Alana Forster

Started: She entered her first national championships in Para cycling in 2023. (auscycling.org.au, 01 Mar 2023) Reason: She wanted to continue competing after sustaining her impairment. "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." (auscycling.org.au, 01 Mar 2023) Additional Info: TRANSITION TO PARA CYCLING She bought a road bike in 2017 and began racing in non-Para events at an elite level in 2019. She first competed in Para cycling at the 2023 National Championships in Ballarat, VIC, Australia, where she placed first in the women's road race. "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. 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." (auscycling.org.au, 09 Aug 2023, 01 Mar 2023; examiner.com.au, 08 Aug 2023; cyclingnews.com, 26 Jan 2021)