Kye Whyte’s BMX season began in near-perfect fashion after reaching the final in the opening two rounds of the Euro Cup in Verona.
The European No.2 lived up to his billing in Italy with consistency throughout racing, earning his place on the podium with a third-place finish in Saturday’s opening round in Italy.
A spot in the top three was not to come his way second time around but a fifth-placed effort was nothing to be sniffed at, particularly with a stacked field competing across the two days.
Whyte was part of a four-strong British team taking to the Verona course, with Quillan Isidore bowing out in the semi-final stage of Sunday’s second round.
Whyte’s brother, Tre, was also in action, exiting the competition slightly earlier but not before putting in a number of impressive performances through the motos and into the knockout rides.
So @kye969, give us one facial expression to sum up your weekend!
— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) March 31, 2019
Third place on Saturday and fifth on Sunday wraps up a very impressive outing amidst strong fields at the @UEC_cycling BMX Euro Cup #GBCT pic.twitter.com/UEQJJauS8o
But Kye was not the only Great Britain Cycling Team member to reach the final, with Kyle Evans putting in a strong showing to come fifth in the opening round on Saturday.
Winning each of his qualifying rides paved the way for a strong day before top three finishes in the quarter- and semi-finals showcased his consistency – particularly with a busy season on the horizon.
“I had a good start, it got dark really quickly and with my tinted lenses it got too dark and I wasn’t prepared to go and risk a crash,” he said of his opening round.
“I got to the bottom of the start hill, jumped the first jump and knew from there that I was fighting a losing battle.
“It’s so busy, the talent of BMX racing is so high on the elite stage. A lot of the big names went out early on the first day, and as soon as you get to the 1/8 finals, it’s just a dog-fight.
“To actually be on the final and trying to get on the podium is just really tough, you have to take each race as it comes and try to get that move.”
