"I fell in love with Ivan Basso at the age of six when he was winning the Giro d’Italia" - deaf pro cyclist Francesca Baroni about her cycling roots

Francesca Baroni is like any other rider in that she has her hopes, ambitions and determination, but in one way she is unusual. The 23-year-old from Italy is deaf. A rising multidiscipline star, she competes on the road, and in cyclocross, Baroni herself claims she is not restricted by her deafness when she races.

"My problem does not affect me much, only in some particular moments. For example in cross I need the start with the traffic light or the manual start with a flag or with one hand, not hearing the judge’s whistle," Baroni told Velo in an interview. "While, in road races, I can’t use the radio but luckily we always find a solution, we just need a few small precautions before and during the race."

"Luckily, I’ve never had problems with other people. I just need them to speak in front of me because I read lips. To communicate from afar, I can’t talk on the phone, but fortunately, there are messages and emails, so no problem."

"I got to know cycling on television, and I fell in love with Ivan Basso at the age of six when he was winning the Giro d’Italia. I immediately asked my parents if women’s cycling also existed, then I tried with a local team and from here it all started," Baroni explains how she got to love cycling.