Ina-Yoko Teutenberg

Ina was the ballsiest six-year-old girl in Mettman, Germany. She entered her first bike race on a tiny road bike that was still too big for her, because her older brothers (Sven and Lars) were doing it. What might have been glorious beginnings were a bit of a false start for the youngest Teutenberg, as she crashed 500 meters into that premier competition and completely destroyed her bike. Another child may have given up right there, but this is Ina-Yoko Teutenberg we’re talking about. What did Ina do? She entered the next day’s race on her town bike and made most of the little boys in the area cry by beating all but two of them. Little Ina, still scuffed up from the previous day’s race, climbed up onto the podium grinning, a sight that would become all too familiar in the decades to come and one that marked the beginning of her cycling career. She went on to win her first race (a co-ed race!) at seven.

Fast forward to the present and we find Ina as one of the winningest female cyclists in the world, with major victories aplenty under her belt (including some of her personal favorite results: winning Vlaanderen in 200X, her first Philly win in 2005 and a third place at Worlds in 2011). The ballsy attitude hasn’t changed a bit. Bringing thirty years of experience to the Specialized-lululemon cycling team, she is a veteran on the squad. Her teammates say she is as classy a rider as you can get. One teammate says: “She wins well and she loses well. As a person, she tells it like it is with no sugar-coating, but if she’s your friend, she’ll always be there for you.”

For 2012, Ina has set her sights on the London Olympics and the Team Time Trial at Worlds in Holland. She says: “The new TTT for trade teams will be really good for women’s cycling because we should be able to get some coverage.”

Home for Ina: San Luis Obispo.

What she loves most about cycling: it allows her to spend so much time outdoors in nature, see the world, and live in other countries.

What she would be doing if she’d never become a bike racer: She’d be a social worker.

How she spends her off-time: Taking long hikes with her dog, Sophie, and hanging out at the local coffee shops with friends.

Her mantra: “Those who lose dreaming are lost.” She has it tattooed on her wrist.

Career Highlights

• German National Road Race Champion
• Winner of 21 stages of Tour de l’Aude
• Bronze medal at world championships 2011
• Winner of World Cup China and Tour in 2010, 2011
• 6 stage wins of Route de France 2008,9,10
• 11 stage wins of Giro d’Italia Femminile
• German National Road Champion 2009
• Winner of Ronde Van Vlaanderen 2009
• 4 time winner of Liberty Classic, Philadelphia
• Two time overall winner of Redlands Classic 2009,10

2011 Victories

• World Cup Chongming Is.
• Stage 2 and Overall at Tour of Chongming Is.
• Ronde Van Gelderland
• Stage 2 winner, Energiewacht Tour
• Stage winner, Tour of New Zealand
• 2 stages, Merco Classic
• Giro di Trentino, Stage 1
• German National RR Champion
• Winner StageS 4&10 Giro Donne
• Winner Stage 1, Thüringen Rundfahrt
• Stage Winner, Trophe d’Or
• Winner of 2 Stages, Giro Toscana