ADAM Ellis is not bothered by the prospect of a long journey to the Czech Republic – because he insists he rides better on the continent.

The Ringwood-based Pirates star will tonight aim to rubber-stamp his place in the World Under-21 Championship when he rides in the first semi-final at Pardubice.

His Poole team-mate Brady Kurtz is due to race at Belle Vue tomorrow with both riders chasing the top-four spot they need to progress.

Marmande-born Ellis, 20, may have missed out on the convenience of a semi-final in England but the Lakeside asset reckons that is no bad thing.

He told the Daily Echo: "I have always enjoyed doing world and European qualifiers and I feel I go better when riding abroad.

"From what I've heard about the track, it's pretty big. I've never been there before but there are a lot of tracks I've never been to before where I have ended up doing well.

"I was brought up on tracks in France and they are pretty much the same as in Germany and Poland – big, fast and normally pretty smooth.

"It's always good fun to race on a big track where you don't have to worry about bumps and holes."