Sheridan helps Ireland to first Coupe de l’Avenir title
By Stephen Leonard
TALLAGHT’S Jake Sheridan brought a difficult season in motocross to a hugely successful close when he helped Team Ireland to the Coupe de l’Avenir title in Belgium.
The 21-year-old saw his bid for Irish and Ulster Championship title success undone when he broke three vertebrae in his back, forcing him out of action for a number of months.
But, in what was a stunning return, he combined with James Mackrel from Belfast and Cork’s Jack Galvin to take the title for Ireland for the very first time.
In what is effectively the Youth Motocross of Nations, the Ireland trio were up against some of the top young motocross competitors from around the globe when they started out in practice on the opening day.
They turned in a solid performance in the first of four races at the end of that day before continuing on to the title after emerging four points the better of closest rivals Denmark.
It marked only the second time that Sheridan had contested this prestigious event as he built on all that he had learned from the competing on the same track the previous season.
“The first year [at the Coupe de l’Avenir] I struggled pretty much because I was ill-prepared and I was really just guessing what the event would be like,” he told The Echo.
“But that experience was invaluable to me when I went back this year.
“It was a massive win for us. We never really expected that we would achieve that.
“Really we just were going out there to do as best as we could individually, but after the first we were well positioned and heading into the last race we were just two points behind Great Britain and felt that we could win this,” he said.
A runner-up in the British Expert MX2 Series last season, Sheridan has been competing in rallycross for the past ten years.
And the Kingswood man will be hoping to build on his latest achievement as he bids for the national title that eluded him because of injury in 2018.
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