The Red Bulletin EN

In January, 2020, BMX racer
Saya Sakakibara was at a
BMX track near her home in
Helensburgh – 40km south of
Sydney, Australia – with her
brother, Kai. When we met up
with the siblings there for an
interview and photoshoot,
they were among the top 10
BMX racers in the world and
brimming with excitement in
anticipation of the months
ahead. The top goal, of course,
was winning a medal in Tokyo.
But two months later the
circumstances changed
drastically. All events were
postponed or cancelled and
Kai, at 23, was fighting for his
life after a sickening mid-race
crash ruined his chances of
riding his bike competitively
– and, perhaps, ever again.
ANDY GREEN/RED BULL CONTENT POOL
Not for the faint hearted
“BMX racing is a contact
sport,” said Saya on that hot
day in 2020 before tragedy
hit. “It gets violent. Eight
riders, everyone’s trying to
win. It’s carnage.” Her
brother added: “It does feel
like a fight, especially in the
first two-and-a-half seconds
– it’s a battle to get to that
bottom of the hill and in front
of the person next to you.”
BMX racing: it’s not for the
faint hearted. Pro BMX events
are held on Motocross-style
tracks, 300m-400m in length,
over berms and whoops and
jumps. Each race begins with
the field jostling for position
down an eight-metre entry
ramp into their first jump,
a 10-metre gap. Tangles are
common: handlebars, elbows,
knees. Launching skywards
at 55kph, one rider’s pedal
interlocked with an adjacent
bike’s frame, results in
spectacular crashes. Races
are 30-second adrenaline
hits. Mayhem is unavoidable;
THE RED BULLETIN 53