Three and a half months after leaving their hometown of Helensburgh, Kai and Saya Sakakibara, will put it all on the line at Friday's UCI BMX World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan.
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18-year-old Saya has picked up a silver and two bronze medals through six rounds of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup in her first year as an elite women’s competitor.
She's Australia’s highest placed female rider in the world standings (eighth) but says she'll leave her achievements at the gate.
“The fact that I am the highest ranked Australian rider in the world standings doesn’t necessarily give me confidence for this week. It will be the experience of the past few months that will give me confidence,” she said.
“Knowing that I have already raced most of the other riders will make it a familiar environment for me, and that makes it easier to control my nerves.
“My goal will be to win, I never aim for anything less. I want to make sure I have every chance to race to the best of my ability.”