As one of the world's best bike riders and a former world champion, Elisa Balsamo takes seriously her job as a role model to a generation of girls who have watched her succeed. And if recent remarks she has fielded are anything to go by, that role of encouraging girls to believe in themselves remains as important as ever.
She was recently asked why a woman would want to race bikes – a sign, she says that there is still a lot of room for growth in women's sport.
