Age Means Nothing, Jeannie Longo Rider Profile

Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli was the oldest rider during the 2010 World Championships and during those five days I became intrigued by the woman where age didn’t seem to matter.

Longo has the most impressive CV of almost any cyclist around (male or female) notching up a record breaking 1124 victories and is the current French time-trial champion which she has held it nine times. She once held the record for the most victories in a year and her career has spanned a total of 30 years.

The Switch From Skiing
It may not have turned out that way if her coach hadn’t persuaded her to switch to cycling at 21. Originally Longo started out as a downhill skier in her hometown of Annecy, Haute-Savoie in the French Alps. She already had winning form before making the change winning a French school’s championship and three university championships.

In 1979 the man who later became her husband, Patrice Ciprelli, managed to persuade Longo to move to pedal power and within a few months she had already won the National Road Race Championship. Since then she has won the event no less than 15 times and most recently in 2008.

Over her long career Longo has racked up an astonishing 38 world records and competed in seven Olympic Games. Many of her current teammates weren’t even born when she competed in her first Games in 1984. Nicole Cooke who beat Longo in 2008 by over 33 seconds in the Road Race was only one-year-old during the Los Angeles Games.

Inter Team Jealousy
Despite being one of the most successful female cyclists in history she is not that popular within the French national team. She tends to separate herself from the other riders renting a house during events and refusing to eat with them. Much time is spent with her husband and not with any of her teammates. Jealousy has also got the better of some of her fellow riders who believe she is stopping younger talent coming through the ranks. However she was the top French woman in both the time-trial and road race in this year’s world championships; showing that the others still have a lot to do if they want to keep up with the veteran.

Alongside her success on the road Longo has also won ten medals at the World Track Championships including four golds and a silver at the Mountain Bike Championship. Outside of sport she has also tasted success gaining a BSc in Mathematics and an MBA and doctorate in sports management.

Jeannie Longo’s career shows little sign of stopping any time soon and I have to say it’s fantastic to have someone who is so in love with cycling that she just doesn’t want to stop.