Alessia McCaig is a track cyclist who was awarded a Tier 1 Scholarship within the 2022 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program, and was paired with Olympic champion Matthew Mitcham OAM as her Mentor.
Alessia was born in Bendigo, Victoria, in 2003 and started riding at the Bendigo and District Cycling Club as a 9-year-old when her older brother grew out of his bike. She remains a member of this club and specialises in the sprint and time trial events.
Results at the Junior Track National Championships in 2017 drive Alessia to this day. This was her first major competition and she finished fourth in most of her events. Since that event, she has been determined to finish on the podium, and did so a year later. Representing Victoria, she won four gold and two silver at the 2018 Junior Track National Championships and was crowned Champion of Champions as the best all-round rider in her age group, an achievement she would repeat the following year.
Alessia progressed from a hand-me-down bike to the elite junior ranks, and is a four-time national champion and holds multiple junior Australian records. Furthermore, she has broken Oceania records at junior level on her way to continental victories.
The Scholarship holder with the Victorian Institute of Sport has now entered the elite ranks and is striving for a spot on the AusCycling Team Podium Potential Academy so that she can chase medals at world championships, Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games. She also plans to study chiropractic and work with elite athletes as a way of giving back to her sport, as well as being driven to provide opportunities to under-privileged children.
“I am extremely honoured and grateful to have received a Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship. To be recognised by such a prestigious organisation is so special and makes me very proud to be an athlete. The one-on-one mentoring that I receive through this Scholarship will be invaluable and give me insight into what I may encounter in the future. Also, learning and speaking to someone like Matthew Mitcham that is outside my direct support system right at this moment, will be extremely useful, and help me to strive to achieve my goals.” – Alessia McCaig on being selected as a 2022 Tier 1 Scholarship Holder.
“Trust the process, forget the result”
Awards, Honours & Achievements
- 2018: Junior Track National Championships – 1st, Champion of Champions (overall best performer for U17)
- 2019: Junior Track National Championships – 1st, Champion of Champions (overall best performer for U17)
- 2019: Oceania Championships – 1st U19, time trial, team sprint, Broke the Oceania Championship record
- 2019: Oceania Championships – 1st U19, time trial, team sprint
- 2019: 2 x U17 Women Australian Record Holder – team sprint and sprint
- 2020/2021: 2 x U19 Women Australian Record Holder – sprint and time trial
- 2021: U19 and Elite National Championships – 1st, time trial, Broke own Australian record 34.354 seconds
- 2021: U19 and Elite National Championships – 1st, sprint, Broke a 27-year record 11.186 seconds in the qualification
- 2021: U19 and Elite National Championships – 1st, elite women team sprint
- 2022: Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship Holder – Tier 1
Profile image: Cycling New Zealand
