MALVERN’S Evie Richards maintained her push at the top of the UCI Cross Country Mountain Bike World Cup standings with a superb second-place finish in the under-23s race in Andorra.
Richards backed up her strong ride in Italy last week, where she also finished second, and remains third in the overall World Cup standings.
Commonwealth Games silver medallist Richards continued her record of not finishing outside the top three in any World Cup race she’s completed this season, as she placed second on the high-altitude slopes of Vallnord.
The 21-year-old was beaten by the leader in the overall standings, Switzerland’s Sina Frei, who finished in a time of 1:13:54, just over a minute ahead of Richards.
The result replicates the one-two from last week’s race in Italy and earns the Trek Factory Racing XC rider 70 points to gain some ground on Malene Degn, who is second in the overall standings.
Reigning UCI Cyclo-Cross world champion Richards didn’t finish in round three of the World Cup but is now back on track following her fourth podium finish of 2018.
With round six taking the riders to Mont-Saint-Anne in Canada next and then France at the end of August, Richards will hope to make up more ground on Degn and Frei.