After knee injuries dashed her hopes of ski success, she took up cycling and won the US National Road Championship, and then went on to be very successful at mountain bike events - during her short 6-year career in MTB Furtado won five national titles and represented her country at the Olympics.
Born on April 4, 1967, her father's parents were Portuguese from São Miguel Island. She started skiing at age two, and racing at age 9 after her family moved to Vermont, where Furtado attended the Stratton Mountain School.
At age 15 she became the youngest member of the U.S. National ski team, for which she competed from 1982 to 1987. After undergoing several knee operations, Furtado's hopes of competing in the Olympics were forced to an end, and she attended University of Colorado Boulder on a skiing scholarship, where she received her BA in Marketing. While racing for CU her knee injuries forced her to retire from competitive skiing, and Juliana switched to cycling.

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