Welsh team at the European Youth MTB Champs
Rupert said “I had a great time out there and gained loads of experience which will help me with my racing in the future. It was great to ride different courses with technical A lines. The conditions couldn’t have been better for me in the XCO with lots of unexpected rain changing the course from dry and dusty to wet and muddy, which i really enjoy. I was so pleased that in every race I finished higher than I started.
I’ve learnt that the level in Europe is so much higher than in the UK. I was really pleased with my skills and technical ability but I want to improve on my gap jumps and speed up steep hills. It was a great feeling to be part of a team and support each other. “
Alice said “I’m incredibly grateful to have gotten the opportunity through Ride for Charlie to race in Sweden at the 2024 youth European MTB championships. This was the first race I have ever done outside of the UK and it was a fantastic experience, the atmosphere the whole week was incredible and it made the week of racing incredible. I learnt a lot from this experience, from the technical aspects of the course, which helped progress my skills lots. It was an amazing opportunity so thank you for making it happen.”
Oscar Said “ Thanks so much to Ride for Charlie for the support and opportunity to race at the youth European XC Championships in Huskvarna this year. It was my first race abroad and I really enjoyed the course, which was far more technical than any course I’d ridden before. I learnt so much from this experience and loved the feeling of racing against some of the best riders from 28 countries in Europe. The racing went really well on the time trial and team relay, feeling like I couldn’t have pushed any harder on both of them. Unfortunately I crashed in practice before the XCO race, injuring my back, which limited me in the race although I still loved the atmosphere and support.”
We all felt really proud to wear the Ride for Charlie kit and to be the first Welsh team at the European Youth MTB Champs for a long time. Thank you so much for supporting our Ride for Charlie Wales team. We really appreciate it.