Maria Paola Turcutto

Maria Paola Turcutto is a former Italian road cyclist, cyclo-cross racer, and mountain biker. On the road she won the Giro del Friuli 1988 and the Alfredo Binda Trophy in 1991 and the national time trial title in 1992, also competing at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. After leaving road racing, she first dedicated herself to mountain biking, winning a 1996 world bronze in the cross-country event in Cairns, Australia, and then to cyclo-cross, winning two national titles in 1997 and 1998.

In the summer of 2021, along with the journalist Elisa Cozzarini, Turcutto wrote the book Il ciclismo nel sangue (Cycling in the blood) in which she told her story of a woman who knew how to make a difficult choice, that of staying true to her principles, refusing doping and giving up their dream. Turcutto left competitive racing in 2003, disappointed by the world of cycling.