Sarah Nicki: Q&A with the ARA Australian Cycling Team

At just 17-years-old Sarah Nicki continues to emerge as the next star of Australian female BMX Freestyle.

In her short career she has already achieved the highest success at a national level, claiming back-to-back BMX Freestyle national titles in 2022 and 2023.

On the international stage Nicki took out the 2023 Oceania Championships, and as a member of the ARA Australian Cycling Team has competed at numerous UCI World Cup events where she secured a number of top-20 results.

At last year's BMX Freestyle World Championships in Glasgow, she was not only one of the youngest competitors, she was also the highest placed Australian female finishing 15th overall.

And with ambitions to one day compete at the Olympic Games, Nicki is on the right trajectory.

Read on to get to know more about ARA Australian Cycling Team athlete Sarah Nicki.

What is your full name? Sarah Nicki

Nickname/s? Sar (rhymes with pear), Sarbear

Age? 17

What is your hometown? I grew up in Canberra but I live on the Gold Coast now.

What is your home club? FACT BMX Club

Tell us about your family. My family are very supportive, they moved away from Canberra to let me follow my dreams and I really appreciate it.

Do you have any pets? Turtle the black cat

Your favourite TV show? Pokemon!

Favourite band/artist? Eminem

What's your cheat meal? Mint ice cream

What's your coffee order? Hot chocolate

What's your ideal holiday? To go to Japan and ride with my Japanese besties!

When and how did you learn to ride a bike? I've always loved bikes but I didn't ride without training wheels until I was 5 1/2. I started riding skateparks and racing BMX at nearly 7.

How did you get into the sport competitively? There were a few local comps when I was growing up but my first big event was the Vans Pro Cup. I watched Nat and all the overseas girls ride at the Sydney event in 2018 and I set a goal to join them the next year. I was too young to compete properly but I was allowed to ride in the event unscored.

What's your favourite place/track to ride? Why? I can't decide, our outdoor course at the training facility, Belco Bowl, RampFest & Megaranch. I love competition riding but also love just riding big bowls and vert.

Who is/was your sporting idol? Caroline Buchanan has been my idol and mentor from the start. I look up to her not just for her riding but also for her mentality and everything she does to support girls on bikes.

My freestyle BMX idol is Perris Benegas because she has a different style to the other girls and goes big and fast. She also does more than just competition riding, riding bowls and doing video edits as well.

What has been one of your career highlights? I don't really have a highlight, I just love riding my bike and meeting people from around the world but I'm hoping that the Olympic Qualifier series will be pretty high up there.

What do you hope to have achieved by the end of your career? I hope to compete in the Olympics one day, X Games would be sick too. I also hope to give back, supporting and encouraging the next gen like others have done for me.

If I wasn't a rider/cyclist, I'd be ... studying towards being a personal trainer and physio.

Read more ARA Australian Cycling Team news here.