Great Britain’s Liam Phillips is adamant he has plenty more to give despite winning the men’s time trial in the opening round of the BMX Supercross World Cup in Manchester.
Phillips’ time of 28.942 seconds comfortably beat American Connor Fields, the 2013 World Time Trial champion having to settle for second place.
Although Phillips, who finished sixth at London 2012, repeated his victory in Manchester from last year, he admitted his performance was far from flawless.
But with the supercross still come – having also won that title last year too – the 25-year-old is confident of improving before his time is up.
“It’s tough managing expectations, and I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform,” Phillips said.
“So immediately after finishing, I was disappointed because I know I can do a better lap than that.
“If I ride to my capabilities [in the supercross], I’ll definitely be in contention.
However British Cycling Olympic BMX coach Grant White was most impressed by Phillips’ mental strength in front of an expectant home crowd.
White said: “It was about 0.2 seconds off his best ever lap, so he has gone quicker, but not with hundreds of people here, the expectation and the need to deliver on that one attempt.”
Elsewhere, in the men’s elite qualifiers Kyle Evans got Great Britain off to a flying start, winning the first heat of the evening in 29.791 seconds.
He also won his third, placing him 23rd overall, and he insisted that he had been boosted by the home crowd.
He said: “It’s such a buzz when you’re going round, especially when you’re in front, and the crowd are going wild.”
Evans’ Great Britain teammate Tre Whyte also went through, recovering from a poor first run to place first in his next two heats and finish comfortably inside the 48 qualifiers.
In the women’s elite supercross, all three Britons made it into the final 32, despite the absence of Shanaze Reade – who won both the supercross and time trial events in Manchester in 2013.
Abbie Taylor and Valerie Zebrokova put together a number of strong runs, but the standout performer was 19-year-old Charlotte Green, who showed remarkable consistency in delivering two second-place finishes and a third to put her fourth overall.
© Sportsbeat 2014