For Ayesha McGowan, a road cyclist based in San Francisco, her goal goes beyond winning races.

She hopes to be the first African American professional female road cyclist and campaigns for the sport not to be "white" and "elitist".

In this series, six women from around the world tell the stories of how they came to excel at their sport - the obstacles, challenges, failures and triumphs along the way.

Find out more about how to get into cycling here.