YOUNG Silsden prodigy Josh McParland has completed a clean sweep of European Bike Trial titles this season after winning a thrilling European Cup final round in Spain.

Over a three-lap run at the Sant Fruitós de Bages circuit in Catalonia, a nervous start by Josh saw him down in joint second place after the first lap.

A much-improved second run saw the gap at the top close from six marks to just two but on the third and final lap, it was clear that it was going to be a struggle to finish without time penalties.

Josh dug deep though and focused on riding feet up to record the best lap score overall. A sprint to hand his scorecard in resulted in him finishing with a minute to spare.

A nervous wait began until the final results were confirmed. Aleix Farrés Ricart, who was leading after two laps, suffered two time penalties, giving Josh victory by a single mark, ensuring that he was crowned European Cup winner.

Twelve-year-old Josh, who attends South Craven School, has been competing in bike trial events since the age of six and was in his last year of competing in the 10-12 years category.

The first of the two European Cup rounds for Josh took place in Slovakia, and that event was held in the town of Terchová in the Mala Fatra National Park on April 28.

Josh had a narrow lead right up until the last section that day, when an unforced error resulted in a maximum five penalties, dropping him down to third place in the overall standings, but leaving him in a good position for the final round in Spain.

His next international event was the European Championship, a one-off round held at Brezova in the Czech Republic on May 23.

He won that prestigious event by the slender margin of one mark and having been runner up twice in past years, that victory proved very sweet for Josh, who had trained hard for the event.

Josh admitted that he was grateful for everyone's support after his stunningly successful year, especially Onnit bikes and Woodheads Gym, both in Silsden.