Alfonsina Strada

36 wins 1938: hour record for women - 32.58 kilometers

Alfonsina Strada ( born March 16, 1891 in Castelfranco Emilia, † September 13, 1959 in Milan ) was an Italian cyclist. She was the only woman who has ever participated in one of the three Grand Tours: In 1924, she competed in the Giro d' Italia, because the organizers believed that she was a man. Your cycling career lasted 26 years.

Early years

Alfonsina Morini was born into a poor peasant family. Her father was a day laborer, her mother nurse. When she became famous, numerous anecdotes and stories have been reported about her childhood, the truth of which is disputed. To vary the data on the number of their siblings between eight and ten, most of whom are brothers should have been. Alfonsina Morini supposed to be like a boy grew up, which was playing with her brothers and their friends. First she rode a bicycle her father until in exchange for chickens he bought her own in the tenth year of life. When her cycling enthusiasm increased, the family tried to dissuade her; her mother forced her to become a seamstress.

Cycling career

At the age of 13 years Morini rode her first race and won a live pig. She won in almost all girls and boy with many races. As a result, she was invited to the 1909 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The Centre can launch was such a success that the Tsarina Alexandra Tsar Nicholas persuaded her husband to give her a gold medal. In 1911 she went to Moncalieri, setting a record hours over 37.192 kilometers on. It is unclear whether this was a record for women or even for men, or only a regional.

At the age of 24 years Morini married cyclists and engraver Luigi Strada. Her family hoped that she would now live a "normal" life, but gave her the husband to the wedding a new bike and trained them from now on. The young couple moved to Milan, where Alfonsina Strada trained under the guidance of her husband at the local velodrome.

Alfonsina Morini won 36 races against men and gained appreciation and respect from the male drivers and journalists. She ran the race in Bologna and Paris, started twice in the Giro di Lombardia, as the starting field for all was open. In 1917 she was 32 ​​and last one hour and 34 minutes behind the Belgian winner Philippe Thys, with a total time of eight hours and 32 minutes for 204 km. In 1918 she finished the race a second time and was 21, male in front of several cyclists. She was nicknamed Il diavolo in Gonnella (German devil in a skirt ).

Giro d' Italia 1924

That Alfonsina Strada was able to start the Giro in 1924, was based on a dispute between the organizer Emilio Colombo from the Gazzetta dello Sport and the then top drivers who refused to go. Then put Colombo for anyone who wanted to start parking. The newspaper promised to pay their bills, accommodation and food. For the 90 seats 600 chickens, 750 kg meat, bananas 4800 and 720 eggs were promised, but no trainers, masseurs, mechanics or support vehicles.

Strada enrolled as Strada, Alfonsin and received the starting number 72 The press wrote her name as a Alfonsino. Although the truth came out before the start, but allowed to ride anyway. On the first day she came to the finish as 74, one hour after the leader, which was not uncommon at the time because of the long stages. On the stage from Genoa to Florence, she was the 50th of 65 Then there was a change in the weather, it was raining heavily and the roads were covered with mud and stones fallen down; Strada crashed frequently, like many others. When her arm broke, they replaced the one half by a broom had given her a farmer. So they reached the goal, but exceeded the time limit. Therefore, it was initially excluded from the race; but as they drew the audience and the journalists wrote about it, let the organizer Colombo continue it. But you had to pay their own bills and got henceforth no more prices. After the tenth stage from Bologna to Fiume she was lifted and carried, after they had finished with tears because of pain and fatigue and the time limit, in turn, covered by 25 minutes, the stage of a crowd from the wheel. This enthusiastic reception they motivated to go to the finish in Milan. Only 38 riders finished this Giro. Although Strada officially no longer took part in the race, it was 20 hours faster than the officially last Telesforo Benaglia, and 28 hours slower than the winner Giuseppe Enrici. She won 50,000 lire.

Later career

Alfonsina Strada could never start in the Giro. She ran in the following years show event in Italy, Spain, France and Luxembourg. In France, they beat the French sprint champion, Eliane Robin. In 1938, she presented at Longchamp one hours world record for women over 32.58 km on a record which until 1955 had on hand, as it has been improved by Tamara Novikova at 38.473 km.

After cycling career

Alfonsina Strada's husband Luigi died in 1950. For his care in a hospital sämtliches earned by Alfonsina money was depleted. Four years later she married Carlo Messori, a former racing cyclist, with whom she had been friends since their youth. The couple opened a bicycle shop in Milan. Messori began writing a biography of his wife, but he died in 1957, before he had completed it. Other sources say that the book had been so full of admiration for Alfonsina Strada that publishers refused. After his death in 1957 Strada sold some of her medals and trophies to a motorcycle to buy a 500cc Moto Guzzi. In September 1959 she took the motorcycle to the race Tre Valli Varesine. When she got home, she rushed along with the motorcycle when jacking up and suffered a fatal heart attack.

Memoirs

The bicycle of Alfonsina Strada is located in the Museo del Ciclismo Madonna del Ghisallo on Lake Como.

The Italian playwright wrote Eugenio Sidori 2009, the one-person piece by Finisce A. 2010 published the Italian band Tetes de bois the song Alfonsina e la bici. In the accompanying video clip Strada is represented by the astrophysicist Margherita Hack.