Cycling: Forget nice, from now on mongrel rules gold hunter

Sarah Walker. Photo / Kenny Rodger

'Nice guys finish last' or so the saying goes but Sarah Walker, the face of BMX racing in New Zealand, is out to prove that 'nice girls' can finish first.

Walker was touted as one of our best chances of a medal at last year's Beijing Olympics but, after promising so much in the heats, failed to deliver in the final and had to settle for fourth.

Walker is again one of the favourites to win the elite women's event at the BMX world championships in Adelaide this week. Her coach, Ken Cools, hopes she has learned from Beijing.

"She needs to be there for the right reasons," says Cools. "She needs to be there because she wants to win a gold medal, not because her country wants her to. If you don't want it, it is hard to get to the front of the pack."

Cools, a straight-shooting Canadian, has been involved in the sport for 26 years.

In terms of technical ability, he rates Walker as "the most gifted BMX rider of her time" but mentally she still has work to do. So does she have what it takes to win a world title? Does she have that killer instinct?

"She has it; she just needs to find it," says Cools. "It's my job to help her find it. I tell my riders, 'you have to get a bit more mongrel in you.' BMX is a vicious sport. We are sprinters but, unlike sprinters on the track who run in a straight line to the finish, you have to battle with other people in your way. You have jumps, you have turns, you have elbows in your face and you have to fight through it. You have to be tough."

Walker, a fresh-faced 21-year-old from Kawerau in the Bay of Plenty, admits she has a reputation for being too nice.

"It has affected me in a lot of races," she says. "It used to be a huge weakness, that I was too nice.

"It was known that if you went into a corner with me I would probably back off."

It probably goes a long way to explaining why Walker has won bronze and silver medals at world championships but never the gold that matters. She did win the Cruiser class at last year's world championships but the Cruiser title (which is raced on a bigger bike with 24 inch wheels) is seen as a consolation prize. The Olympics and the world championships are raced on standard bikes with 20 inch wheels.

Walker is currently ranked number two in the world but the rankings don't mean much. They are based on the results of races from the four regions - Europe, Latin America, North America and Oceania - and given Walker's dominance in Oceania where she has won six of the seven races this season, she should always be close to the top of the rankings.

A better gauge of Walker's form is her results in Europe earlier this year where she beat most of the top riders including the current world champion, England's Shanaze Read, for the first time.

"Beating her was a huge confidence boost," says Walker. "She has been so dominant for so long; if I can beat her I can beat anybody.

Walker didn't have the same confidence going into Beijing.

"I didn't honestly think I could win. I finished fourth behind a girl I could beat any other day. She got a red carpet ride to the finish. If I won I would have been like the chick that came third; it would have been because I got lucky. The girl who won was just so switched on and even watching her in practice I thought she looked really good. I didn't think I was as fast as her."

Since Beijing, Walker has been working with a sports psychologist to change her thinking and to change her attitude from nice to, well, a bit nasty.

"I've been working on trying to be more aggressive," she smiles. "I've taken a few girls out recently just to prove a point. I'm making a new name for myself."

Walker has also made a new name for herself on the Beef & Lamb TV ads alongside the Evers-Swindell twins and her mentor, Sarah Ulmer. As well as a reflection of her growing profile, it also meant a nice bonus in the shape of a sponsored ute. Walker is getting used to people staring at her in the ute and to the idea that she can win a major title.

"Everyone else has always believed in me and that kind of made me think I should believe in myself but I wasn't really feeling it. I've always wanted to win but this time I really, really want it."