Alfonsina Strada
Strada was born on 16 March 1891. At an early age she developed a liking for cycling and competing. Her nickname among the locals, where she rode on the dirt roads, was the “Devil in a Dress.” Although her parents did all they could to discourage her bike racing, she was a strong-willed woman and did not give up. She entered the Giro under the name of Alfonso, letting the organisers believe she was a male rider. They allowed her to continue riding after finding out she was a woman and she completed the Giro in 1924 after riding all 3,610 km.
Hanka Kupfernagel
The German rider, born on 19 March 1974, was the first cyclo-cross world champion. She has won seven consecutive medals at the CX Worlds, including three gold medals in 2000, 2001 and 2005; two silver medals in 2002 and 2003; and the bronze medal in 2004. Although the primary focus of most of her career was cyclo-cross racing, she also won major road, track and mountain bike races. Her major career victories include a gold medal in the individual time trial at the 2003 Road World Championships in Germany and a silver medal in the road race at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Three and a half years after retiring, she participated in the German cyclo-cross championships in 2019 at the age of 44, finishing the race in second place. She is now truly retired from competition but still active in sports such as beach volleyball, skiing and horseback riding.
Susanne Ljungskog
The Swedish rider celebrated her 46th birthday on born 16 March. A four-time Olympian, she won the World Road Championships in 2002 and 2003 in addition to many national and international road races. These days she works with a Personnel Recruitment firm in her native country of Sweden but still enjoys riding her bike. |
