European Championship glory for Wigan's BMX ace Kyle Evans

The 24-year-old Evans surged clear in the deciding race at Knightswood Park, while Whyte, in his first year in senior competition, held off French world champion Sylvain Andre to finish second.

Victory was rich reward for Wiganer Evans who has endured eight wrist surgeries on his way to the top of his sport, and also had to bounce back from a disappointing quarter-final exit at Rio 2016.

Evans said: “I didn’t expect to win gold. I want to make sure I gave myself the best chance to trying to do that is a different thing on the day because we’ve got so many good riders here.

“For me to actually go out and perform like that is huge. I kept trying to peek behind to see if Kye was coming up behind me. It was the perfect end to the perfect week - Kye hasn’t stopped giggling all week.”

Eighteen-year-old Whyte learned his sport on a small track in Peckham and is a veteran of multiple junior titles.

“It’s obviously crazy,” said Whyte. “I didn’t even expect the final and then to come second behind my team-mate is just unbelievable.

“I had to work ridiculously hard. You’ve got the world number one Sylvain behind you and there’s loads of other world-class riders in the final. But I’ve done it and I’ve got the second rank.”

Elsewhere, Wigan’s Christopher Lawless (inset) pulled out of the men’s road race.

Matteo Trentin claimed the European Road Championship title for Italy on a rainy course in Glasgow.

He won the sprint of a six-man group, topping Wout Van Aert (Belgium) and Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands).