{"id":178927,"date":"2020-08-14T12:29:02","date_gmt":"2020-08-14T12:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=178927"},"modified":"2020-08-14T12:45:05","modified_gmt":"2020-08-14T12:45:05","slug":"jeannie-longo-strikes-again-a-look-at-the-61-year-old-time-trial-queen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2020\/08\/14\/jeannie-longo-strikes-again-a-look-at-the-61-year-old-time-trial-queen\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeannie Longo Strikes Again! A Look at the 61-year-old Time Trial Queen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ten years ago, Jeannie Longo was praised for her age-defying prowess when, at 51, she won her 9th French time trial title. Already boasting dozens of championship trophies, she proved that she still had what it took to win against cycling\u2019s top heavyweights. A decade later \u2014 she has done it again! At the age of 61, she has walked away from another race with time trial champion accolades in tow. Still refusing to put that race bike away for good, Longo came is as the fastest woman to complete the Chrono de Sichon in Allier on July 16th. She covered the 22 kilometres in just under 40 minutes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although she\u2019s now competing at smaller races, (she rode her last National Championship in 2016 \u2013 coming in just shy of top 10 in time trial) she continues to be a cycling tour de force and apparently just can\u2019t stop racing. A passion like that deserves to be shared so, in honour of her recent success, we\u2019re looking at the career and legacy of this indisputable legend of women\u2019s cycling.<\/p>\n

\"Jeannie
Jeannie Longo (53 at the time) competes in the ladies’ individual time-trial during the France’s cycling Championships, on June 21, 2011 in Saint-Amand-les-Eaux, northern France. French cyclist Pauline Ferrand Prevot, 20, won the race and defending champion Longo finished at the fifth place. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From skis to wheels<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Born in a small village in the French Alps, Longo essentially grew up at the foot of Mont Blanc and began her dazzling career as a downhill skier. A natural athlete from the beginning, she handily won the French schools’ ski championship and went on to take three university skiing titles before switching gears. Ready for a new challenge, she made the transition to cycling at the urging of her coach (and later husband) Patrice Ciprelli. The taste of success she had been introduced to on skis was quick to follow her into her new pursuit and within a few months, Longo won the French road race Championship at the age of 21. She has pretty much been on a crusade of victories ever since.<\/p>\n

A laundry list of accomplishments<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Hard as it might be to believe that all these wins can be attributed to one athlete, let\u2019s give it a go. Jeannie Longo has been world champion 13 times, five times in the road race (1985-87, 1989, 1995), four times in the time trial (1995-97, 2001), three times in the individual pursuit (1986, 1988-89) on the track, and once in the track\u2019s points race (1989). Never one to shy away from a challenge, in 1993 she also medalled at the World Championships in mountain biking, finishing second in the cross-country.<\/p>\n

\"Stephen
Jeannie Longo with Stephen Roche \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Having also competed in seven Olympic games, she has laid claim to four medals, including a gold in the road race of 1996. She was a mainstay during the brief run of the women\u2019s Tour de France<\/a>, winning three times in a row (1987-89) and has 24 French titles to her name, her latest as recent as 2010 \u2013 bringing her total of national titles to an astounding 57. Longo has also broken the world hour record a total of six times and routinely races against competitors who were not even born when she was standing on the winner\u2019s podium for the first time.<\/p>\n

An early trailblazer for the women\u2019s peloton<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Speaking of those younger competitors, the current generation of women cyclists has much to thank this accomplished Frenchwoman for in terms of where they are today. At the time when Longo was really coming into her own and making waves in the sport, the public was just starting to pay attention to women\u2019s cycling. While some top men cyclists were sports heroes in France, women\u2019s cycling events drew far less attention.<\/p>\n

\"Jeannie
Jeannie Longo races on her way to winning the women’s Olympic road race in Atlanta. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Longo was determined to change that though, drawing attention to the women\u2019s program while simultaneously attempting to demystify the sport. All the way back in 1987, she explained to the Los Angeles Times<\/em><\/a> that \u201ccyclists, male cyclists, have a mystique about them, sort of \u2018Giants of the Road.\u2019 Maybe if a woman can do the same thing, it\u2019ll be more human.\u201d She went on to add that, \u201cI think I represent a different image for the sport. The movie \u2018Rocky\u2019 projected the image of a perfect sportsman. Maybe I am the contrary. When people look at me they say, \u2018She\u2019s like us, maybe we can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A competitive streak to be reckoned with<\/strong><\/h2>\n

That being said, as Longo\u2019s incredible career has demonstrated, she isn\u2019t exactly your average athlete \u2014 and she didn\u2019t get to where she is today without the help of her fierce competitive nature. A nature, by the way, that does not seem to be dissipating with age. This approach to the sport, which has been characterized in ways ranging from spirited to bloodthirsty, has on occasion prompted grumblings from others within the cycling world. However, Longo isn\u2019t ashamed to be known for her no-nonsense attitude and has always defended her right to compete, no matter what her age. When she won that last national time trial in 2010, she said of her rivals, \u201cmaybe they hadn\u2019t done enough specific training. I\u2019m sorry to say it, but they need to go back to the drawing board on a few things\u201d adding that, \u201cstill, you can\u2019t discount my 30 years of experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jeannie
Jeannie Longo, the winner of the individual time trial race, is flanked by Edwige Pitel (L) who classed second and Christel Ferrier-Bruneau (R), third, poses on the podium on June 24, 2010 in Chantonnay, during the French road cycling championships. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An imperfect legacy?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As is the case with many decade-spanning careers, Longo\u2019s reign is not without its blemishes. In 1987, she tested positive for ephedrine following a 3-km world-record attempt in Colorado Springs, resulting in a 1-month ban. She was again implicated in a scandal in 2011 when French sports daily L’Equipe reported that Longo’s husband, Patrice Ciprelli, had purchased her the performance-enhancing drug EPO. To Longo\u2019s credit, she was cleared following an investigation by the F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Fran\u00e7aise de Cyclisme (FFC), in a November 2011 statement.<\/p>\n

All things considered, though, Longo\u2019s unwavering tenacity speaks to a deep passion for the sport she has dedicated her life to, an unwillingness to be told no, and a genuine need to just go really fast on a bike. Those are all things we can get behind. And although there\u2019s no doubt that her huge catalogue of achievements deserves its spot in the cycling history books, we\u2019re not writing the ending of that story just yet. For if any late-career athlete has given us reason to believe that she might still have a trick or two up her sleeve \u2014 it is Jeannie Longo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ten years ago, Jeannie Longo was praised for her age-defying prowess when, at 51, she won her 9th French time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":178930,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[329],"tags":[3796,4350,4290],"global-categories":[3366],"class_list":["post-178927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-road-cycling","tag-jeannie-longo","tag-patrice-ciprelli","tag-womens-tour-de-france","global-categories-cycling"],"yoast_head":"\nJeannie Longo Is a Cycling Legend with an Unbelievable Life Story<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ten years ago, Jeannie Longo was praised for her age-defying prowess when, at 51, she won her 9th French time trial title. 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