EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: Day 3 Round-up

The final day of the European Championships saw the Over 40’s, Junior, Women’s and Open Individual Championship Finals take place at Torun’s Skierki track. The start of the action was delayed after heavy rain and strong winds throughout the night, morning and early afternoon. The staging Torun club members and local fire brigade worked tirelessly to clear the track of excess water and prepare the race strip.

The first final of the day was the Over 40’s and there would be a first time champion crowned as 2018 champion Craig Marchant withdrew from the final as he was suffering from an injury which he picked up in the Nations Cup the previous day and 2014 champion Steve Harris failed to qualify for the final on this occasion. Poland’s Pawel Kozlowski, runner-up at Astley & Tyldesley in 2022, went one better and claimed the title with 19 points, dropping his only point to Marcin Szymanski in heat 16. Kozlowski’s fellow countrymen Lukasz Rajewski and Dariusz Pilas finished 2nd and 3rd with Pilas defeating Tomasz Wlodarczyk and Szymanski in a run-off for 3rd

The rain stopped and conditions were much improved for the Junior Final. Southampton’s Leon Penketh kept a cool head to take the title, scoring 18 points. Polish riders Arkadiusz Graczyk and Pawel Skudlarek completed the podium places with 16 points each after Graczyk defeated Szkludarek in a run-off for 2nd and 3rd

Next up was the Women’s Final. After 20 heats of exciting racing, four riders tied for first place on 17 points, so a run-off was necessary. Poland’s Women’s World Champion, Zuzia Klett, beat Astley & Tyldesley’s Emily Burgess by the narrowest of margins to take the title. Kesgrave’s Lily Parr was 3rd and Poole’ s Maddie Saunders 4th.

The Open Final rounded off the championships and this saw

Wales’ Ben Mould has retained the ICSF European Open Individual title. The Birmingham rider took the win after triumphing in a three rider run off for the title. The riders had finished on 18 points each. In the run off, Ben drew the favourable inside grid and sped away to win by a clear margin, as his two Polish opponents battled each other behind him, with Mikolaj Menz finishing 2nd and Dawid Bas 3rd. Mould thus became only the 2nd rider to successfully defend the Open title following on from Andre Cross successfully doing so in 1996 and 1998. Mould is also the 3rd rider to have won the Open final on at least 2 occasions, Marcin Szymanski (in 2012 & 2018) and Cross (1994, 1996, and 1998) being the others

Full results from the Finals will be published tomorrow