Maeve Plouffe

Maeve Plouffe (born 8 July 1999) is an Australian professional racing cyclist.[1][2][3] She rode in the women's team pursuit event and the women's individual pursuit event at the 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Berlin, Germany.[4][5] She was selected on the Australian women’s track endurance squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[6]

Maeve Plouffe

Maeve Plouffe (2020)
Personal information
Born	8 July 1999
Team information
Role	Rider

Early cycling career

Plouffe was introduced to track cycling by a South Australian Sports Institute talent identification program from a background of swimming and surf life saving.[7] She exhibited an early aptitude for the road time trial, winning the event as an U17 in her first year competing at the Australian Junior Road National Championships[8] and again as an U19 in the Oceania Road Cycling Championships.[9] Maeve made her international debut in the 2017 UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships.[10]

Elite career

Plouffe made her international elite debut at nineteen years of age in the opening round of the 2018–19 UCI Track Cycling World Cup women's points race in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France.[11] She represented Australia again at the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Hong Kong,[12] before returning to Australia to win three elite Australian Championship titles in the individual pursuit, team pursuit and madison.[10] In the 2020 season Maeve Plouffe became Oceania champion in the scratch race[13] and won two silver and two bronze medals.[14] Only three months prior to the championships, she underwent an operation on her wrist as a result of a fall in a street race in Belgium.[15][14] In the 2019–20 UCI Track Cycling World Cup season, Maeve’s team won a silver medal and set a new Australian record in the women’s team pursuit in Cambridge, New Zealand,[16] before winning a gold medal in the women's team pursuit in Brisbane, Australia.[17] Her performances gained her selection for the UCI Track World Championships in Berlin, where she placed fifth in the women’s team pursuit and tenth in the individual pursuit improving her personal best time by five seconds, clocking 3 minutes 26.742 seconds.[10]

Personal life

In 2020, Plouffe was studying a double degree in law and science, with double majors in marine biology and ecology at the University of Adelaide.[18]

References

1. "Maeve Plouffe". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
2. "Baker & Australia boast all the right ingredients". Australian Cycling. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
3. "Hannah interviews rising Aussie road & track star, Maeve Plouffe". Pedal North. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
4. "Women's Team Pursuit: Start List". UCI. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
5. "Women's Individual Pursuit, Final Classification". Union Cycliste Internationale. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
6. "Maeve Plouffe". Australian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
7. "Maeve Plouffe". Australian Cycling Team.
8. "Latest News from the Junior Road Nationals". Cycling Victoria.
9. "2017 Oceania time trial titles | Oceania Cycling Confederation".
10. "Maeve Plouffe | Rider Profile". Australian Cycling Team. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
11. "Women's Points Race". Tissot Timing. 19 October 2018.
12. "Women's Team Pursuit Start List". Tissot Timing. 24 January 2019.
13. "Results - Women Elite 10km Scratch Race Final" (PDF). Oceania Cycling Confederation.
14. "Maeve Plouffe wins at Oceania Track Cycling Championships to Keep on Track for Paris 2024 Olympics". The Messenger. 31 October 2019.
15. "Maeve Plouffe Interview 2020". Pedal North.
16. "Women's Team Pursuit: Results". Tissot Timing. 6 December 2019.
17. "Women's Team Pursuit Final Classification". Tissot Timing. 13 December 2019.
18. "Lifeline thrown as Olympics now a go for South Australian debutant Maeve Plouffe in 2021". The Messenger. Retrieved 1 April 2020.