Maeve Plouffe

Maeve's Story

Fast Facts

Sport: Cycling – Track
Event: Endurance
Olympic History: Tokyo 2020
Year Born: 1999
State Born: New South Wales

About Maeve

Maeve Plouffe was attracted to cycling for its variety, but it wasn’t her first sport of choice. An avid swimmer, Plouffe attended an identification testing session offered through the South Australian Sports Institute because she thought it might kickstart a career in rowing. Despite her initial reluctance, Plouffe decided to give cycling a go and she was hooked soon after.

Plouffe’s early years in the sport were a struggle as she transitioned from the pool to the track. Fitness wasn’t the issue, but the rules and tactics of track cycling presented a new challenge.

A sport with a dual purpose, Plouffe can train while exploring the outdoors and unlike swimming, which she found repetitive, cycling gives her the chance to train for long kilometres on the road or sprint and pursuit on the track.

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Can't believe that yesterday I became the Australian U17 TT champion at my first ever #JnrRoadNats! Stoked to have won gold by 30secs on quite a hard course. Thanks to my teammates from SA, #sasicycling and @fuse_multisport, plus SASI sponsors @cerveloaus @champsys @kask_helmets #callidus #holden #avfi #jayco @macofsa and to @cyclingaustralia for a great event! Hard work pays off #AussieCycling 💚💛
A post shared by MAEVE PLOUFFE (@maeveplouffe) on Sep 11, 2015 at 10:47pm PDT

A member of Cycling Australia’s Podium Potential Academy, Plouffe made her elite debut at the 2019 Track World Cup in Brisbane. She teamed with the experienced Georgia Baker, Ashlee Ankudinoff, Annette Edmondson and Alexandra Manly to win gold in the women’s Team Pursuit final against New Zealand.

In 2020, Plouffe attended her maiden World Championships where she finished fifth in the Team Pursuit. Plouffe made an impression when she finished in the top ten in the Individual Pursuit and set a new personal best. The Australian champion clocked 3mins 26.742secs which was five seconds better than the time she set four months earlier.

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#Berlin2020 Twenty-year-old Maeve Plouffe continued to impress on debut with a top ten finish in the 3000m individual pursuit. The reigning national champion Plouffe clocked 3mins 26.742secs for the 12-lap event, bettering her personal best by five seconds which set only four months ago at the Oceania Championships. | The #AusCyclingTeam is proudly supported by: Cycling Australia : @cyclingaustralia Sport Australia : @sportaus Australian Olympic Team : @ausolympicteam Paralympics Australia : @ausparalympics Commonwealth Games Australia : @commgamesaus Santini : @santini_cycling Science In Sport : @scienceinsport Premax: @premax.co Stage & Screen : @stageandscreenau Training Peaks: @trainingpeaks Argon18 : @argon18bike Kask : @kask_cycling Bont Cycling : @bontcycling Vittoria Tires : @vittoria_australia ZIPP : @Zippspeed |
A post shared by Australian Cycling Team (@australiancyclingteam) on Feb 29, 2020 at 3:04pm PST

Olympic debutant Maeve Plouffe did not ride qualifying with Australia’s women’s team pursuit as they clocked the seventh fastest time of 4mins 13secs in Tokyo.

But she replaced Alex Manly in the remaining two rounds and teamed up with Georgia Baker, Annette Edmondson and Ashlee Ankudinoff to beat Italy and New Zealand and finish fifth overall in their 4km race against the clock.