Antonella Bellutti holds her bike with one arm, not a track bike, the instrument in which she won two Olympic golds, but a mountain bike. Francesca Porcellato is lying on her bike, a hand bike with three wheels pedaled by arm strength, with which she won a silver and two bronze Olympic medals.

Antonella Bellutti is portrayed between sky and sea, hair in the wind, her face illuminated by sunlight, without makeup and without pretense, those who know her have always appreciated her transparency, commitment, and frankness. Francesca Porcellato's image is nocturnal, with artificial light, but her smile is authentic, genuine, the one everyone knows and draws strength and inspiration from, with the towers of Castelfranco Veneto in the background.

Antonella Bellutti pedaled for women's rights. Francesca Porcellato for rights regardless of gender. And both will continue to pedal, with or without bikes, because they know that in life, if you want to maintain balance, move forward, and reach a goal, you must pedal.

Antonella Bellutti and Francesca Porcellato pedal in surplace between the Duomo and Corso Vittorio Emanuele in Milan, a privileged location, among the protagonists of a street exhibition by Gerard Bruneau and sponsored by the Bracco Foundation, open at all hours of the day and night, with unlimited hours and free entry until March 25. The exhibition is titled "A Life in Sports", portraits of 100 women leading in sports who, as Diana Bianchedi writes, an Olympic fencer and member of the organizing committee for the Milan and Cortina 2026 Games (her portrait is also exhibited), "has the power to change people's lives, an extraordinary force that unites, teaches respect, and represents a powerful tool to build a more inclusive world".

Italian sports are increasingly female. In rankings and podiums. In talent and tenacity. In example and representation. Also in cycling. Also under the Madonnina. For quite some time now.