Alfonsina Strada (16 March 1891 - 13 September 1959) was an Italian cyclist, the only woman to have ridden one of cycling's three major stage races. She started in the Giro d'Italia in 1924 when the organisers mistook her for a man. Newspapers called her The Devil in a dress
Her racing career included an Italian record which lasted 26 years. She died aged 69 as she propped up her motorcycle after riding to a bicycle race.
Read more about Alfonsina Strada: Early Life, Marriage, 1924 Giro D'Italia, Later Career, Personal Life and Death, Memories of Alfonsina Strada, Sources