‘Power of the bike’: world champion Alana Forster on her para-cycling journey

If you ever cross paths with Alana Forster, you’ll find she’s of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, always ready to chat and give you the time of day.

But in order to win a world championship, coach Nick Owen told her to put away her natural friendliness.

“He said, ‘Get angry,’” the Ballarat resident reveals – half-jokingly – moments after winning the C5 Women Scratch Race title in Glasgow.

Owen’s words had the desired effect. Forster lit up the race when she attacked with 16 laps to go. That move was brought back, but it showed her intention not to die wondering.

So, with five laps remaining, Forster played her trump card: she accelerated down the track, pinned back the ears, and drove for home.

Once she went clear, she would never be caught.

Crossing the line with her arm raised, Alana Forster had just become a para-cycling track world champion – in her first year of competition.

Not long ago, Forster had been racing in able-bodied events across Australia and the world. In 2020, she was a triple masters national champion. In 2021, she won two ‘most competitive’ awards at the COVID-era version of the Tour Down Under.

The Victorian, who worked as an emergency room doctor, was loving life, and loving riding her bike.

But life took a turn when her car was T-boned by another driver. Forster spent a week in intensive care and three months in a rehabilitation hospital after undergoing all manner of surgeries to fix broken bones and trauma to her lower body.

It took months of hard work for Forster to be able to walk again, then pedal an indoor bike, then ride outdoors.

The incident left her with lasting nerve damage that causes a foot drop. Forster was, for the first, classified as a para-cyclist.

In January, in her hometown of Ballarat, Forster became the national C4 road race champion.

Now, half a year later, halfway around the globe, she’s become a champion of the world.

“I don't think I’ve quite appreciated how hard the last year’s been,” Forster shares. “I'm not the first or the last person to ever go through adversity.

“I think: the power of the bike, right? I was pretty sad when I couldn't bend my knee enough to ride, and then when I could do a few pedal strokes it was about trying to get a bit stronger, get a bit faster, join a local club race. And it took off from there.

“I'm really lucky I have a very good support crew behind me, people who believed in me even when I thought I'd never ride a bike again.”

Throughout this chapter, she’s been embraced by a community of para-cyclists on the ARA Australian Cycling Team. And it’s given her a different perspective.

“What I've realised is that the other para-athletes on the team are pretty extraordinary.

“Everyone has a very, very unique journey, and no-one really likes to highlight their deficits or their injuries. But everyone has a very unique story, and I would love to be able to showcase each and every person on the team, whether or not they've won a medal, because they've been through extraordinarily tough times, probably more than anyone could appreciate.

“I certainly don't count myself as having gone through some of the hardships that they have … But these guys have gotten to the elite of their sport, they’re riding faster times than I probably could have as an ‘able-bod’, with significant deficits.

“I think that's credit to them because there's so much behind the scenes that you don't see: the struggles and the difficulties and challenges they overcome to train, let alone to race and compete.”

Having earned the chance to race her first UCI World Championships, Forster is proud to ride for Australia, with new goals and aspirations for her beloved sport.

“Kudos to the whole team behind the scenes, as well. There’s a lot of support that no-one sees.

“Simple things like cooling measures and bikes in working order, food on the table, massages, good hydration, good exposure to our Aussie fans and around the world. That doesn't happen by chance.

“It's a well-oiled machine. I think the Aussies are performing on the world stage because we have such good support.”

She’s come to appreciate the value of para-sport, the way that it lifts spirits and challenges expectations. The new world champion hopes her efforts will inspire Australians to appreciate the wonder of cycling, and its power for those who are facing adversity.

“There's a huge biking community back in Australia. Some race, some don't, but everyone rides. It doesn't matter what discipline.

“I think I've made so many lifelong friends because of it; a lot of people have supported me behind the scenes.

“My journey is not unique, I wasn't even sure whether to tell people or how much to tell them. But I wanted to tell it on my own terms, because I know it's such an individual journey.

“And I'd like to think that could inspire someone else to get on the bike, or do something out of their comfort zone.”

Forster will next compete at the para-cycling road events in Dumfries on August 10 and 12.

For more coverage of the ARA Australian Cycling Team at the UCI Cycling World Championships, visit our Glasgow 2023 Hub. To subscribe to daily updates, click here.