Maeve Plouffe

Born in Sydney to an Australian mother and Canadian father, Maeve Plouffe grew up in Wollongong and lived in Singapore for a time before settling in Adelaide.

From a young age, Plouffe enjoyed swimming and surf lifesaving. However, at a talent identification day run by the South Australian Sports Institute, Plouffe was given a choice to pursue kayaking or cycling.

Although water sports were more familiar to her, she tried cycling and fell in love with the speed, the chance to travel, and the way it allowed her to explore.

After winning several national medals on road and track as an under-17, Plouffe earned a SASI scholarship and made her debut for Australia at the 2017 UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships.

In 2018, her first year in the elite ranks, Plouffe won the team pursuit national title with South Australia.

She joined the Australian Cycling Team’s Podium Potential Academy and won three national titles during the 2018–19 season: the team pursuit, individual pursuit, and Madison (with Kristina Clonan).

Plouffe continued to excel during 2019–20, claiming five Oceania titles before winning gold and silver for Australia in the team pursuit during the UCI World Cup rounds in Brisbane and New Zealand.

At her first elite world championships in 2020, Plouffe claimed a top-10 finish in the individual pursuit.

Plouffe made her Olympic Games debut at Tokyo 2020 in the team pursuit, where Australia finished fifth.

In 2022, Plouffe took another leap forward in the 3,000-metre individual pursuit, stopping the clock at 3:19.994 during the state championships to set a new Australian record.

She won the individual pursuit, team pursuit and Madison national titles again that year, the latter with Alyssa Polites.

Plouffe then won her first UCI Track Nations Cup gold medal in front of her Canadian family, winning the individual pursuit in Milton.

Later in 2022, Plouffe represented Australia at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, where she won gold in the team pursuit (with Georgia Baker, Sophie Edwards and Chloe Moran) and silver in the individual pursuit.

Plouffe turned professional on the road with Team DSM for the 2023 season. That signing came after an outstanding year in the AusCycling National Road Series, including winning the inaugural Women's Warrnambool Cycling Classic.

Plouffe made her second Olympic Games appearance at Paris 2024, where Australia finished seventh in the team pursuit.

Club: Port Adelaide Cycling Club