Before her professional sporting career, Hurikova had sought global headlines, as a junior road rider and a member of the Czech cycling team, at the 2004 UCI World Championships in Verona, Italy, where she claimed her first and only gold medal in the women's time trial. In 2006, Hurikova turned her sights to and took up seriously as an elite athlete in mountain biking. She flourished her first career success at the Czech MTB National Championships, and later mounted top three finishes in the women's cross-country races at the European Championships, UCI World Cup, and Race Under The SunCup Series in that same year. Strong results in cross-country mountain biking landed her a spot on the Česká Spořitelna MTB Team, followed by short, yet succeeding stints on Italy's for a single season. Hurikova qualified for the Czech squad, as a lone female rider, in the women's cross-country race at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing by receiving an automatic berth both from UCI and Czech Cycling Union, based on her best performance at the World Cup series and Mountain BikingWorld Rankings. Since the start of a 4.8-km cross-country course, Hurikova immediately became the major casualty on the initial lap, as she had been collided with another cyclist and then suffered from a mild rib fracture by falling off into the treacherous, rocky course path. Because of a heavy fall at the very start, Hurikova officially failed to complete the full distance of the course. Shortly after the Olympics, Hurikova left on her second stint for her nation's Česká Spořitelna MTB Team. In 2009, she managed to restore from her disheartening Olympic stint by capturing two tournament titles each in women's road race and time trial at the joint Czech and Slovak Championships in Bánovce nad Bebravou, Slovakia, signifying her sudden return to road cycling. At the end of 2009 season, Hurikova decided to join the Spanish mountain biking team Trek-Lorca Taller del Tiempo for the succeeding season, and signed exclusively under a three-year contract. While competing for Team Trek-Lorca, she capped a successful 2010 season by delivering a sensational surprise bronze medal for her Czech squad in mixed relay at the European MTB Championships in Haifa, Israel. At the start of the 2011 season, Hurikova confirmedly joined with her teammate and 2008 Olympic champion Sabine Spitz for three seasons on Germany's Central Haibike Pro Team, as her short cycling stint with Team Trek-Lorca had been disbanded due to bankruptcy and lack of sponsorship.
