Ali is incredible athlete with a need for speed. She has superhuman drive, skill, and "all or nothing" style. She tweets and blogs.

What's her name? "By the way, Alison Starnes is Alison Tetrick.  End of story.  Ali works too.  One and the same person, just me. Alison Marie Tetrick.  That’s my name.  It’s been my name since 1985, might as well stick with that."

Three lessons I've learned from Ali are rebuilding takes time and cycle through your TO DO list and scars are souvenirs.

Alison Starnes is not just a cyclist; she's a scientist, too. She writes in her bio:

It is hard to explain how I began bike racing.  I often find myself saying that I did not find cycling, but cycling found me.  It is in my blood you could say.  Growing up on a ranch in California my entire life, I learned to ride a horse long before I considered riding a bike.

I was a tennis player by trade, although with a late start, I was fortunate enough to get a scholarship to play NCAA tennis at Abilene Christian University.  This was amazing experience where I not only learned dedication to a sport, but also how to balance school, life, and athletics.

I have a B.S. in Biochemistry with emphasis on Molecular Biology and a minor in Nutrition and graduated with the highest honors from ACU.  Those who knew me in college have no difficulty labeling me as a nerd because I spent countless hours in the Biochemistry lab doing research on various enzymatic pathways. Not only did I sit in the lab creating mutant enzymes, but this work was also published in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Biochemistry. The lab experience and knowledge enabled me to do a brief stint at Amgen in their Chemistry Research and Drug Discovery Department.  Because of my previous experiences, I will always perk up when science is being discussed.

Upon graduating, I became fixated with triathlon, and bought my first bike.   I immersed myself into the sport, and even went to the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. However, as I dabbled in triathlon, I started bike racing to cross train for my triathlon endeavors and raced for a local women’s racing team before joining Team TIBCO.  The USA Cycling Development Foundation generously provided me with the opportunity to attend the 2008 US Women’s Talent ID Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.  Little did I know that I was on a journey to a career in cycling, and a passion for the Olympics.

For my first two years of professionally racing, I was a member of Team TIBCO, and am currently on Exergy Team TWENTY12 (formerly sponsored by Peanut Butter & Co.)  I raced for the USA National Team that won the Giro Donne, and Tour of New Zealand.  I wore the yellow jersey at Nature Valley Grand Prix, after winning the time trial, and I have been on the podium at US Elite Time Trial Nationals for all 3 years of my professional career.  I won the overall at the Merco Cycling classic, and the Sprinters Jersey at Ronde van Drenthe World Cup.  I represented the USA at the Pan American Games in 2011, but crashed before the competition which limited my performance as well as stalled my 2012 season.

Exergy Team TWENTY12 is a professional women’s cycling team that believes in fostering the development of riders for the World Championships and the Olympics.  I look forward to the future.

Alison has an incredible work ethic. I think her "give it everything you have" attitude is very inspiring.

As I find more great articles about Ali's career I will post them here.

Definitely read this interview with Ali from 2009.

Some great videos I found featuring Alison Tetrick Starnes:

She's awesome. Great story. Late bloomer and yet exceptional in every sport she does.

David, I agree. Her late bloomer ability to master the three sports of the triathlon is very inspiring. She is no overnight success.

Garrett Lau has an excellent set of Alison Tetrick photos on Flickr: