Félicia Ballanger (born 12 June 1971 in

La Roche-sur-Yon La Roche-sur-Yon () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. It is the capital of the department. The demonym for its inhabitants is ''Yonnais''. History The town expanded significantly after Napo ...

Vendée Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

racing cyclist. She won five world championships in the

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...

and 500 m time trial. She was also a triple Olympic champion. She is tall and weighs .

Biography

Félicia Ballanger is one of two children. Her mother named her Félicia after the Italian

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

winner

Felice Gimondi Felice Gimondi (; 29 September 1942 – 16 August 2019) was an Italian professional racing cyclist. With his 1968 victory at the Vuelta a España, only three years after becoming a professional cyclist, Gimondi, nicknamed "The Phoenix", was the ...

and her brother, Frédéric, after the Spanish winner,

Federico Bahamontes Federico Martín Bahamontes, born Alejandro Martín Bahamontes (; born 9 July 1928), is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist. He won the 1959 Tour de France and a total of 11 Grand Tour stages between 1954-1965. He won a total of ...

). Ballanger was at first both a cyclist and a

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

player. For cycling she was a member of Vendée la Roche Cycliste. She came fourth in her first world championship and again the following year, 1992, at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. She crashed the following year, breaking a collarbone and having her thigh pierced by a splinter from the

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate Track tran ...

. Her first world championship medal came the following season. She took silver in the sprint. Trained by

Daniel Morelon Daniel Morelon (born 24 July 1944) is a retired French racing cyclist who was active between 1963 and 1980. He is a triple Olympic champion, eight times world champion, and a knight of the Legion d'Honneur. Morelon was a police officer before b ...

, the former world sprint champion, she won her first world championships in 1995, winning the 500 m time-trial and the sprint. She won both again in the four following years. She also won the Olympic sprint medal at

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. Her last international was the 2000 Olympic Games in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. She won the 500 metres. In the same year she was awarded the

Vélo d'Or français The Vélo d'Or français (French for "French Golden Bicycle") is a cycle racing award, created in 1992 by the French cycling magazine ''Vélo Magazine''. The award is given annually to the French rider considered to have performed the best over th ...

, and remained the only female awardee until 2022. In 2001, she became vice-president of the

Fédération Française de Cyclisme The Fédération Française de Cyclisme (''FFC'') or French Cycling Federation is the national governing body of cycle racing in France. The FFC is a member of the UCI and the UEC. In February 2009, David Lappartient was elected for a four-ye ...

Personal life

Ballanger is married, has two children and has lived in Nouméa since 1998. She is involved in politics there. She was a television commentator during the Olympic Games in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

in 2008.

Palmarès

Olympic Games

* 1996 1st sprint * 2000 1st sprint, 1st 500m

World championship

* 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 1st sprint * 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 1st 500m * 1994 2nd sprint * 1988 1st junior sprint

National championships

* Sprint: 1992, 1994... * Youth sprint : 1986

World records

* 500m 35"811 3 July 1993 Hyères * 500m 35"190 28 July1993

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

* 500m 34"604 3 July 1994 Hyères * 500m 34"474 22 July 1994 Colorado Springs * 500m 34"017 29 September Bogota * 500m 34"010 29 August1998

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballanger, Felicia 1971 births Living people People from La Roche-sur-Yon French female cyclists UCI Track Cycling World Champions (women) Olympic cyclists for France Cyclists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for France Olympic medalists in cycling Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics French track cyclists Sportspeople from Vendée Cyclists from Pays de la Loire