Kathryn Bertine

Kathryn Bertine (born 11 May 1975) is a Saint Kitts and Nevis racing cyclist, writer, film-maker and former professional figure skater and professional triathlete. She turned professional in road cycling in 2012 and raced on World Tour teams until 2017. Bertine competed in eight UCI Road World Championships, won three Caribbean Championship titles and six SKN National Championship titles. She is best known in cycling for her activism in petitioning ASO to include women in the Tour de France, where she and her Le Tour Entier activism team created La Course by Tour de France in 2014. She stood on the start line with her team, Wiggle-Honda Pro Cycling, at the age of 39.
Bertine was born in Bronxville, New York. She was a figure skater until the age of 23, appearing in ice skating shows including the Ice Capades and Holiday on Ice. She undertook her undergraduate education at Colgate University, where she competed in cross country running and rowing alongside skating. After graduating she took a year out to travel and pursue her skating career, before returning to education to study for a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Arizona. Whilst in Arizona she took up competing in triathlon, eventually spending three years as a professional in the sport.
Bertine also pursued a career as a writer, working for ESPN. Whilst working at ESPN she accepted an assignment in 2006 to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics in any sport, choosing to focus on cycling. She was granted dual citizenship of Saint Kitts and Nevis alongside her American citizenship to be able to even attempt qualification for the Olympics. In return, she helped build a cycling federation with equal inclusion for women in SKN. While she didn't qualify for the 2008 Beijing Games, Bertine was educated on gender inequities in sport and became an activist for equal opportunity in cycling. Although her ESPN assignment was over, a new chapter of activism began. 
Bertine is a co-founder of Le Tour Entier, an organisation campaigning for the re-establishment of the Tour de France Féminin and has been credited as "the catalyst for the movement to bring women back to the Tour." She was signed by the Wiggle Honda team in 2014, ahead of the inaugural running of La Course by Le Tour de France, a criterium organised by Le Tour Entier and the Tour de France owners, the Amaury Sport Organisation in response to Le Tour Entier's campaign. Bertine joined BMW p/b Happy Tooth Dental in 2015, making her debut with the team at Grand Prix cycliste de Gatineau in June of that year. In November 2015 she was announced as part of the inaugural squad for the Cylance Pro Cycling team for the 2016 season. Bertine retired from professional racing in 2017, and created the Homestretch Foundation, which assists female pro athletes who struggle with the gender pay gap. She serves as CEO of Homestretch, and her fourth book, "STAND: A memoir on activism. A manual for progress. What really happens when we stand on the front lines of change" was published February 2021. 
Bertine also directed "Half the Road", a documentary film about women's cycling.