REIGNING Champion Josh Bates says he won’t give up his British Under-21 Final without a fight.
The Sheffield and Leicester favourite travels to Poole on Wednesday (7.30) looking to add to his successes of 2014 and 2016.
Said Bates: “I’m more than happy that I’ve won this meeting twice before – but obviously it would be amazing if I could win it for a third time!
“I’m not going there with any set expectations, I’m just going there to give it my all, fight for every point I can and if it’s good enough on the night then it’s good enough.
“Any of the 16 riders could win it though. That’s what’s great about this meeting – I was one of the underdogs when I won it in 2014 and it’s just a really open field every year.
“I’ve won something big every year since then really and of course I’d like to keep that trend going for as long as I can and this is another chance to do that if I perform well enough on the night.
“If I can get to that Final race then anything can happen; I’ve shown that twice before and I know I automatically step it up another level when the stakes are so high like that!”
BRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL LINE-UP: Danny Phillips, Max Clegg, James Shanes, Ellis Perks, Josh Bailey, Danyon Hume, Liam Carr, Adam Ellis, Zach Wajtknecht, Nathan Greaves, Jack Smith, Robert Lambert, Dan Bewley, Josh Bates, Connor Mountain, Luke Harris.