SADDLE SOAR

BMX fan Rydz is riding a high and breaking now bones about it now...

- MIKE WALTERS

CALLAN RYDZ gave up riding his BMX bike when he broke three bones in a crash last year - but he was king of the blazing saddles as he blew out fireman Alan Soutar.

Geordie underdog Rydz is known as the 'Riot' and he was all the rage after reaching his first quarterfinal at the William Hill PDC World Championship.

After his 4-1 win, the 23-year-old from Bedlington - a huge Newcastle United fan revealed he had received a good-luck message from Toon midfielder Sean Longstaff.

Rydz dreams of parading the Sid Waddell trophy around St James' Park. If his fantasy comes true, it will be Newcastle's first trophy in more than half a century.

But the key to his victory over Soutar (right) was parking his BMX in the bike shed and committing to a renewed focus on the arrows.