Evie Richards grew up in a sports-loving family in Malvern, a small town in the English county of Worcestershire. Cycling initially played no part in the lives of the Richards family - instead they spent their weekends at the local rugby club. Then Evie discovered cycling for herself. In cyclocross, Richards became British U23 champion in the 2015 and 2016 seasons and won the U23 race at the Cyclocross World Championships. In mountain biking, Richards took second place in the junior women's cross-country (XCO) at the 2015 MTB World Championships. In 2021, Richards won the world championship gold medal in cross country XCO and was runner-up in short track (XCC).
What is XCC?
The UCI only introduced these races in 2018, which are usually held on the Friday before the XCO races. The course is shorter, has fewer laps and guarantees a handlebar-to-handlebar thriller. The starters are from the XCO field of riders. There are important UCI points for the overall ranking here.
What is XCO?
The abbreviation stands for Cross-Country Olympics. It is the premier class. The starters battle for the lead on challenging circuits. The bikes have between 100 and 120 millimetres of suspension travel.
Evie Richards: My world
The Olympic dream
In 2013, Evie puts the hockey stick aside and switches to the bike. During this time, she tried out a number of disciplines, always with the idea of becoming an Olympic athlete in the back of her mind. Evie says: "I didn't so much fall in love with cycling as with the fact that I was good at it." Then it all came thick and fast. She becomes world champion in cyclocross (U23) in 2016, then switches to mountain biking. Her Olympic dream comes true in 2021.
Eat better
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Evie listens to outside voices telling her: if you want to get better, you have to lose weight. She develops an eating disorder, which not only leads to a drop in performance, but also causes her periods to stop. With the help of a nutritionist, Evie gets back on track.
The setback
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After her winning streak, Evie struggles with a stomach bug and back problems. When things started to pick up again, she contracted Covid. She has to miss a few World Cup races. This time was tough, she explains in the interview. "But it also made me mentally stronger," says Evie in an interview with her sponsor Red Bull.
Beautiful & Successful
Evie is young, successful and good-looking. The Brit attaches great importance to the latter. She hardly ever appears without make-up. Even straight after a race, Evie looks like she's just come out of make-up. In addition to photos on her bike, her Insta account is also filled with lifestyle shots. Her 260,000 or so followers love it.
A highlight of the year for Evie is the holiday after the racing season. The ingredients for a good time are simple, says Evie: "The main thing is that my friends are there.
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Laurin Lehner
Editor
