Gradually returning to her best since suffering a concussion in Tokyo which kept her out of the World Championships, Sakakibara dominated Monday’s elite women racing en route to donning the green and gold jersey.
“I think definitely relief … it’s been an amazing year,” she said.
“It’s been so good to get back onto home soil doing this National Championships.
“I haven’t been able to go for the elite national championship before, so it’s been so good to come back to Australia, especially in a place like the Gold Coast
“I love this track and huge thank you to AusCycling and Nerang BMX Club to put on this amazing event – it was absolutely epic
“The track looked so impeccable and it was just so awesome just to see everyone again.”
The Australian Cycling Team rider said her recovery period post-Olympics had left her feeling “disconnected” from her bike
“But as soon as I got onto this track it was a case of familiarity I think, and I was able to feel like myself again,” she said.
“It’s definitely a confidence booster coming into next year knowing I’m on the right track and all I have to do is continue on and get back into the racing.
“My number one goal would be definitely the World Championships in North France.
“I’ve always wanted to go for that rainbow jersey so that’s definitely a big goal.”
Des'ree Barnes recovered from a crash on Saturday night and Monday morning to finish second in the final ahead of local Erin Lockwood.
In the junior elite events, Tahlia Marsh grabbed the junior women's title in a merged final.
The New South Wales rider was smiling from ear to ear and was thrilled that she could bounce back after a crash in the first race.
“I’m just so happy, it’s been a hectic couple of days and it’s so good to be back riding with everyone and to just take the win...I’m so happy,” Tahlia Marsh said.
World number seven Izaac Kennedy has notched back-to-back national titles at the 2021 AusCycling BMX National Championships in Nerang to the delight of the home crowd.
The 21-year-old continued his flawless rampage through the BMX Nationals, failing to drop a lap all weekend.
“I’m so stoked to finally get that done with and for sure felt the pressure to make sure I got the win done,” he said.
“It was a pretty stressful day; I was just trying to focus on each lap and not try to get caught up in the hype.
“I had a pretty good lap in the final and I’m stoked to get back-to-back national titles.”
Gold Coast-based Kennedy said the win was more a feeling of relief than anything else.
“I won Saturday and I won today, I think I actually won both days in Shepparton (2019) too so I’ve done the back-to-back-to-back-to-back,” he said.
“It was tough for sure, I had to focus on what I needed to do and there was a couple of fast guys out here so I couldn’t slip up but managed to get it done.
“It’s been a pretty good year and a tough year at the same time, but this is a really a good way to finish it off and now back to work for 2022
“The big goal … I mean I’ve got a lot of goals but I'm going to go to America in January and have a crack at that title.”
Kyle Hill once again fell just short of a national title, finishing second for the second championship in a row with South Australian Brad Game rounding out the top three
In the junior elite event, Joel Marsh narrowly edged out Jordan Callum in a thrilling junior men’s final.
The junior men’s event had some cracking racing in every moto and final with riders going bar to bar in search of the title.
“I’m super stoked, there was some crazy racing all day and the boys were going fast, it made for some fun racing,” Joel Marsh said.
