A star in the US, Adelaide-born BMX rider Sam Willoughby is aiming for gold at the Rio Olympics

IT'S early afternoon on Sunday, December 1, in Tulsa Oklahoma and Sam Willoughby can finally put his feet up.

BMX rider and Olympian Sam Willoughby enjoying the Big Bash League.

IT'S early afternoon on Sunday, December 1, in Tulsa Oklahoma and Sam Willoughby can finally put his feet up.

A marathon weekend of BMX racing is over, ending marathon 2013 season on the USA BMX pro series and the Adelaide-born ace has been victorious, yet again.

Willoughby was forced to come from behind on this occasion, a fourth-place finish in the first race of the three-race finals series putting him on the back foot.

But the 22-year-old from Trott Park in Adelaide's southern suburbs doens't like losing, and he rallies to win the final two races, bringing the crowd of more than 8000 to its feat.

The result was actually aberration as far as the overall US pro series was concerned.

Willoughby had secured the championships on BMX racing's biggest professional tour weeks ago after a season so dominant it was barely believable.

In US city after US city, the South Aussie dominated, winning 19 of the 24 events - including a record 13 straight wins through the middle of the season.

The unsurpassed dominance has made Willoughby a household name in US BMX circles, where two-hour autograph sessions for adoring juniors are part of every day life on the 10 month long tour.

It's also made him a comfortable living. The former Happy Valley BMX Club rider owns his own apartment in San Diego with his girlfriend, Alise Post, a US Olympic BMX rider.

But when asked whether the life he'd set up form himself seemed surreal, Willoughby's reply was twofold.

On one hand he feels like he's living a dream, but, on the other hand, he is living the vision he had for his life as a boy.

"I pinch myself, everyday I'm very lucky to have the opportunities I have and to have the lifestyle I have,'' says Willoughby, who has Coca-Cola among his sponsors.

"I always believed it was possible though.

"I knew there was a career-path out there in this sport and it was something I've worked towards for a long time. I probably just didn't expect it to happen this soon."

At 22, Willoughby has achieved just about all there is to achieve in BMX racing - three USA BMX series wins, the 2012 world championship and win all over the world at World Cup events.

But there is one thing missing - an Olympic gold medal - and, although not a day-by-day motivator, Rio de Janeiro is never too far from his mind.

"Its not at the forefront of my mind just yet because I don't think it is a good thing to dwell on one race for four years but it's always there in the back of my mind, the knowing there's still a big piece of the puzzle missing,'' he says.

"It's always there and it gives me something to chip away at, making sure I'm perfect by the time I get to Rio comes around."

Willoughby was all but perfect in London Olympic's last year. But he was beaten out of the gate by a fraction of a second at that was enough to cost him gold - he finished second behind Latvian Maris Stromberg.

"There's a lot of things I could have done differently but that is why London was so valuable,'' he says.

"I learnt so much which I can use going forward to Rio."

Back in Adelaide, Willoughby remains very much anonymous, his heroics on the US BMX circuit a world away, and he spent Christmas with his brother Matt and parents Sharon and Colin.

"I been really good to be back,'' he says.

"The weather has been great and me and my brother have been back to all the old riding spots where we learned to ride.

"It'll always still be home, I like Adelaide."

Come next week, however, Willoughby will be back on the US Tour for the season opening event. Back on the chase for perfection.