Peckham BMX superstar Kye Whyte took the top prize in a dominant display at the BMX Racing European Championships in Belgium last weekend.
The brutal final race of the Elite Men’s category saw four bone-shaking crashes but Kye emerged unscathed, pipping his rival Cédric Butti of Switzerland to top spot.
Speaking after the race, a jubilant, breathless Kye said: “There were some top competitors here today and I done it today when it counts so I’m in love, I’m in love with it.
“They’re fast guys man but I was relaxed and I said ‘this is mine’ before the race started and it’s true – it’s mine.”
Kye Whyte celebrates BMX National Series triumph with his young Peckham fans
Kye said his victory was “a massive confidence” boost for the UCI BMX Racing World Championships in Nantes, France, starting Tuesday, July 26.
Kye’s old trainer and founder of Peckham BMX Club Michael Pusey said: “They’re rating him as the fastest in the world right now. I rang him after and said ‘you’re a European champion! He said ‘I just went over and gave them a good brushing’.”
It was a storming weekend for British cyclists across the board, with Beth Shriever claiming gold in the Elite Women’s and Eddie Moore getting Bronze in the Elite Men’s.