BMX star Pardoe buzzing for more after sixth in European final

Sasha Pardoe says getting a first taste of the bright international lights has whetted her appetite for more dizzying exploits on the big stage. The Stourbridge BMX sensation, 16, finished sixth in the European Championship final on Friday in what marked her maiden appearance at a major senior event. Ad Pardoe breezed through qualifying in the same position and while teammate and Olympic champion Charlotte Worthington crashed twice in the final to finish last, Pardoe kept herself together to pull off a rock-solid run.

CyclingBMX star Worthington rues 'wrong decision' after crashing out in European final10 MINUTES AGO She racked up an average score of 64.60 – 16 points behind Czech champion Iveta Miculycova – and believes the sky is the limit after a dazzling pair of displays. Pardoe said: «It was good out there – I just wanted to go out, have fun and do the tricks I wanted to do. »Everything felt better today – my 360-degree backflip was better yesterday but it is what it is.

«It's great and very different to the competitions I've not been to before – it's a great feeling. »Everyone around me is really supportive and that's important – I'm out here competing in a different country and on my own, that would be quite nerve-racking. «I'm always nervous before competition – but it's good nerves, which is what I live for.

»I just want to have fun on my bike and ride when I can. I want to get on the point when I get paid to ride." Pardoe claimed scores of 64.60 and 63.30 to finish ahead of German Rebecca Gruhn on Munich's storied 1972 Olympic Park. Miculycova grabbed the title ahead of home favourite Kim Lea Muller and French ace Laury Perez but there was an unfamiliar face at the bottom of the leaderboard, with