She did not earn her money with cycling. Last year, her proffesion was Mathematics teacher. She was also far from a favorite for this race.
She spent one year in a proffesional group. The commentators were saying she really dislikes riding in 'the bunch'. Which would make proffesional cycling hard.
She qualified through national championships, which are open to non-proffesionals.
As for invisibility, the person who came second thought they were first. So somehow they missed this. And she wasn't the only one who didn't know there was still someone ahead.
Non of this is meant to say Kiesenhofer did not deserve this. She rode an amazing race, and earned this gold medal.
Notably, 15% of men riding in the tour de France earn less than 45000 a year. That isn't a low salary, but for a proffesional athlete at the peak event, it isn't a lot either.
She spent one year in a proffesional group. The commentators were saying she really dislikes riding in 'the bunch'. Which would make proffesional cycling hard. She qualified through national championships, which are open to non-proffesionals.
As for invisibility, the person who came second thought they were first. So somehow they missed this. And she wasn't the only one who didn't know there was still someone ahead.
Non of this is meant to say Kiesenhofer did not deserve this. She rode an amazing race, and earned this gold medal.