Izaac Kennedy has detailed the emotional toll of his sport, with the World Championships hopeful admitting there were months of "dark times" after his Olympics BMX heartbreak.
The Gold Coast talent, a World Championships silver medallist last year, will enjoy home track advantage for this weekend's title charge in Brisbane.
He won both World Cup races at the Chandler track two years ago, and after enduring serious knee, ankle and wrist injuries since 2024, he says it's "probably the best I've felt in a long time".
Physical fitness aside, it's also helped that he's softened his outlook on a sport that takes no prisoners.
"It's what makes BMX so hard and motivates me ... the feeling of winning is so good because it's so hard to do," Kennedy told AAP.
"The margins are so small ... you can be the best all day long, but if you don't show up and perform in those 35 seconds then it's all for nothing."
Kennedy felt that at the Paris Olympics in 2024 when, after scraping into the final in eighth position, he jumped well from the outside gate to move into third before being squeezed onto the fence and crashing out.
"The Olympics was a big turning point," said Kennedy, who competed in Paris with a broken wrist.
"I didn't deal with that very well. There were a few dark months after that, thinking the sun wouldn't come up.
"It was a slow burn, just learning to get over it."
So taxing is the sport that Kennedy, still only 25, has to think hard about whether he'll still be riding when the Olympics is held at the same Brisbane track in six year's time.
"It's just a lot sometimes, other time's it not," he said.
"I'm not old, but I'm getting there and have come to accept it that you're not going to win every day. As much as I want to win every race, the sun's still coming up the next day."
Kennedy is considered a strong chance to claim gold on Sunday but the field is littered with contenders, including Olympic champion Joris Daudet and reigning world champion Arthur Pilard.
What happens when the gate drops will be crucial, given the chaos that unfolded at the first corner when the show was last in town two years ago.
"My plan is to get out in front all weekend and if there is carnage I'm hoping it's behind me," Kennedy said of the inevitable pile-ups while jostling at the first turn.
Australia's Olympic champion and three-time defending World Cup overall champion Saya Sakakibara will headline the women's field.
But there will be stern opposition in British star, three-time world champion and Tokyo gold medallist Bethany Schriever.
