Great Day for Erik and Sam

NEWS Sunday 19th June 2016, 9:33pm

by Toby Lerone

  Edinburgh Monarchs

At the same time as some of us were arriving back in Edinburgh from Plymouth on Sunday morning, Erik Riss and Sam Masters were at the airport ready to fly out to meetings in Europe.

Although delighted to have made the final at King's Lynn on Saturday night in the first round of the World Under 21 Final, Erik would never have believed that he would be coming to the tapes for that final at twenty to midnight and it was approaching one on Sunday morning before he got away from the Norfolk Arena.

It was a dash for Erik to get to Muhldorf in southern Germany for the first round of the World Long Track GP. The Muhldorf track is slightly bigger than Armadale being a full 1000 metres, almost four times the size of our track!!

Erik did well in his qualifying heats finishing with 17 in second place one point behind fellow countryman Martin Smolinski. He then won his semi final and lined up in the final against Smolinski, reigning champion Jannick de Jong of Holland, Mathieu Tresarrieu of France and Richard Hall. Erik made no mistake to take victory from Smolinski and both now sit on 25 in the championship chase. The next round is not until August in Holland.

Sam was a little sore this morning after his heat 15 fall at Plymouth when his chain came adrift and it was 1 two o'clock start for him in a Polish First Division match at Lodz for his team Krakow. It was an easy with for the home team winning by 52 to 38 but Sam did exceptionally well for the visitors scoring a paid fifteen point maximum from his five completed rides and stopping in another race when well clear with another snapped chain. Two in two days.