SportsI have always been very passionate about sport, and very competitive. I started racing BMX at the age of 3 in the under 5 boy’s category. Although I competed in many other sports at national level during my school years, my number one passion was BMX racing.
Not only did I compete in many sports – I also trained for them. From the age of 5 to 15yrs of age I trained every day of the week before and/or after school. In my younger years I was a gymnast at national level, and then I started little athletics and enjoyed the middle to longer distances. Outside of school, sports like touch football, softball etc… I was soon training for athletics, cross country running, swimming, surf lifesaving, tennis, netball and BMX.At the age of 13 I decided to drop many sports to concentrate on Surf Lifesaving and BMX – I trained every day of the week and was competing nationally and internationally. It was at this point that I developed a burning desire to represent Australia and become a professional athlete. To achieve this, I needed to decide on a sport and specialise. Neither Surf Lifesaving nor BMX were Olympic sports at the time. I had been identified by a talent ID program for having potential talent as a cyclist and I was being tracked down by a local academy of sport cycling coach – Mitch Law. Within 3 weeks Mitch had coached me to a NSW state championship and within 3 months I was the U15 National Champion. As a junior cyclist I focused on the track (velodrome) and won a number of junior National Championships and 2 World Championship Silver medals. I went on to win several senior/elite World Cups on the track and won two silver medals at the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games on the velodrome before turning my focus to road cycling. As a professional Road Cyclist I won a World Cup and claimed many more World Cup podiums. My greatest achievements on the road included stage wins in the Giro d’Italia and Route De France (plus a yellow jersey wearer). I also finally achieved Commonwealth Games Gold at Delhi in 2010!
I come from a large family – my parents Delwyn and Leslie were from Sth Sydney and are both now remarried. Before Leslie and Delwyn met, Leslie had 2 children, Sharon & Samantha, both born in 1971 (my older half-sisters). Delwyn and Leslie had 3 children: Warren born in 1979, David born in 1980 and me, Rochelle, born in 1981. Leslie now lives in Tweed Heads with his wife (Robyn) and two young children – Lauren born in 2002 and Ryan born in 2008 (my younger half brother and sister). Delwyn remarried David Dicker when I was 13yrs old, my stepfather who has played a very supportive role in my life and career, as an athlete and as a businesswomen.
I lived with my grandparents growing up and became very close to my late Grandma (I continued to stay with my late Grandpa when I was in Australia) until he passed. I moved out of home at the age of 15yrs and grew up very quickly finding my own way in life.
Whilst my two older brothers and half-sister live in Sydney where I’m based every Australia summer, I still manage to squeeze in a visit to Tweed Heads each year to see my natural father, stepmother and younger brother and sister.
Moving overseas to Europe to compete as an elite cyclist at the age of 16yrs resulted in me leaving school however I continued my studies by correspondence. I have studied Sports Journalism, Sports Science, Fitness and Advanced Resistance Training, Sports Massage, Business/Management, and the Italian Language. I now speak fluent Italian. I retired from Cycling in 2012 to pursue my dream of creating the most professional team in women’s cycling (Wiggle Honda/High5) – we reached World No.1 and it was a huge success. Between 2012 and 2018 I also founded and managed the Australian domestic team (The High5 Dream Team) and funded Australian women to travel to Europe and gain European racing experience as a part of the Australia National Team. In 2017 I was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame for my success as a cyclist but, more so for providing opportunities for developing athletes and working to transform elite women’s cycling in Europe into a truly professional sport. I’ve spent the past 8yrs dedicated to the UCI road cycling commission where we (8 members) brainstorm new innovative ways to continue the development of road cycling; rules, regulations, race schedules, safety, promotion of the sport etc. I am a cycling commentator having worked for SBS, Channel 7/9/10 in Australia, BBC, ITV, OBS & SunSet+Vine. I have covered 3 Olympic Games and 3 Commonwealth Games along with many Classics races/seasons and, the Tour de France in Europe. I now manage young talent; cyclists, racing car drivers, motocross riders, go-kart drivers, singers, models etc.
In 2006 I settled into my Italian home in the Italian dolomites and spent a year renovating the interior to suit my style and comfort. I always feel ‘at home’ in my Northern Italian home – in the heart of the dolomites. (50% owned by my stepfather).
In 2016 I bought my own place, a waterfront apartment in Puerto Pollenca, Mallorca (Spain). Once again, I spent a year renovating the place to suit my style and comfort. I changed my official residency from Italy to Spain and settled into my new home – in the world’s heart of cycling tourism. I also bought a commercial building and started a cycling related business in Mallorca.
In 2024 I decided to obtain official residency in Dubai while still owning my homes in Italy and Spain – this decision was made with the idea to have a base half-way between Australia and Europe.
I really enjoy quiet time home alone in between cycling events/tours and working life (I’ve lived alone my entire adult life). I live a very busy life on the road – literally. I would be lucky to stay 30 days total at home in one year! This has been my lifestyle for the past 25+ years.
If I want to forget about cycling or business for a few hours I will look for an extreme sporting activity like MX riding, BMX freestyle, Skydiving, Paragliding, Water-skiing/Wakeboarding, Snow skiing/Snowboarding etc. I have recently found a passion for driving race cars around a track, it became an addiction after my stepfather David and Ferrari Italy invited me to complete a Corso Pilota program experiencing some of the world’s best F1 tracks in a Ferrari 488 Challenge race car and, acknowledging that I had a wee little bit of natural talent for handling the high-powered cars at top speeds – with a smile on my face. Track driving is something I will try to fit into my schedule regularly.
I like to work on my own bike, or closely watch my mechanic work. I have all the tools I could possibly need to build a bike, set up a bike or to change bottom brackets and wheel bearings. I bet my personal toolbox and spares box is more complete than most women’s pro teams would have! I am passionate about working on my bikes and thoroughly enjoy it! I guess I get that from my brothers and stepfather who are seriously into motorsports – where their vehicles’ performance is as equally as important as their physical condition.
During Covid I started to love and appreciate adventure! I rode a lap around the NSW borders (5000km’s) through the desert in the middle of summer, 40+ temperatures! I also completed a 4000km lap of Tasmania off road! Then I enjoyed some 1000km rides along the east coast of Australia. Last year (2023) I achieved my ambition to stand on the highest point in the world when I successfully summited Mount Everest and then, followed up with another 8000m+ summit of Lhotse within 24hrs of my Everest summit.
2025….. It’s a busy one!!!
