Trek MTB riders thrived during the hardest weekend of the season
Madigan Munro, Emilly Johnston and Evie Richards capped a muddy, grind-y, crash-filled weekend with three podium performances in Crans-Montana on Sunday. Their efforts upped the total to nine podiums throughout the weekend for Trek riders, three of them wins.
All three riders rode clean, determined races on a weekend when chaos reigned. The debut World Cup course was already one of the hardest on the circuit before rain made it even more slippery and pedal-churning. Steep climbs and rocky descent were only made more difficult by the wet.
Evie Richards is back on the podium!
The U23 women’s race opened the day. Munro immediately went to the front of the pack and did her best to stay clear ahead of the chaos. She led at the end of Lap 1 before eventual winner Olivia Onesti took over. From then on, Munro did her best to keep Onesti in her sights while keeping mistakes to a minimum.
“I gave everything out there. I mean I absolutely emptied the tank and that was all I had,” Munro said after the race. “I mean honestly, these are my dream conditions. I think the worse the better, because I think everyone just gives up and I, coming from cyclocross, I love the mud.”
Madigan Munro and Emilly Johnston formed the fourth Trek double podium of the weekend.
Johnston took third at 1:23 back from Munro. A few small mistakes couldn’t derail a strong ride. The Trek Future Racing rider proved she was one of the strongest women of the weekend after taking her first career World Cup on Friday in the U23 women’s short track race. Munro and Johnston now have six World Cup podiums apiece this season.
“I was just trying to stay focused on myself the whole time,” Johnston said. “I mean before [the race I was] joking. I was like, man, I wish I had my enduro shoes so I can do some running. That was just so painful, and I think mentally such a hard battle just to stay focused.”
Evie staying on her wheels and avoiding chaos.
Richards famously thrives in the mud, hailing from the not-so-sunny hills of Malvern, England. With a second row start, she was forced to battle within the middle of the pack, deftly avoiding bodies, until the group thinned out on Lap 1. She picked her way up the field throughout the race, from 11th to start Lap 2, to seventh to start Lap 3, to fifth to start Lap 4, a position she’d hold until the finish line, securing a podium spot and her first Top 10 since suffering a concussion during Round 2 in Brazil.
Richards found her stride throughout the race, posting the second fastest last lap at 14:59.
Gwendalyn Gibson shot to the front of the race at the starting gun, and remained in the lead group deep into Lap 1. She didn’t make it through the course unscathed, but a 17th place finish to go with her fifth place finish in Saturday’s short track showed that she’s on her way back to peak form.
Gwendalyn showed strong legs all weekend.
Crans-Montana was the biggest test yet for Trek’s XC mountain bike riders in every sense — physically, mentally, and equipment-wise — and they thrived. They will have two weeks to get the mud off before Round 6 in Les Gets.
“It was an epic day,” Munro said. “Super hard conditions, but you just roll with the punches and play around in the mud. I think Les Gets will be a sunny one.”
