The competitive nature rears its head at a young age. For Loren Rowney who hails from Australia’s Gold Coast, it was at the age of fourteen. Her brother started cycling and she wanted to do what he was doing. Then she saw a neighborhood girl racing and all she could think was: I can beat her.

She continued training as a runner and a cyclist until 11th grade, when her cycling coach said she could be good at both, but only great at one, so she needed to choose. She chose cycling. She took time off after high school to ride. In 2009, she planned to launch her racing career but was unable to reach her potential because she was sick most of the year. This year is her first overseas (she’ll be based in the States) and she is one of the new riders to a team of seasoned veterans in the sport. She gets to learn from some of her role models, like Ina, Clara and Trixi.

Her 2012 goals: medal at Nationals in January. Do her best for the team. Main goal is to learn as much as possible and get the best out of herself.

If she weren’t into cycling, she would be: in Nepal studying white rhinos.