Inside another big weekend for Trek Factory Racing
It didn’t take long for World Champion Evie Richards to win her first race of 2022. After pulling out of last week’s opener in Chelva late in the race, she made clinical work of an elite field in Banyoles, winning the Copa Catalana opener for the third year in a row.
On Saturday, Richards opened a gap on Lap 2, and held it all the way to a 31-second victory over Alessandra Keller of Switzerland. The result was particularly impressive given fast conditions that made going clear difficult.
Evie Richards and Jolanda Neff congratulating each other after the race.
Richards’ win highlighted another strong weekend for Trek Factory Racing all around. Hattie Harnden was once again the fastest women’s Under-23 rider, and took ninth overall in a race filled with elite riders, less than a minute out of second place. Riley Amos was second among men’s U23 riders after also winning in Chelva.
And in New Zealand, Anton Cooper won his eighth (!) national title and sixth (!!) in a row. He’ll spend another year wearing the silver fern after another incredible performance at his nation’s mountain bike national championships. This year was one of his most impressive results yet, winning by more than a minute while still healing from a broken wrist he suffered early in the year.
The first World Cup race is less than two months away. Races like Banyoles serve as important warmups and training for the gauntlet to come. So far, the TFR crew has plenty to be proud of.
Vlad Dascalu in his second race with TFR.
Learning opportunities for Trek's young men's riders
Riley Amos, 19, and Vlad Dascalu, 24, are in a sweet spot of their development as riders: They rightfully have big ambition, but they also admit they have a lot of room to grow. Their results in Banyoles reflect their progress and form.
Amos finished second among U23 men’s riders, and 26th overall in a men’s field that had 181 finishers. He went out hard during the start loop of the race, but then found himself gradually slipping back in the pack starting on the first climb of the race.
“It was a really weird feeling,” Amos said. “I don’t know exactly what happened. Maybe I just went way too deep and didn’t let myself come back from it. But I was trying to push through and couldn’t quite surge.”
Riley Amos warming up.
Dascalu came in seventh in similar fashion to his fifth-place finish in Chelva, riding among the race leaders but falling off the podium pace late. Just 28 seconds separated him and the winner, Titouan Carod.
“In the end, seventh place, I’m pretty happy with the feeling for the second race of the season”, Dascalu said. “I’m really looking forward to keeping up the good work and doing my best in the first World Cup.”
Their rides are good examples of how riders use early season races to test themselves. No matter where they finish, they pick up much needed information that will help them on their quest towards their overarching goals.
“I kind of recovered a bit, and then on the last lap I was battling with the two other U23s and I felt like I could push again,” Amos said. “We’re learning. It’s early in the season. We’ll keep trying to go up from here.”
