Logan Martin gets back to business with third World Championship tilt

The ARA Australian Cycling Team will in a few days’ time board a plane bound for Abu Dhabi and the 2024 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships.

After a team of six athletes was originally announced in November, the team has since been reduced to just four, after Jaie Toohey injured a shoulder in practice and required surgery, while world championship debutant Samual Grace was a late omission with a PCL injury.

Despite the setbacks, two-time world champion Logan Martin told AusCycling the vibe in the team remained upbeat.

“I think for the most part, everyone's keen to just travel again and ride another event, being that it’s in Abu Dhabi as well. It was a really cool location last time,” Martin said.

Abu Dhabi last hosted the World Championships in 2022, where a popped tyre in the oppressive heat potentially cost Martin a higher finish than his eventual sixth place, and the 31-year-old says the experience of travelling to the same location should put the team in good stead. 

Logan Martin competing at the 2022 UCI World Championship in Abu Dhabi.

“It looks like it's a bit cooler this time around, probably mid 20s, a little bit of humidity, but nothing we're not really used to from being on the Gold Coast,” Martin added.

“This time we are at the same hotel and the skate park is in the same location, so it is probably easier knowing where you are going and it’s a bit easier to get around So, that does make it a bit more comfortable.”

“I am riding strong. I'm feeling good. I'm feeling fit, and all my tricks have been working really well, day in, day out.  I'm feeling good going into it, so it's just [about] trying to focus on going there, planning a good run, planning a run that I can land, and seeing where it stacks up against the other guys.”

With the maturity and outlook of someone who has seen just about all there is to see in the sport, Martin also revealed how he has been able to move on quickly from the disappointment of Paris 2024, where he crashed in the final and finished seventh.

“After [winning gold in] Tokyo, I was content with everything I’d achieved in the sport, but was also in the mindset of, ‘from here on out, while I'm still capable of riding at a high level and winning events, then I'll continue just doing the best I can and trying to win as much as I can, but if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out’,” Martin explained.

A popped tyre potentially cost Logan Martin a higher finish at the 2022 UCI World Championship in Abu Dhabi.

“The few years leading into Paris were great, I’d won a lot more events, and I still just took that approach into Paris, like if it works out, it works out. If it doesn't, it doesn't. Obviously, I was disappointed in the result, but I was more so just disappointed in the way I rode, not the fact that I crashed out at the Olympics.

“I definitely want to try and win a third world championship. I wanted to do that last year and just missed out. So that's obviously still on the radar, but if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen and I'm okay with whatever happens, as long as I'm able to go out there and give it my best shot.”

Martin further revealed he was carrying an injury into Paris which limited his ability to consistently train and perform at his highest level at La Concorde.

“There were lots of missed sessions, actually. I was nursing an injury and trying to recover. That's why the IOC series didn’t really go the way I wanted. The injury was very fresh,” he said.

Now in the back half of his career, Martin also discussed how the face of the sport is changing, with the veteran rider happy to pass on his knowledge to those with a thirst to learn.

2022 UCI World Championship in Abu Dhabi.

“I'm seeing it in the whole of the sport; the new kids coming in and the younger guys coming in and doing well, and the guys that I used to always compete with are sort of on their way out. I’m definitely seeing that within the team but also within the sport,” the Gold Coast native said.

“Alec [Danelutti’s] really good at taking things on board, and he's really improved the last couple of years that we've been riding together. Ever since I've been sort of giving him some tips, it’s really been benefiting him.”

After he posted on social media last month that his famous backyard skate park would be dismantled, Martin understood how people might think he was stepping back from the sport, but clarified that the creation of the AusCycling indoor skatepark meant there was less need for a set-up at home. 

“Once we built the indoor skate park, you don't have to worry about the wind, don't have to worry about the rain, and you just get comfortable riding inside and at one skate park. And that's essentially what happened here, and it just happened to happen more [in the] last year or so, where no one was really interested in coming to ride the backyard,” Martin explained.

“And then it was essentially just sitting in my backyard, and I was like, ‘well, do I really need it?’

“Then after a month or so of planning to take it down after Paris, my son [Noah] started just riding in the backyard a lot, riding a little ramp there, so then I decided to keep the skatepark. But I'm in the process of just making some of the ramps a little bit smaller so he can ride it and then I can ride some of the ramps still with him.”

While admitting that he’s not too sure what will come after BMX, Martin reveals that he has begun to explore some interests outside of the sport.

“I'm really into real estate at the moment, more so real estate investing. I’m trying to set that up so that I've got something coming in once I retire from the sport,” he says. 

“I don't know if I want to get into coaching or not. Maybe coaching a higher-level athlete, like guys that are already pro.

“But I definitely foresee me still competing for the next few years, being that I'm still fit and strong and still enjoying it.”

The UCI Urban Cycling World Championships will be held from December 17-21 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. For more information about the 2024 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships, visit the competition hub.

ARA Australian Cycling Team for the 2024 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships 

ELITE MEN

Alec Danelutti

Logan Martin

ELITE WOMEN

Natalya Diehm

Sarah Nicki

The UCI have also announced the winners of the 2024 BMX Freestyle World Cup, with three Australians finishing in the top -12 in Elite Men and two Elite Women in the top-20.

ELITE MEN

5^th Brandon Loupos

7^th Samual Grace

11^th Logan Martin

ELITE WOMEN

17^th Natalya Diehm

19^th Mylee Toohey

Photos: Tyler Rizzi