5 of Aussie cycling’s medal hopes at the Paris Olympics

Australia is blessed with a long, long list of medal winners in Olympic cycling.

Starting with Dunc Gray back in 1928, to Anna Meares’ six-medal haul, to Sam Willoughby’s silver in London, to Logan Martin soaring in Tokyo, Aussie riders show up to perform every four years.

It’ll be no different at these Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where Australia will be represented in every cycling discipline on offer.

Now, being a favourite doesn’t guarantee a medal by any means: the Olympics deliver surprise and heartbreak in equal measure.

And, there are any number of Aussies not named in this story who are genuine contenders at these Games.

But, caveats aside, here are some of the Australians with an excellent chance of bringing home metal from Paris.

Grace Brown

Individual Time Trial

Challengers: Chloe Dygert (USA), Ellen van Dijk (NED), Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA)

After placing fourth in Tokyo, Grace Brown has her eyes firmly set on the Olympic podium.

Since those debut Games, Brown has proven herself against the clock at the highest level: she won back-to-back silver medals at the last two UCI World Championships, plus the Commonwealth Games time trial.

Of the favourites, Brown has had the smoothest run into the Olympics. The riders who beat her in those World Championships, Chloe Dygert and Ellen van Dijk, have both been out of competition with injuries. Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser won’t even start.

In her last year of racing before retirement, Brown says “the goal is to win” in Paris. She has every chance to pull it off.

Logan Martin

BMX Freestyle Park

Challengers: Anthony Jeanjean (FRA), Kieran Reilly (GBR), Rimu Nakamura (JPN)

Logan Martin made history at Tokyo 2020 when he became the first Olympic gold medallist in men’s BMX Freestyle. Sensational photos of the Queenslander flipping his bike mid-air made headlines across the world.

Martin now returns as defending champion. He’s maintained his extraordinary level at the top of the sport, winning the last two UCI World Cups.

He hasn’t had it all his way, however. During Olympic qualification, Martin shockingly missed out on the final after crashing in both runs.

If he can put those hiccups behind him, the Gold Coast superstar has a real shot of defending his crown in Paris.

Saya Sakakibara

BMX Racing

Challengers: Alise Willoughby (USA), Bethany Shriever (GBR), Laura Smulders (NED)

After crashing out of the Tokyo Games, Saya Sakakibara’s BMX career has taken a topsy-turvy path. She gave herself an extended break to recover from concussion, and came close to quitting the sport, but now she’s back at the highest level.

The floodgates have opened in the last two years: in 2023, the New South Wales rider won five out of 10 rounds in the World Cup to become the overall champion. This year, she won four out of six rounds to defend her title.

Despite being the world’s most consistent performer, the 24-year-old’s final frontier is to string it together on a big stage such as a World Championships or Olympics. She’s spoken openly about the strategies she’s adopted to battle self-doubt and mental pressure on race day.

BMX racing is a cruel and chaotic sport at the best of times, but if anyone’s a favourite in Paris, Sakakibara has to be top of your list.

Leigh Hoffman, Matthew Glaetzer, Matthew Richardson

Team Sprint

Challengers: The Netherlands

The fastest trio in Australian cycling, these big boys are proven world-beaters: two years ago, they won the UCI World Championship in Paris on the very same boards of the Vélodrome National.

Last year, their title defence was denied only by the Dutch. The rivalry continues this August as the two powerhouse nations will clash on the biggest stage.

Hoffman is arguably the world’s fastest starter out of the gate. Watch ‘Richo’ take over for the second leg before Glaetzer – at his fourth Olympic Games – brings it home for the green and gold.

The level is so high that Tom Cornish – the World Championship bronze medallist over 1,000 metres – will have to cheer on his teammates as a reserve. Hopefully, he’ll be applauding them onto the podium.

Georgia Baker and Alexandra Manly

Madison

Challengers: Great Britain, France, Italy

They say they are “basically sisters”: Baker and Manly are best friends off the track and killer teammates on it.

The pair live in each other’s pocket, competing for the same professional team and sharing an apartment in Girona, Spain.

Baker and Manly been racing the Madison together for the last three years, winning two national titles, a silver medal at the UCI World Championships, and another silver at the UCI World Cup.

The Madison is an arduous race, and they’ll face stiff competition from the likes of world champions Great Britain. But, with their unmatched team chemistry, this dynamic duo could claim Australia’s first Olympic medal in the women’s Madison.

Photos: Getty Images, Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com