EVIE RICHARDS claimed victory in the Elite Women’s race in the second round of the British Cycling National Trophy Series in Wales.
The current under-23 World Champion from Malvern did not have it all her own way in Abergavenny though, as Beth Crumpton jumped to the front of the cue before the end of the opening lap.
Richards responded however as she moved clear of the chasing pair of Hannah Payton and Annabel Simpson in third and fourth respectively.
In her first cross race of the season, the 19-year-old did not look as sharp as Crumpton as she had to play second fiddle to her opponent for much of the race.
But on the final lap, Richards found the legs to attack her rival and move away to claim victory.
Speaking after the race, Richards said: “I felt quite a lot of pressure coming into this race so to get a win I’m really pleased.
“I’ve been worrying about it quite a lot because with the jersey comes a lot of pressure so it felt amazing.
“It was a really hard race with Beth, one of the toughest I’ve had in a long time.
“It’s a fast course with a lot of turns, it was windy and open so the speed was killed quite a lot so tactics went out the window and we just had to ride based on the race really.”
