Birth name Alfonsina Rosa Maria Morini
(1891, Castelfranco Emilia – 1959, Milan)
Cyclist
Alfonsina Strada was the first cyclist to compete in men’s races such as the Giro d’Italia. She challenged the social rules and conventions of the time. Even before the age of 14, Alfonsina found a way to participate in various competitions secretly from her parents who, having discovered what she was doing, told her that to continue she had to get married. So, at 14 years old, Alfonsina married a mechanic, Luigi Strada, who became her first supporter and manager. As a wedding present she asked for and received a bicycle. In 1911 she set the world speed record for women. A year later she was signed to track racing. She participated in two Giro di Lombardia and finally entered in the Giro d’Italia’s participants. Three days before the start , her name appeared in the Gazzetta dello Sport as “Alfonsin Strada di Milano”. We will never know whether the missing ‘a’ was due to a mistake or a specific intention. Only at the departure did the organizers clarify that the participant was Alfonsina Strada, a woman. In the rest of her career she won 36 races against male colleagues.
