Liam Phillips admitted he had to pinch himself after becoming BMX world champion in Auckland, New Zealand, on Sunday.
The 24-year-old finished ahead of home favourite Marc Willers and Germany’s Luis Brethauer in the Vector Arena to collect his first ever world title.
Phillips, who finished eighth at London 2012, won every race en route to the final and repeated the feat when it mattered most to collect the rainbow jersey.
And Phillips was struggling to take it all in when the dust had finally settled, having completed a lifelong ambition.
"It feels amazing, the reward for the hours spent training, we dedicate our lives to this," Phillips said.
"A huge amount of credit needs to go the guys at British Cycling from Grant White to everyone else I work with. What you see here is the end product of so much hard work; it’s been a fantastic race, incredible.
“Apart from 2011, I’ve been to every worlds since 1996 when I was a kid. It’s the first time I’ve won.
“We knew it would be tight and planned for this. I knew my form was quite good when I won the Manchester World Cup, but then I made mistakes at the next two world cups in Europe.
“I just wanted to keep the mistakes to a minimum and I managed that.”
© Sportsbeat 2013