RICHARDS Evie

General
MOUNTAIN AND CYCLO CROSS
She competes internationally in both cyclo cross and mountain biking, with a focus on mountain biking due to it being an Olympic sport. "I did every sport going until I found one that I could do in the Olympics, but I never really watched cycling as a kid. I prioritise the mountain bike because I want to go to the Olympics, and that's always been my dream. I race all the mountain bike races, and then I have a short break and use the cross races as part of a big training block over winter. I feel like I was born to race cross. I love how crazy the racing is, and I like the chaos of it. One year I would like to do loads of training on my cross bike and properly race it. This year [2021] hasn't really been results-focused for me, the focus is on the fact this is an Olympic year. These cross races are really just to get fitness and enjoy racing my bike, and then hopefully we can really focus on some cross races [after Tokyo]." (cyclist.co.uk, 25 Mar 2021; velonews.com, 06 Apr 2021; eurosport.co.uk, 28 Jan 2021)

EATING DISORDER
In 2019 she revealed her struggle with Relative energy deficiency in sport [RED-S], a pattern of disordered eating that affects athletes. A year earlier, she began working with a sports dietician. "I just wanted to win so badly and I thought the way to do that was to be the lightest I could be. I lived basically on my own and I don't think there was anyone to pick up on it. When I moved home after three or four years, my mum was like, 'Oh my gosh you are so bony, you need to put on some weight'. I'm lucky to have a supportive family who caught it at the right time and helped me. In 2018 I started working with [sports dietician] Renee McGregor, who helped me get better. It's changed my whole mindset. I'm so much happier and love riding my bike. It wasn't just eating I was obsessed with, I cut off my whole life outside of riding, but now I have amazing friends, I love living at home with my family and I'm just a different person. I think it's so good people are speaking out about this because it's important for younger riders. I think it's so important to get help as it can ruin a young rider and their career." (cyclist.co.uk, 25 Mar 2021; shropshirestar.com, 05 May 2021; Instagram profile, 26 Mar 2020)

OLYMPIC FAMILY DREAM
Her lifelong dream has been to take part in the Olympic Games. "I have dreamed of it since I was very small. Every four years, we would rent a house as a family and watch it all. The opening ceremony and every event, my family would be glued to the TV. We were in France when the Olympics were in Beijing, and I remember I wanted to be racing in the athletics so badly that I actually couldn't watch it. I was 11 at the time, and I wasn't even a runner, but I think that just shows how long I have dreamed of going to the Olympics. We're so proud of being British and my whole family is in awe of the Olympics. I said I'll only get a tattoo if I go to an Olympics and my mum said, 'Right, I'll get one too'. I think my nan would get one too." (velonews.com, 06 Apr 2021; shropshirestar.com, 05 May 2021)

She became the first British cyclo cross rider of either gender to win gold in an U23 category race at the cyclo cross world championships when she won gold at the 2016 edition in Zolder, Belgium. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jun 2021)