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Although overshadowed by Tom Pidcock’s gold medal, anyone watching the XCO at the Olympics closely will have noted Evie Richards’s strong performance in which she held third place during the early stages of the race. It was a telling precursor of what was to come at the World Championships in Val Di Sol, where the young

Trek rider shook off her unlucky 13 plate to take a commanding victory and bring the first ever XC rainbow jersey back to the

UK. This was then backed up by dominating wins at the the final two rounds of the UCI World Cup in Lenzerheide and Snowshoe, crossing the line a massive 1min 31 seconds ahead of second place at Snowshoe. Chapeau, Evie!