It was another silver to add to Emily Hutt’s recent medal collection at the 2024 UEC BMX Racing European Continental Championships. A drama-filled final saw the 19-year-old just pipped to the line in a photo finish to take a sensational silver medal.
Elsewhere in the squad, it was a day of mixed fortunes with the under-23 men crashing out of competition, while two of the three elite men made it through to the semi-final in their final chance to collect all-important qualification points for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Under-23 women
Fresh from a silver medal at the recent world championships, Emily Hutt started strong with a win in her heat, covering the course in 36.690 seconds. Straight to the semi-finals, Hutt rode a controlled race, slowly moving up the ranks from a gate one start, to safely cross the finish line in third, booking her place in the final.
After finishing fourth in 2023, the young rider was determined to make it to the podium and that she did, in style. Taking the lead early on in the race, Hutt kept her cool while other riders crashed out around her. With reigning world champion Veronika Monika Sturiska of Latvia on her wheel, Hutt pushed all the way to the finish, but a final bike throw from the Latvian just put her ahead in a photo finish and Hutt walked away with the silver medal.
Elite men
It was a good day for Great Britain’s elite men, who all sailed through their respective first round heats, straight into the quarter finals.
In the quarter finals, Ross Cullen dominated from the start, getting ahead of the pack with Mathis Ragot Richard of France right on his wheel. The pair crossed the finish line neck and neck, with a photo finish seeing Cullen head to the semi-final in second. For Isidore however, the quarter finals would be the end of his competition, finishing sixth in the same heat, 21st place overall.
Meanwhile, Kye Whyte rode a comfortable race, finishing second while saving some power as he headed into the semi-finals.
Both remaining Brits found themselves head-to-head in the semi-final which saw an initially positive start before Whyte pulled out of the race on the first corner with an injury, and Cullen was unable to break through the pack and crossed the line in sixth place.
Cullen finished 14th overall, while Whyte finished 16th.
Under-23 men
It was a competition of two halves for the under-23 men, who both delivered strong starts, with Callum Russell winning his first-round heat and sailing through the 1/8s in third place while teammate Matthew Gilston qualified second fastest in his first round.
Heading into the 1/8s however, Gilston delivered a good start, but unfortunately came down hard on the second jump, putting him out of the competition. Russell would follow a similar fate after qualifying for the ¼ finals where he missed the landing ahead of the first corner to crash out of the event. Russell placed 30th overall, while Gilston placed 42nd.
