Willoughby pedals towards Rio gold

Australian BMX star Sam Willoughby wants to go to Rio to scratch an itch he developed in London.

Australian BMX rider Sam Willoughby says he has a much better support team around him heading into the Rio Olympics, as he tries to better the silver medal he won four years ago in London.

Since the last Olympics, he has also won two world titles and is feeling better about his chances in Brazil.

"I'd say its a lot more structured this time," Willoughby said.

"There's a better plan on paper and probably a better support network around me.

"Other than that, I'm a few years older and I've got a lot more races under my belt."

Willoughby says he has also made changes to how he prepares for each race after the disappointment of crashing out of last year's world championships in Belgium and failing to defend his world title.

"From a preparation perspective I've tried to rectify a few things there," he said.

"But the worlds last year was a pretty crazy event with the rain.

"It's a hard one to nitpick too much because it was such a unique situation on the day.

"In hindsight I'm not too disappointed with how it all played out."

Back in Australia this week for a quick visit for a training camp, on Sunday the Adelaide-born Willoughby will fly back to his base in San Diego to continue his preparation to try and win his third world title in May before the Olympics in August.


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Source: AAP



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