BRAINTREE Bullets BMX Club's Seb Pantlin rode to second place in the 12-year-old boys' class at the European Championships in Verona, Italy.

The youngster, Wethersfield, is no stranger to success after already securing the national championship title on both his 20” bike and cruiser this year, with four rounds of the series still to go.

His final race went like clockwork as Pantlin got a great start and was elbow to elbow with the eventual winner, working hard to get across the front of the pack.

He secured his place after a great line on the first turn set him up for the chase.

He only made one small mistake through the technical third straight and held a consistent gap between himself and the third-place rider while chasing the winner.

Club coach Julian Allen said: “Everyone at Braintree Bullets BMX club is elated for Seb.

"He's really worked hard over the last five years from the kid who kept crashing to being number two in Europe.

"His national titles are a massive achievement and I firmly believe this is only the start of a great career in BMX racing for him.”

Also out in Verona, Matt Goodwins sought some experience of racing at the top level as he competed in the qualifiers at his first European Championships. Ollie Rowe made the eighths in the 15s, but was unlucky down the third straight when he crashed with another rider and missed the next stage of the competition.

Oli Cutmore had a great run on his cruiser but missed out on the finals after missing the start in the semi-finals.

Adam Gilbert and Taylor Andrews had their best finishes in international competition too as they fought valiantly through to the semi-final stage of the event.