A trio of Sutton girls are gearing up to take on some of the best cross country riders on the planet.

Emily Ashwood, Phoebe Roche and Aoife Bakovic helped their WXC World Racing team pick up six medals at the latest round of "Mud, Sweat and Gears" mountain bike cross country series.

Elite south-east regional champion, Emily took silver, despite a mechanical issue on the first lap.

"My pedal came undone on the first lap which never helps, so to take 2nd was a result for me and the team," the 18-year-old said.

"It’s great to be back racing after breaking my leg last year and missing six months off the bike.

"I hope to be fully fit by the National Championships in July where I’ll be targeting a podium for WXC. We have a couple more rounds in the National MTBXC Series left and I’m getting stronger at each one.”

In the under 14 category, another south-east champion, Phoebe also took silver while riding with a broken finger.

The 14-year-old said: “The course is quite flat, so it didn’t suit me too well as I prefer the hillier courses.

"However, it was a good one to come back to ride with a broken finger, as it’s not too technical, so I’m happy with 2nd and a 1,2,3 for WXC.

"I came 6th at Cannock Chase earlier in the year so I hope to do as well or better at the nationals there in July but it will be tough. Big highlight this year will be riding at the European Youth Championships in Pila, Italy for WXC World Racing. It will be a great experience with some very challenging riding.”

The youngest rider of the group at just 12 years of age, Aofie collected bronze at the event to make it a clean sweep.

“Really happy to pick up another podium today, as it’s my first year in the Juvenile category, so it’s all about learning and gaining experience right now," she said.

"This was the first really hot race this year and you never quite know how you will deal with the heat.

"Really looking forward to going to Italy for the European Champs in August. But first, I’m enjoying riding with my new team and competing at the rest of the National Series races this year.

"It’s such a great team and our manager, Trevor Brown, has a vast wealth of experience in mountain biking.”