Mount Gambier has been the place to be for Tokyo bound two-wheel athletes and Australia’s leading BMX  rider Saya Sakakibara set the track alight to win the Red Bull UCI Pump Track World Qualifier last weekend. 

Hastings Cunningham Reserve was pumping in more ways than one with large crowds enjoying the electric atmosphere surrounding the steep twists and slopes across two days of non-stop action. 

Highly skilled riders from far and wide rode  in the Blue Lake city for the chance of becom- ing the world’s best and wearing the coveted  Rainbow jersey at the World Championships later this year. 

Under glorious sunny skies, riders enjoyed a day and a half of practice before raising the intensity in Sunday afternoon’s knock-out heat finals. 

In the men’s class, over 24 riders battled for top honours, but only four were left to fight for the ultimate prize after the sudden-death stages. 

The local hero was Jaiden Bombski, who pumped his way into the finale and set the competitive time of 21.070 seconds. 

Bombski eclipsed the time set by Coby Morton, who experienced trouble on his run to steal a celebrated podium position. 

The fight for the overall win was staged between Kyah Elburn-Tabone and Jayce Cunning and it went down to a matter of tenths. 

Elburn-Tabone entered the cauldron first and wowed the crowd with a time of 20.078 to set a target for Cunning to chase down. 

With the target set, Cunning headed out onto daunting, bumpy course and despite a few hairy moments on the back straight appeared destined to challenge the top time. 

When the clock stopped, he became the first to break the 20-second barrier for the day with a 19.801 under severe pressure and seal a ticket to the world championships. 

A total of 12 Limestone Coast riders took part in the fun with Jack Hann and Josh Frew impressing with top-eight finishes in the finals, while Ali Scott balanced commentary and riding duties. 

Local Mercedes Scott gave the crowd something to cheer about with a top-five finish, while the final was all about Sakakibara. 

Johanna Jephcott, Cassie Voysey and Annaliese Rokov all set competitive times, but they were blown away by Sakakibara, who took the event by more than a second and a half with an electric time of 21.976. 

The highly-credentialed BMX rider said the reason she rode on Mount Gambier’s unique Velosolutions pump track was simply for enjoyment and it became the perfect way to spend her downtime ahead of Tokyo. 

“For me it is just a bit of fun,” Sakakibara said. 

“Everything lined up really well because I am training for the Olympics at the moment and the event fell into my recovery week. 

“So it has been nice to get away from training and do something fun, challenging myself in a different way. 

“There is not much time until the Olympics, so it has been cool to come out here, race against other girls and work on different skills under pressure.” At just 21 years of age, Sakakibara is already a five-time national champion and her BMX journey originated in her birthplace Japan, where a competitive rivalry with her brother Kai was formed. 

After moving to Australia in 2007, she made an immediate impact on the junior circuit and made her elite World Championships debut as a teenager. 

In recent years Sakakibara has impressed on the global stage at events such as the World Cup including victory at the UCI BMX Supercross race in Argentina. 

However, last weekend was not the first time the Red Bull athlete has ridden in the Blue Lake city during her successful career. 

“I came here in 2012 to compete at the BMX national championships and coming back has  definitely been an eye opener,” Sakakibara said. 

“I did not recognise anything, but it is really cool to have a pump track facility like this in a town like Mount Gambier and it will bring lots of riders to the town.” With Olympics preparation in full swing, Sakakibara said the pump event was a fantastic alternative to keep herself sharp on the bike and hopes many youngsters on the sidelines can use their skills to transition into BMX. 

“In BMX you are racing against seven other people over 400m with lots of pedalling, jumps, manuals and action, while it is usually single lane on a pump track and it is fully sealed,” she said. 

“There is no room to pedal, so you have to gain momentum by working the jumps with your body and shifting your body weight. 

“Pumping is all about keeping wheels on the ground and working the corners to gain momentum, so once you get your speed up you can do some jumps and manuals to complement your ride. 

“What I love about this is how inclusive it is to everyone across all skill levels and bike types. 

“It is a great stepping stone to BMX, so kids can come from skate parks straight onto a pump track and then BMX because it is very similar.” Although the initial disappointment of being forced to wait another year for her Olympics debut, Sakakibara said the delay would play into her hands when she hunts for gold in BMX for Australia. 

“The postponement was a big shock to the system, but I soon took it as an advantage because I am one of the younger riders within my field, so I saw a big opportunity for me to get stronger and faster,” she said. 

“I now know I will be much faster than 12 months ago because I try to improve myself everyday. 

“I love BMX and training, so it has been good to have the Olympics as a goal and turn my training towards that.”