HAVING proved he belongs among the world’s elite BMX riders, British rider Kyle Evans has now set his sights on winning gold at next month’s European Championships in Glasgow.

The 24-year-old from Wigan will be one of the contenders for the medals when he represents Great Britain in the BMX Supercross event, which takes place from August 10-11.

Evans announced himself as a potential medal hopeful after finishing in a career-best sixth place at the UCI BMX World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, in June.

And the Olympian, who represented British cycling at Rio 2016, has vowed to use the confidence he gained from that result to help him climb the podium at the Glasgow BMX Centre.

“I performed really well at the World Championships, so I’ve obviously got great confidence from that and good belief that all my preparations that led up to that went really well,” he said.

“I feel like everything’s been stepping in the right direction and I’m pretty confident for when I turn up at Glasgow I’ll be in the same form, if not better form, so I’m looking forward to it.

“I think pretty much every race I go into I try and come away with the win. I don’t get on the start line doubting myself and thinking, ‘Oh, I’m just here to try and get a quarter-final’.

“All my preparations towards that race will be to make sure I’m in the best form that I could ever be in to perform super high, so for myself, I’ll go there and aim for the win.

“But if I get on the podium, I’m not going to be disappointed, I’m going to go there to do my best, and put on a good show and a good performance, for myself and for my friends and family.”

While Evans is feeling in good shape after reaching his first-ever elite men’s final, he is well aware that the challenge awaiting him at Knightswood Park will be far from easy.

Evans believes the standard of opposition in BMX is currently the highest it has ever been and he expects the competition to be just as tight at the Olympic standard venue in Glasgow.

“I can’t really remember ever looking back and having such a big group of top riders which are obviously competing to get the top spot and even the podium spots,” he said.

“I think at the minute BMX is at such a high level, there’s so many guys competing at that top level and on any given day there’s probably 20 guys that could up to an event and win.

“That’s how close the sport is, which is obviously great for the sport, but it makes my job more difficult, so it’s about trying to be as consistent as I can be.

“But turning up at the Worlds and getting sixth in such a huge pool of super-talented, fast riders was obviously a great feeling, to go there and say, ‘You know what, I do belong in this group of top elite world riders and I’m here to stay’.

“It’s now just about trying to grab hold of that and being as consistent as I can be for over the next few years, leading into the next Olympics.”

Evans is hoping home advantage proves decisive and said if he was able to clinch gold in Glasgow in front of his family and friends, it would be an experience he would never forget.

“I’ve travelled to the World Cups, and around Europe, and it’s not often that my friends and certainly my family can ever come to the race,” he said.

“So to actually be able to have my family there screaming and shouting, instead of them watching back home through a live feed on the computer or the TV, it’s going be amazing.

“If I was to be able to go and clutch the gold when we’re there, it’d be unbelievable. I’m sure it’d be a day that myself and my family will never forget, so let’s go and give it a good shot.”

See the stars of British Cycling #BackToTheTrack at London’s Lee Valley VeloPark at the 2018 TISSOT UCI Track Cycling World Cup series between December 14 and 16. For tickets and more information visit www.trackworldcup.co.uk