Bridger suffers final despair

9:30am Saturday 26th April 2008

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Lewis Bridger has vowed to one day become national under-21 champion after suffering double heartbreak last night in his quest for British Championship glory.

The Eastbourne Eagles ace won four of his five heats in the British under-21 showpiece at Lakeside, Essex, to reach the grand final.

He then fell in the decider as he challenged arch rival Tai Woffinden and Ben Barker for the lead and was excluded from the re-run.

Bridger escaped serious injury but ended the night in an agonising fourth place.

That meant he failed to qualify for the senior British Final at Swindon, for which the top three in the under-21s go through.

Bridger, 18, still has time to win the under-21s but had set his heart on going through to the senior final this season and having a crack at a Grand Prix wild card.

Woffinden, a red-hot 17-year-old Anglo-Australian prospect who rides for Rye House and is in the same Czestochowa squad as Bridger in Poland, went on to take the re-run final.

It was Bridger's second crack at the under-21s. He suffered a similar exit in the latter stages of last year's event, which was staged at Arlington.

He said: "That was in the semis and I made the final this season so that's an improvement.

"I've got three more years at the under-21s and I will win it. It's just a matter of when."

Bridger admitted he had to make various adjustments during the course of the meeting but reckoned he had things just right for the final stages.

He added: "I managed to get the ideal set-up for my last two rides and I beat Tai to get straight into the final without having to ride in the semi.

"I had so much pace. I was fastest out there.

"I made the start in the final off gate two and clamped Tai.

"I ran out to the dirt and Tai came inside, which he is so good at from riding at Rye House.

"He was flying, to be fair. He was the most consistent rider on the night."

Bridger looked good as he took 13 points from his five heats, handing Woffinden his only defeat of the night in the process.

The Eastbourne rider's the only defeat came to Barker and Steve Boxall in a good tussle.

He now hopes to be handed a wild card for the senior final.

Bridger bruised his side when falling and also took a knock to the wrist in Eastbourne's Elite League defeat at Ipswich on Thursday but he is convinced he will be fit for the challenge fixture against Isle of Wight ronight.

Eastbourne-born Danny Betson suffered leg and shoulder injuries when falling in his third race and required treatment at the track. He did not score a point.

Sussex rider Lee Strudwick scored one point.

Meanwhile Eagles star Scott Nicholls will look to go one better than last year when the Grand Prix season opens in Slovenia tonight.

Nicholls came second in the final at Krsko last season, beaten only by Nicki Pedersen on the night the then Eastbourne skipper clinched the world title.

A quirk in the schedule means there has only been one GP since then, at Gelsenkirchen last October.

Eagles will be showing GP action on the clubhouse television from 6pm tonight as they stage their challenge match with Isle of Wight past and present.