MALVERN'S Evie Richards marked her final race as an under 23s rider with a UCI Mountain Bike World Cup gold medal in the USA.
The cyclist, 22, starred in Snowshoe, West Virginia, with first place to boost her overall standing to third in the series.
Richards' time of 56 minutes 16 seconds was 66 seconds clear of second-placed Laura Stigger with France’s Loana Lecomte third.
The Trek Factory Racing XC rider secured her top-three finish despite missing the first event of the season through injury.
Three successive silver medals proved the cornerstone to her 342 points.
But after coming ninth in the penultimate outing top spot across the Atlantic provided the ideal finale to her campaign.
Former Chase School student Richards is now continuing to race in the USA in various cyclo-cross cups.
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