Saya Sakakibara has added another bronze medal to her collection in the fourth round of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup Series in the Netherlands this morning.
It was a photo finish which decided if the 19-year-old would receive the bronze with current BMX world champion Alise Willoughby and hometown rider, Judy Baauw in front of her.
It is her first year as an elite women's rider, as she adds to her silver and bronze she has already won this World Series.
Sakakibara’s has a near flawless performance winning every race except for her semi-final, where she came second.
🙌🇦🇺 A third podium in four 2018 @UCI_BMX_SX World Cups for Aussie Saya Sakakibara #ucibmxsx #uciworldcup #ucisx #auscyclingteam @AUSOlympicTeam @ausport pic.twitter.com/kppnzOQaSr
— AusCyclingTeam (@AusCyclingTeam) May 6, 2018
Sakakibara now sits in second place in the current standings on 450 points with Laura Smulders only 100 points in front.
“I came in today with the same sort of mindset from yesterday and that was just to have fun,” Sakakibara told BMX Australia.
“In the final, I was able to get into second place around the track and I kind of messed up the last straight which cost me, but I am really happy I finished third, it was an awesome weekend and I’ve learnt so much,” she said.
The next stop for Sakakibara are rounds five and six of the World Cup this weekend in Belgium.
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