Reigning European champions Beth Shriever and Kye Whyte will defend their titles at the UEC BMX Racing European Championships in Besancon, France, as part of a five-strong British squad.
Shriever will be heading to the championships, which take place from 7-9 July, off the back of an incredibly strong season so far, which has seen her take back-to-back world cup wins in Turkey, followed by a third in The Netherlands last month.
Whyte will be racing for the first time since sustaining an injury in a crash in round five of the UEC BMX Racing European Cup in Latvia. Before the crash he had enjoyed a strong start to the season, taking second place in rounds two and five of the European Cup.
Joining Whyte in the elite men’s category will be Ross Cullen, who has made it onto two European cup podiums so far this season, and teammate Paddy Sharrock, who made the final in last weekend’s world cup round. Rider-to-watch, 19-year-old Emily Hutt, will be contesting the under-23 women’s title following a second-place finish at round six of the European cup.
Great Britain Cycling Team Lead BMX Racing Coach, Marcus Bloomfield, said: “This season has been challenging so far, we’ve had some really positive results but also some crashes which have meant we’ve had to adapt and make changes to support the athletes. That being said, the squad is feeling in good shape ahead of this weekend and I’m looking forward to seeing what this group of athletes can do.
“In Beth and Kye, we have the returning European Champions who will be looking to keep hold of that jersey for another year. Paddy will be looking to build on his strong showing in Papendal last week, Emily will be pushing for the podium to follow the one she had in 2022 and Ross will be looking to pick up where he left off from the European Cup events earlier in the season.”
The event is another key milestone in the team’s preparations for the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, which takes place in Glasgow and across Scotland from 3-13 August 2023.
The GBCT BMX Racing programme saw its first ever Olympic medallists at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with Beth Shriever becoming Olympic champion and Kye Whyte taking the silver medal in the men’s event. Since then, thanks to UK Sport World Class Programme, funded by The National Lottery, the Great Britain Cycling Team programme has continued to grow, with the development of a junior and senior pathway, as well as taking two world championship and three European championship medals.
The Great Britain Cycling Team squad for the 2023 UEC BMX Racing European Championships
Elite men
Kye Whyte
Ross Cullen
Paddy Sharrock
Elite women
Beth Shriever
Under-23 women
Emily Hutt
