MALVERN’S Evie Richards is heading to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as part of Team GB’s cycling squad this summer.
The Malvern rider is one of just two athletes named in the women’s mountain bike squad at Paris alongside Ella Maclean-Howell.
Richards won gold at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and finished seventh at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo.
She has recovered from a concussion injury suffered during a World Cup event in Brazil at the start of May to make the final squad.
The 27-year-old returned to competitive racing in the UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Switzerland last weekend where she finished in fifth place.
Team GB Chef de Mission, Mark England MBE, said: “Team GB has a rich tradition with Olympic cycling, and I am thrilled that we will be taking our largest ever cycling team to Paris.
“It is very exciting to see the next generation of cyclists selected to compete for Team GB in Paris, alongside some of our seasoned Olympians and Olympic medalists.
“I am fully confident that all the athletes selected will put in some fantastic performances this summer.”
Performance director for the Great Britain Cycling Team, Stephen Park CBE, added:
“I am delighted for each and every one of the riders we have announced to represent Team GB in Paris, and have no doubt that they will make the nation proud over the 18 days of cycling competition in Paris.
“This group includes four previous Olympic medallists while on the other side of the coin I’m proud once again of our work to support and nurture the best of British talent through our performance pathway, and to see 10 debutants announced as part of the squad.
“We’re blessed with an incredibly talented, passionate and hungry squad of riders, and we are now fully focused on supporting their final preparations so that they can be at their very best come Paris.”
Richards became the women’s cross-country world champion at the 2021 Mountain Bike World Championships prior to her success at the Commonwealth Games.
