Alexandra Manly

Born in Kalgoorlie, WA, and attending St Joseph's Primary School Alexandra Manly loved sport from the time she could walk.

She enrolled in her local athletics club when she was four years old, but it wasn't until she was a teenager that she began participating in cycling after being spotted by talent scouts from the South Australian Institute of Sport’s talent identification program.

Prior to her being introduced to the sport at 14, she had no idea it even existed, but before long it became a way of building her confidence both on and off the track.

"I was a shy kid and cycling broke that barrier for me. I love the social side, the team aspect and being with friends. I love working together and getting stronger as a team," Alex said.

She progressed quickly and claimed a number of junior Oceania and national crowns across 2012-2014 and added an exclamation mark to her exit from the junior ranks with two UCI U19 world titles (team pursuit, Individual pursuit) in 2014.

In 2015, Alexandra claimed World Cup gold in the team pursuit, while on the road she won both the time trial and road race for the U23 division at the 2018 Australian Cycling Championships.

Alex was then able to add Commonwealth Games gold to her trophy cabinet when she teamed with Ashlee Ankudinoff, Amy Cure and Annette Edmondson to win the team pursuit at the 2018 Games on the Gold Coast.

At the 2019 UCI Track World Championships in Poland, Alexandra shone with dual world titles – the team pursuit, and the points race.

Her Tokyo 2020 Olympic journey gained impetus with Amy Cure announcing her retirement in June 2020.

Alex finished 11th at the 2021 Australian Women’s Road Championships and has competed extensively in Europe with her pro team.

At Tokyo 2020, Alex Manly was part of Australia’s women’s team pursuit that finished fifth.

The Aussies posted the seventh fastest time of 4mins 13.57secs in qualifying for the 4km event, before Alex was replaced in the line-up by Maeve Plouffe and the team beat New Zealand and Italy in the remaining rounds of the competition.

In 2022, Alex returned to road racing and won the Thuringen Ladies Tour in Germany in May, including four stage victories. She also rode for Australia in the road race at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

In 2023, she and Georgia Baker took silver in the madison at the UCI World Championships. Alex also competed in the Tour de France Femmes and overhauled a solo breakaway by Amanda Spratt to win a hilly second stage of the Women’s Tour Down Under.