Evie Richards soared to the elite women’s short track world title for Great Britain as Ella Maclean-Howell secured silver in the under-23 women’s cross-country discipline on the third day of the 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Andorra.
Elite women’s short track
Evie Richards rode a ferocious elite women’s short track race, timing her sprint to perfection to beat the recently-crowned Olympic champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot.
Richards fired off the start line from the second row, sprinting ferociously out of the first bend to sit inside the top 10. The first kilometre time-check saw Richards in fifth position, with Ferrand-Prevot (France) riding away with ease. As Jenny Rissveds (Sweden) bridged over on the third lap, Richards sat in sixth position and moved up into fourth on the climb.
The two in front were ahead by five seconds, with Richards firmly glued to Puck Pieterse’s (Netherlands) wheel as they rode away from the main group. Reaching the halfway point, the pair were seven seconds back from the leading duo.
Going up the climb for the fifth time, Richards attacked to move past Pieterse and hone in on Rissved’s wheel. Descending with ease, the British rider closed the gap quickly, sitting in third position with four laps remaining. Richards overtook Rissved as they crossed the finish line to move up into second.
Richards then put in another attack up the climb to smash past the Olympic champion and move into first place. A fast descender, Richards continued to put the power down, but the experience of Ferrand-Prevot saw her bridge over to Richards’ wheel. The British rider stayed calm at the front, climbing and descending with ease on the penultimate lap.
Taking the bell, Richards remained in first place, before Ferrand-Prevot moved passed up the climb, attacking hard. Richards stayed within reaching distance, closing the gap on the descent and continuing to be glued to the wheel of Ferrand-Prevot as the battle for gold ensued.
A hard sprint round the final bend saw the pair grimacing in pain, but Richards’ power was unstoppable and she crossed the line ahead of Ferrand-Prevot to take the world title.
Speaking after the stunning win, a delighted Richards said: “I really can’t believe it! I wanted to win so badly. Honestly when she [Ferrand Prevot] stayed on my wheel, I thought, ‘I don’t know if I’ll be able to come back again’ but I just waited until the sprint. I didn’t think that last bit was long enough, but it obviously was. I can’t believe it, I’m so happy!
“I was just like ‘just stay on her wheel and I’ve been sprinting so much. I’ve been here three weeks training at altitude so I knew if it would come down to a sprint, I’d be okay as I’d practiced it so much. I was just hoping that I could take it, but I really didn’t think it would happen. I just had to keep believing in myself today.”
Annie Last finished in 16th place after a fantastic ride.
Under-23 short track
Ella Maclean-Howell kicked off the British medal wins today with a silver in the under-23 short track race. The British rider finished 22 seconds behind Isabella Holmgren (Canada), while her sister Ava Holmgren (Canada) earned the bronze.
Racing the first ever world under-23 short track race, Maclean-Howell started strongly, battling with the Canadian favourites in a bid for the front. The British rider was the first to kick, gaining a four second advantage inside the first lap. Isabella Holmgren managed to overtake Maclean-Howell on the second lap and rode away solo to take the win. Maclean-Howell stayed in control, gaining nine seconds on the Canadian rider, and fought all the way to the line to gain a fantastic silver medal.
The junior women saw Bethany-Ann Jackson ride a fantastic race, finishing in 32nd place in her world championship debut. Daisy Taylor crossed the line in 43rd, with Madeline Moorhouse-Smith just behind in 47th. Evie Strachan put in a commendable effort to finish 57th.
Competition continues tomorrow with the elite downhill finals.
