Talented 19-year-old Great Britain rider Luke Cryer took an excellent silver medal in the elite men’s contest at the 2015 UCI Mountain Bike Four Cross World Championships in Val di Sole, Italy on 20 August.
Cryer qualified eighth fastest on the stunning floodlit track to reach the final and looked on for a bronze medal until a crash for Hannes Slavik of Austria moved Cryer up to silver medal position behind new world champion Aiko Gohler of Germany.
Scott Beaumont took seventh overall, coming in third in the minor final behind Simon Waldburger and Giovanni Pozzoni, while fellow Briton Lewis Lacey was a place behind Beaumont in eighth. Beaumont narrowly missed a final place alongside Cryer, narrowly beaten in a photo finish by Gohler.
Duncan Ferris finished 29th overall while Alexander Metcalfe was 31st.
17-year-old prospect Natasha Bradley took an impressive eighth place in the elite women’s contest and like Beaumont was unlucky to lose out on a place in the big final.
Bradley’s semi-final heat saw her in second position at the final corner, hugging a defensive inside line. However Monica Hrastnik of Slovenia took her opportunity and powered around the long way to push Bradley into third and the minor final. The world title went to Dutchwoman Anneke Beerten ahead of Switzerland’s Lucia Oetjen and Steffi Marth of Germany.
Great Britain’s Heather Kay finished 10th overall with Hannah Escott and Clare Curtis 12th and 14th respectively, all three bowing out at the quarter-final stage.
