Kuerten boosts World Cup prospects

JESSICA KUERTEN greatly boosted her chances of making the World Cup final yesterday when fending off a strong effort from the home contingent to win the qualifier at Mechelen, Belgium.

The 41-year-old rider’s performance saw her rocket from 43rd place to 11th on the Western European League, six places behind compatriot Billy Twomey, and she was delighted.

“It was a very special win, and I feel quite emotional,” Kuerten said. “We really wanted to win, we were unbelievably motivated and we had to go very fast to beat Gregory Wathalet. Winning this and the Queen’s Cup on Tuesday has made it a fairytale week.”