FIGUREHEAD FOR WOMEN’S EMANCIPATION THE FIRST FEMALE WORLD CHAMPION CYCLING STUNT WOMAN AVIATION PIONEER COMEDY ACTRICE WWI HEROINE AMBASSADRICE JOURNALIST This biography finally reveals the life story of one of the most amazing heroines. Many of the obstacles she had to overcome are still burning. More than a portrait of Hélène, this book is also the story of a long-run- ning ‘battle of the sexes’, a story of courage and persever- ance, of falling (literally) and getting up, of big and small dreams and of an unquencha- ble desire for adventure. Born as the daughter of an army officer in Tournai (Belgium), Hélène Dutrieu was destined for a life as a housewife or a cotton mill worker. Hélène, however, sees more potential in a life as a cyclist. It turned into an adventurous life that made Dutrieu a household name from Paris to New York in the early twentieth century.