world titles in multiple disciplines.
These included four consecutive world-championship road races in the late 1980s, with a fifth race in 1995. Naturally, this was a record total for a contestant. Longo won three consecutive attempts at the women’s Tour de France. She eventually retired, but not until she was well into her 50s, which means she definitely went over the top.
Fabiana Luperini
Italian cyclist Fabiana Luperini is the only rider to have won the Giro d’Italia Feminine five times. One of the best cyclists of the modern era, she was known for her abilities as a climber and her strong competitive spirit. The daughter of an amateur racer who is also known for her mountaineering, she grew up in the hills of Tuscany and started road cycling at the age of seven.
Luperini won his first race in the Giovannissimi category, then took several more junior victories before turning professional at the age of 19. The next year she won her first major title at the Trofeo Alfredo Binda – Comune di Citiglio. Starting at age 21, Luperini won four consecutive Giro Rosso, taking home three consecutive Grand Bowls Féminine during the same period, a performance that has not been equalled.
Joane Somarriba
We’re particularly fond of this cyclist because she represented Spain in three Tours de France. The Basque athlete was born in the town of Sopelana in 1972 and grew up feeling a passion for cycling thanks to her father, who enjoyed long walks near the sea on her bicycle and with one of her three daughters, Joan . Before the age of 10, Somariba was already enrolled in a cycling club, and as a result of that moment, the cyclist began to stand out. In 1986 she was declared champion of Euskady and the following year of Spain.
Annie Londonderry
As mentioned above, the world of women’s cycling is largely ignored by cycling fans and often by the mainstream media as well. However, the great achievement of Annie Londonderry should not be overlooked and should be known to all.
A cyclist and journalist with a passion for adventure, she was the first woman to ride around the world on a bicycle in 1895, a feat that took her 15 months to accomplish. She left her husband and children at home and accepted the sponsorship of Londonderry Lithia, who paid her $1,000 to add the brand name to her own name and carry a banner on her bicycle. The reward for the feat was $5000 and the recognition of a society that saw her as an eccentric at the time.
Nicole Cooke
A British cycling hero, Nicole Cooke was the youngest ever winner of the Giro d’Italia Feminile and the first British woman to win an Olympic gold medal in cycling. She was also the first British woman to win the UCI World Cup and be ranked #1 in the world. Cook grew up in a small town in Wales and started cycling at the age of 11.
She won the British National Road Race Championships at the age of 16; The following year, she took the title at the British National Cyclo-cross Championships, becoming the youngest rider to win both titles. Cook went on to have an illustrious international career, winning three Fléches Wallonnes, two Grand Prix Féminines and an Olympic gold medal in road racing.
Tillie Anderson
Tillie Anderson was born in 1875, in a world that still did not accept that women could cycle, run, or practice any type of sport, still understood as an exclusively male competition. Anderson was born in Sweden, but developed his cycling career in the United States.
During her adolescence she worked as a seamstress and was saving everything she had to buy her first bicycle. And he did. Characterized and known for being a determined person with a strong character, Tillie began, at the age of 18, to compete in cycling circuits, to win, and to break records that had not been surpassed until her arrival. Although he also excelled in other endurance sports and had very good times in foot races, his passion was cycling. He participated in more than 130 races throughout his life, finishing first in all but seven of them.
Alfonsina Strada
In 1924, Alfonsina Strada also changed the history of women’s cycling when she competed surrounded by men in the “Giro d’Italia” bicycle race. It is not surprising that she became a benchmark and a symbol of freedom for women of her time, because long before she became known around the world, Strada was already breaking records on the pedals.
At the age of 10, he discovered the world of cycling and realized that he was born to practice it. In 1911 she was already crowned first place in the women’s La Hora record, moreover, she made the best performance in history. In 1917 he decided to sign up to compete in the Giro di Lombardi, a race in which only men had participated so far. It was ranked 32nd. However, parallel to Strada’s enthusiasm and joy in giving a voice to female athletes and recognition of their work, organizers of cycling tournaments and competitions have not deemed it appropriate for this woman to fully enter the world.
Marianne Martin
Born on 1 November 1957, Marianne Martin was the winner of the first women’s Tour of the modern era, in 1989. Her victory was truly spectacular, as Marianne had been battling anemia months before the race and managed to win the Grand Tour after more than 29 hours of cycling. She is considered one of the most important women cyclists in history thanks to her perseverance and courage.
