MALVERN rider Evie Richards showed her class as she came out on top in the fifth and final round of the National Cross Country Series in Builth Wells.
Trek Factory Racing’s Richards claimed victory at the Royal Welsh Showground in her first appearance in this year’s competition.
Kerry MacPhee and Amy-Jo Handsford had been the most consistent riders of the series and were rewarded with first and second in overall standings, respectively.
However, they were beaten on the day by a commanding performance from recently crowned U23 national champion Richards on a blistering hot day around the typically challenging course.
The top three protagonists quickly set off from the front of the pack and opened up gaps between each other and the chasing pack which always looked likely to stay significant to the end.
The only challenge to the three came from Malvern junior Harriet Harnden (T-Mo Racing), who despite a unusually bad start which saw her dead last off the line, caught and passed all the juniors and seniors except Richards in another stellar performance.
Richards said: “It was a hard one, I recovered from a bit of illness which I had going into nationals and had a hard block of training before this so I wasn’t feeling too fresh.
“The course was dead dry and fast like all our local trails are at the moment though, so I felt quite comfortable on the course.”
Meanwhile, the junior women’s title has been one of the most hotly contested all season, with Patsy Caines duelling it out with Anna McGorum (Peebles CC).
Caines held a slender lead going into the final round but both were left in the shadows by new national champion Harnden in only her third race of the series.
She duly completed her third straight victory with a trademark ride-away performance.