First elite category World Cup win for Evie Richards
Most riders take some time to get into the groove of elite level riding. Evie Richards has not had that experience thus far. The British rider took the World Cup short track (XCC) race by storm, taking a sprint finish over the reigning World Champion.
The race was a relatively normal XCC, with an extremely high pace and powerful surges. After taking a long pull in the last lap, Evie then slotted into position for the sprint, which was won by a tire width. Team mates Jolanda Neff and Emily Batty rounded out the top results, snagging an 11th and 17th respectively. In the men’s event, Anton Cooper scored a hard fought 10th, with Stephane Tempier in 15th.
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The race kicked off fast, and ended fast
Evie’s reactions to winning her first elite World Cup event in her first attempt were as expected.
“I simply can’t believe it,” said Evie Richards.” I was trying to stay towards the front and out of danger. With one lap to go I went early, and just kept pushing it to the end. I honestly couldn’t tell who had won until after the line. I’ll take some confidence from this into the next race, and also the lesson to be patient.”
An elite group stayed together
Evie stayed protected most of the race
Evie started her attack early, coming into the finish in full sprint
And it all came down to a bike throw
A narrow win over the reigning World Champion
The team will get back to racing in short order, with the Olympic distance event (XCO), kicking off Thursday.
