Grace Brown and Saya Sakakibara named Australian Cyclist of the Year

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Grace Brown and Saya Sakakibara named Australian Cyclist of the Year

Grace Brown and Saya Sakakibara were awarded the Sir Hubert Opperman Trophy for their Olympic gold medal as well as numerous other good results.

Sakakibara won the overall World Cup title in UCI BMX racing, as well as the gold medal in Paris after winning all four races. In addition to his Olympic triumph, Brown won the time trial world title in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

“Both Saya and Grace stood out with extraordinary performances throughout the year leading up to their Olympic gold medal wins.

“Saya went undefeated in all competitions to win the gold medal; Grace won by a minute and a half.”

The last time the award, known as the Oppi Medal, was shared was in 2000 when Brett Aitken and Scott McGrory shared the prize.

Former recipients of the Oppy include Cadel Evans, Carolyn Buchanan, Jai Hindley, Richie Porte, and Anna Meares. [Brown said, “2024 is a momentous year for me in many ways and I feel it is very special to have my achievements recognized by the Australian cycling community.

“Oppie's list of past winners is full of heroes of the sport and it is a great honor to add my name to that list.

Brown also won the Women's Road Cyclist of the Year award, while in the men's road category, the award went to Ben O'Connor, who finished fourth in the world rankings in 2024 after a number of impressive results. These included a stage win at the Vuelta a España, second place overall, a runner-up finish at the UAE Tour and Tour of the Alps, and a silver medal behind Tadej Pogachar in the World Championship road race. After seeing so many performances, we paused for a moment and thought, “Wow, what a year to be thankful for.” There were extraordinary performances in multiple disciplines, both paracycling and able-bodied.” Multiple gold medals in Paris. That's before jumping into the pro ranks on the road: BMX Ben O'Connor and non-Olympic results, World Championships and World Cup. It was a tremendous year.”

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