Kieran Reilly looking for golden revenge after silver in Munich

By Will Jennings

Kieran Reilly vowed to inflict revenge on red-hot rival Anthony Jeanjean after clinching a stunning silver medal at the multi-sport European Championships.

The Newcastle BMX ace, 21, finished second behind the Frenchman in Saturday night’s freestyle final after pulling off a dizzying routine in Munich.

Reilly racked up a second run score of 92.30 to haul himself onto the podium but was unable to eclipse Jeanjean, 24, whose thrilling effort of 93.60 propelled him to gold.

The north-east star has nothing but admiration for Jeanjean but insists he will only bounce back stronger next year.

Reilly, who landed the world’s first BMX triple flair in January, said: “I can’t fault Anthony and his performance.

“But I’ll definitely be back next year to chase his jersey.

“I would have loved to be coming home with that jersey, but that’s now another goal to reach for.

“It feels amazing – the goal for me this weekend was to podium so to be right in the middle of it was great.

“On the second run, I knew I had to take that risk to beat some of the other riders out there.

“I went out there, took that risk, and some of it paid off.

“Taking those risks is what I had to do and for it to pay off, I’m absolutely stoked.”

Reilly sailed through qualifying in third on Thursday evening after finishing behind Jeanjean and teammate Shaun Gornall.

But fellow British star Declan Brooks, who bagged a brilliant Olympic bronze in Tokyo last summer, was unable to progress to the final after crashing on his second run.

That removed one of Reilly’s main rivals ahead of the Saturday night showpiece and in front of a bumper crowd at Munich’s 1972 Olympic Park, he delivered when it mattered to clamber onto the podium.

Cycling is one of nine sports taking place at these multi-sport championships and Reilly reckons the innovative format can help BMX’s profile continue to expand.

He added: “The adrenaline is always big when you compete and there are always nerves.

“To have the crowd there supporting you, they want the best for you and want to see you do your best.

“It’s a good feeling to see so many people who don’t watch freestyle enjoying it so much - hopefully that brings more eyes on the sport.

“Where BMX is heading is amazing, especially in the UK.

“We’re lucky enough to have an amazing cycling federation, some really talented riders and good facilities, so having a few of us in the team really made us push each other even more.

“I’ll go back home having learned some lessons – I’ve had an amazing time and am leaving healthy.”

The multi-sport European Championships Munich 2022, featuring Athletics, Beach Volleyball, Canoe Sprint, Cycling, Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Triathlon, Rowing, Sport Climbing, takes place 11th-21st August on the 50th anniversary of the Olympics Games in the Germany city. Watch daily live coverage across BBC One, Two, Red Button, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website