LAUNCH OF THE RAINBOW WARRIOR

Off-road aficionado Evie Richards no longer needs to chase rainbows. The rainbows come to her...

- Vern Pitt

Some things in life are certain: death, taxes, England’s men’s football team falling short of glory. Add to that list Evie Richards smiling. In our two hours with Britain’s queen of the dirt she can barely wipe the grin off her face. It’s not, sadly, our company – we’re reliably informed she’s always like this.

Throughout 2021 Richards has had ample reason to smile, celebrating her best year yet. Top of that list of reasons to smile was realising her childhood dream of winning a senior world title. She now has a house full of rainbow jerseys. And we’re not exaggerating. When we visit Richards in her quaint power-pastel Malvern home she’s been sent boxes and boxes of rainbow jerseys to sign for her sponsors to then hand out – the first box took her nearly three hours.

This wrist-breaking work is just one of the responsibilities Richards has taken on after winning the Cross-country Mountain Bike World Championship over the summer. Coming just weeks after she missed out on an Olympic podium, it was no flash in the pan or case of peak form coming too late. The 25-year-old seemingly reached a new level of performance this summer, winning the two World Cup events that followed the Worlds.

Good sensations