Two years ago she had never raced a bike. Now Tara Neyland holds five world titles

In January 2025, Tara Neyland, a 32-year-old Victorian with FSHD — a progressive condition that weakens muscles — entered her first Para cycling race and beat a two-time Paralympic medallist by nearly a minute and a half. She had only taken up the sport after watching the Paris 2024 Paralympics and wondering whether elite sport still had a place for her. Less than two years later she owns five world titles, two Commonwealth Games gold medals and multiple world records, and this week she races at the UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, with Los Angeles 2028 ahead. Her rise is not a comeback story. It is a beginning, at full speed.