NINE years ago when Saya Sakakibara first raced at Bathurst she wanted to show up the boys, but this weekend when she returns her goal will be to beat the best female riders from across the globe.
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The star 20-year-old will don the green and gold bands of the Australian team as Bathurst hosts rounds three and four of the 2020 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup.
The Bathurst event follows on from Shepparton hosting the opening two rounds of the series, Sakakibara having claimed silver in round one and placed fourth in the second round.
It was reigning world champion, 29-year-old American Alise Willoughby, who won both those rounds.
Sakakibara got within 0.126 seconds of beating her in round one and tangled with her in the first berm the following day. They are results that make her more hungry for success in Bathurst.
"For round one I was feeling really good, running lane one all day. In the final I knew I had a good gate but just couldn't execute. Stuck in second. Close, but not close enough," she said.
"On Sunday for round two, it was tough conditions, but I felt I adapted really well. I almost went down in the first corner, but just held it and when I saw I was still in third I thought I was okay, but just couldn't catch back up when I dropped to fourth. Fourth is not too bad, definitely wanted a lot more than that, but we have next weekend in Bathurst."
Bathurst is a place where Sakakibara has enjoyed plenty of success.
At the old River Road track in 2011, she won the boys' 12 year old class at the Bathurst Open.
In 2016 when the new Bathurst facility - the one which will host this weekend's World Cup rounds - opened Sakakibara won every moto and final she contested.
A year later she won three events in as many days - the junior elite women's Probikx UCI Series final, junior elite Oceania championship crown and pro women's BMX Australia Grands Assault National Series round - in Bathurst.
That past success is not something Sakakibara has really contemplated in the build up to her return, but it does give her confidence.
"I haven't really thought about it that way and the reason I don't think about it that much is because I treat each race as a new race, new challenge," she said.
"Everyones' preparation is different and you just have to treat it like a brand new race. But it does help in a sense because I have good memories there compared to a place I don't have good memories."
If Sakakibara can add to her strong Bathurst record, it will not only mean World Cup medals and podiums. It will also increase her chances of being selected to represent Australia at the Tokyo Olympic Games later this year.
"Obviously it's on my mind, there's no way you can avoid it and there's no way you can forget about it. I think I will just use it as motivation," she said.
"I know I need to get some good results here to get myself one step closer to the Olympics.
"On the day it doesn't pop into my head because I will be focused on what I need to do that day, what is my next race going to be like? What do I need to change? It's all performance focus on the day."
Bathurst will also host a round of the BMX NSW State Series this weekend, with riders to hit the track for the first time at 8.30am Saturday.
