Great Britain’s Liam Phillips powered to a fantastic victory in the time-trial superfinal at the UCI BMX Supercross in Manchester on Friday.
World champion Phillips, 25, set a time of 28.942 seconds at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester at the opening round of the world cup.
American Connor Fields took second and Latvian Edzus Treimanis third. The victory is a repeat of Phillips’ time-trial win at Great Britain’s training base in 2013.
“Obviously amazing to win, that’s the biggest thing but the lap wasn’t exactly what I wanted,” Phillips said.
“It was difficult, the first time I have raced with a full house but also it was big, big break - five hours from when I last rode the track to getting out there and doing a lap that lasts 30 seconds. It’s a big ask when the track is as fast and technical as this one.
“We know that we made a few mistakes but ultimately it’s about coming out and winning and to be able to do that was amazing.”
Earlier Tre Whyte and Kyle Evans both progressed through qualifying to Saturday’s elite men’s finals.
As one of the seeded riders, Phillips received a bye and will join the pair in the 1/8 finals.
In the women’s competition, 20-year-olds Charlotte Green and Abbie Taylor successfully made their way through to the quarter-finals.
“A few up, a few downs,” Evans said. “Practice went well earlier then in the first race I took the win, it was a solid lap.
“The second one didn’t go to plan really, a little mistake at the start, I got impeded by someone else and set my balance off and I lost a little bit of concentration and ended coming from the back to get fifth.
“I think I made up for it with a win in the final heat so I’m happy.”
In qualification, riders raced in three heats and were ranked by their accumulative score based on their finishing positions.
In the elite men's competition, 48 riders would join the 16 seeded athletes in Saturday’s finals.
Kyle Evans was 23rd overall and Tre Whyte 30th to ensure both progressed.
In the elite women's event, there were no seeded British riders.
Great Britain Olympic Academy Programme rider Charlotte Green took an impressive fourth overall and Abbie Taylor 21st with the top 24 going through to join the eight seeded athletes.
“I’ve had two seconds and a third so I’m really happy with that leading into tomorrow and feel confident enough to go further and hopefully make that final,” Green said.
The competition concludes on Saturday.
Results
Elite men's time-trial superfinal
Elite men's qualification
Elite women's qualification
