BURY Comets' young riders produced some stunning rides to boost their reputation on the regional and national stage.

Harry Radford, aged 10, completed a clean sweep of trophies in the regional rounds of the British Youth and Junior Championships adding the fourth and final round to his three previous wins.

The Year 6 pupil at Hollins Grundy also helped the club's under-13s team to fourth place in the British Club Championships.

He was the nominated rider for Bury in a third-place run-off against Coventry, only losing out against an opponent two years his senior.

The club's junior team - made up of riders in the u19s and u16s sides - ruled the roost in the Northern Knockout Cup, beating second-placed Sheffield by six points to claim a deserved if surprise victory.

While the Comets' senior sides did not fare quite so well, they did manage a worthy second place in the Northern KO, just four points behind winners Stockport, and were unlucky to be knocked out in the semi-finals of the British Club Championships.

But it was the club's youngest riders that really excelled.

Bury progressed to the finals of the u13s competition with ease at the East Park track in Wolverhampton, with the young riders finishing first or second in all but three races.

Radford earned 14 points from four rides to lead the scoring and he carried that form into the final, against Coventry and two powerful East Anglian sides, Kesgrave and Ipswich, who went on to finish first and second, respectively.

In recent years the South Eastern region has come to dominate matches at this level, but Bury had already shown themselves to be very competitive and so it proved.

Radford and his team-mates worked hard to ensure third place in the match was always up for grabs.

Luis Roberts was tactically aware in beating his nearest rival in heat 13, Daniel Bowler was excellent from the gate in heats two and 16, Josh Neath showed a consistent turn of speed and even seven-year-old reserve Duncan Whalley was competitive in his ride.

Highlight of the day was perhaps the penultimate heat 15 when Radford secured a sublime second place, manipulating the race positions of riders very much his senior to secure the third-place run off.

The Comets juniors took command of their Northern Knockout final in the middle races, although both Danny Taylor and James Elston lost just once throughout the match on the Stockport track.

Kaysar Mohammadi and Adam Taylor again showed developed tactical awareness, with Adam Turnbull his usual robust self.

It was an excellent team performance which ultimately led to a six-point victory over the hosts, Elston bringing it home for the Comets with a sophisticated tactical win in the final heat.

The senior final was a straight fight between Stockport and Bury.

The home side put on a powerful display, with maximum points from the eight heats on the inside gates.

Bury were inconsistent, with form and fortune deserting them in the afternoon heat, though in truth the relative lack of strength in the other two sides also contributed to Stockport’s convincing victory.

Will Owens signed off for Bury before moving to America with a win and second place from two rides.