VN news ticker: Evie Richards wins MTB World Cup in Snowshoe

Evie Richards wins MTB World Cup round in Snowshoe

Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing) doubled her short-track victory with a cross country race win at the UCI mountain bike World Cup on Sunday. Richards beat Rebecca McConnell (Primaflor Mondraker) and Anne Tauber (PostNL Bafang) on the Snowshoe circuit after McConnell flatted while leading the race.

Richards’ victory slotted her up to second overall in what was the final round of the World Cup. Loana Lecomte (Massi) won the overall despite not racing in West Virginia this weekend.

The victory puts a cap on a standout summer for Richards, who won the world championships in August before scoring her first World Cup victory in Lenzerheide earlier this month.

“I can’t believe it. It sounds crazy that I am up to second in the overall. I did not think in Albstadt [the first round of the World Cup] that this would be my season,” Richards said.

“I was quite stressed in the race because it was hard to hear the splits because the crowds were so noisy. So I was just trying to do consistent laps but also save something for the end in case someone came up to me. I love being in America, they really do lay on the best races.”

Christopher Blevins made history with his victory in the men’s race later in the day, becoming the first American to win at the World Cup since 1994.