Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel
Having celebrated her birthday on 22 March, the achievements of this Dutch cyclist – considered one of the best riders to have ever ridden in the peloton – are quite extraordinary. The now 51-year old is a two-time World Road and Time Trial champion. At the Sydney Olympics in 2000, she had the most successful Olympics ever for a female cyclist. She won the individual pursuit in world record time, won the road race and the individual time trial, and added a silver medal on the track in the points race to her achievements. At the Athens Olympics in 2004, she won a gold medal in the individual time trial and a bronze medal in the individual pursuit. Van Moorsel has also two Tour de France and several more wins at the Classics to her name. She also held the World Hour Record from 2003 until 2015. But all was not smooth sailing. For eight years during the 1990s, she battled anorexia, yet was eventually able to overcome the illness. After retiring from the sport, she now runs Leontien huis, a place where survivors of anorexia and sufferers of the illness come together to learn from and support each other.
Rebecca Twigg
Twigg was born on 26 March 1963, in Honolulu, Hawaii. A six-time world champion in the 3,000-meter individual pursuit, she began racing while still in her teens, earning her first national championship at 18 and her first world title a year later. This gifted athlete is also the holder of 16 US championships and two Olympic medals. Twigg is one of the most successful riders in the history of the UCI Track Cycling World Championships. Graduating with a computer science degree, she later worked as a programmer but found the transition from professional sport to another career rather challenging to the point of becoming homeless. She slipped into anonymity on the streets of Seattle and only more recently has her plight surfaced in the media. |
