PROUD BOSS ALLEN
GREAT BRITAIN boss Olly Allen admits he was “proud” of the way his young side performed in the FIME European Pairs Championship Final.
The young Lions of William Cairns, Cooper Rushen and Luke Harrison finished fifth on 12 points in Grudziadz, Poland on Saturday.
Cairns scored six, Rushen five and Harrison three in a meeting packed with Grand Prix riders.
Poland won on 26, Latvia finished second on 25 with Czechia on 20, Denmark 19, Great Britain, Italy and Finland all on 12.
It was always going to be a tall order for the trio to get a medal but Allen was delighted with the progress from his youngsters.
He said: “We told the boys that we would stick with them if they qualified from the semi-final and that’s what we did.
“To get this far, they did a great job and they have done all season. The progress they have made is quite sensational at times.
“The score doesn’t tell the whole story, that’s for sure. Cooper led Andzejs Lebedevs for three laps before he only made a slight mistake.
“They all got stuck in what was primarily a learning experience of course. I’m proud of what they have done.
“We are heavily invested in bringing on the next generation of riders and these three have done well.
“Over the past few years we’ve brought other riders through this method like Tom Brennan and he was excellent in these types of meetings.
“He then went on to win gold medals in two Speedway of Nations and bronze in Speedway of Nations 2.
“So Cooper, Will and Luke are very much on the right path and we look forward to them all going up more levels in 2027. That’s the plan.”
