Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli was born on October 31, 1958 in Annecy, France. When she was little she always wanted to ride a bike. Her mother, a school and gym teacher, and her father taught her and her sisters to box and wrestle, they both encouraged her a lot. Jeannie was a good student. She studied math and computer science at the University of Grenoble. She skied competitively but decided she would try cycling when she did not make the French national ski team. At 5'3" and just over 100 pounds, Jeannie worked hard to become a champion cyclist. Jeannie is probably the greatest woman cyclist in the world. In the Olympic games in Atlanta 1996 Jeannie took the Gold medal in road racing and silver medal against the clock. She has won three Tour de France races and 11 World Championship. Jeannie Longo has been the queen of the road since the 1980s and is still going strong and winning. She is one of Frances's greatest bikers. Jeannie lives with her husband and coach, Patrice Ciprelli, in France. Hope you liked reading this as much as we enjoyed writing it!

By Nikki & Nora, fourth grade, 2005