Ireland’s Felix English finished fifth in the Omnium at the 2017 UEC Track Elite European Championships in Berlin.
The European title in the four-race event went to Spain’s Albert Torres Barcelo; Julius Johansen (Denmark) won silver, and reigning world champion from France, Benjamin Thomas, took the bronze.
English had an impressive day of racing across the four-race event, sitting in fourth place until the final Points Race.
"I’m satisfied with fifth," said English, "I went into the last race trying to get a medal, but fifth is much better than what I did last year, and I’m a lot more consistent.
"The guys who were ahead of me were the World Champion, European Champion, World Cup medallist and the Junior Road Race Champion. I’ll be racing against them again at the Worlds, and hopefully will progress again."
The Omnium is an Olympic event which was re-formatted for the 2020 Games to include four bunch races, and a qualifying race, all in one day.
A fourth-place finish in the Scratch Race and in the Elimination Race ensured the 25-year-old started the final Points Race in a strong fourth place, four points off a medal.
"It was a long day, and I was smart about not wasting too much energy, even in the ward up. We had a qualifier in the morning too for the first time - that’s five hard races in a day. I was trying to conserve energy all day and then race the best guys in the world! I felt in proper contention all day - but I’m still making mistakes."
