Saya Sakakibara records two second-place finishes and gains series lead at Papendal World Cup double-header

Saya Sakakibara has restarted her UCI BMX Racing World Cup podium streak, finishing second in both Round 3 and Round 4 of the 2025 UCI BMX Racing World Cup in Papendal, Netherlands.

Sakakibara finished behind home nation favourite Laura Smulders on Saturday, who posted her seventh World Cup win on her home track.

Series leader Molly Simpson (Canada) failed to qualify for the final and finished the day in 11th, allowing Sakakibara to jump into the series lead and the holder of the red plate.

The 25-year-old's silver medal result was the best of a stellar day for the ARA Australian Cycling Team elite women contingent, who all finished in the top-10.

Teya Rufus in her first elite final finished sixth, Lauren Reynolds came home in eighth and Sienna Pal finished ninth after narrowly missing qualification to the final in her semifinal.

On Sunday, Great Britain's Bethany Shriever grabbed the holeshot from the outside gate and powered to the win, with Sakakibara close behind her.

Reynolds nearly joined her teammate on the Round 4 podium, but fell short of Simpson by 0.06 of a second and had to settle for fourth. Rufus and Pal were both eliminated in their quarterfinals.

Crucially, Sakakibara recorded her second result of the weekend ahead of Simpson, while another overall rival in Zoe Claessens (Switzerland) missed qualification to the final and finished 15th.

Those results have handed Sakakibara a points lead of 174 points ahead of the final two rounds in Santiago del Estero, Argentina on September 20–21.

The Olympic champion said coming into a post-Olympics year has brought a new set of challenges.

"But I am proud of myself for putting myself in the mix," Sakakibara said.

"Looking forward to a short break before getting stuck into training again for the world champs coming up in a few weeks time."

ARA Australian Cycling Team's elite men group had a tough weekend, highlighted by Izaac Kennedy crashing in the final corner while leading the Round 3 final.

Kennedy sat out Round 4 as a result of the crash.

After finishing 33rd in Round 3, Bodi Turner hit the ground in Round 4 and has remained in the Netherlands until he is cleared to travel home after lacerating his kidney.

Oliver Moran also hit the ground in Round 3 and scored no points, but bounced back in Round 4 with progression through to the semifinals and a 15th finish.

Josh Jolly, racing as an individual, posted a maiden World Cup win and led the under-23 men Australian charge in Round 4, but that came after luck wasn't on his side in his Round 3 semifinal.

Jolly was brought down in the final corner and ARA Australian Cycling Team's Jordan Callum could do little to avoid the mayhem in front of him, ending his Round 3 campaign in 14th. Callum finished 10th in Round 4.

Sarrians double-podium finisher Jesse Asmus was caught up in a heavy quarterfinal crash in Round 3 and sat out Round 4 to begin concussion recovery.

Feature picture: Navada Photography