Alyssa Polites (cycling) was among 17 Commonwealth Games debutants on the track cycling team in Birmingham where she finished 18th in the scratch race.

Racing opportunities were limited due to the pandemic in 2020-21 but the teenager shot to attention when she won the junior national time trial and junior national road race at the 2021 Australian road championships. She stepped up to win the under-23 road race crown in 2022, while still 18, and within weeks was also the national Madison champion with Maeve Plouffe.

Hailing from the Caulfield Carnegie Club in south-east Melbourn, Alyssa played basketball as a youngster but says sibling rivalry was the inspiration for taking up cycling when she was 12, envious that her older brother had been gifted a new race bike by their parents.

Following the Birmingham Games, she was awarded a Sport Australia Hall of Fame scholarship where she received mentoring from champion swimmer Leisel Jones. She is also undertaking a Bachelor of Exercise and Sport (Science) and a Bachelor of Business (Sport Management) at Deakin University.