Evie Richards to Miss Leogang World Cup XC to Focus on Back Rehab

Jun 6, 2022 at 10:45
by Sarah Moore  
Locked and loaded for Evie Richards.


Evie Richards shared on Instagram yesterday that she will not be competing in the Leogang XC World Cup this weekend. Richards has been pushing through back pain since February and will be focusing on back rehab instead of competing this weekend in Leogang.


bigquotesI have been suffering with really bad back pain since February. I have pushed through the pain for as long as possible, but now is time to fix the problem and take a step away from racing. I’m completely heart broken to say I won’t be in Leogang, but I am doing rehab to get it better as fast as possible.—Evie Richards


After finishing the 2021 season on a high, winning the 2021 World Championships and the last two World Cups of the season, Richards has had a difficult start to 2022. She finished third in the Short Track in Petropolis before taking sick along with most of her Trek teammates ahead of the XCO event.

She then finished 16th in Albstadt and 36th in Nove Mesto, saying after the race in the Czech Republic that she was "tired of racing in so much pain and tired of putting on a brave face when inside I’m hurting."

We wish Richards the best with her recovery and hope to see her back between the race tape later in the season, Lenzerheide will be the next race after Leogang on July 8th.

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61 Comments
  • 63 11
 I guess I will have to remove her from my fantasy team....oh, wait...
  • 2 0
 With so.much dissatisfaction around this Fantasy league business, why don't we just shift our attention to another XC website... Oh wait
  • 28 0
 Massive fan of Miss Richards. Hoping to see her back to last year's form again soon. She is a power house and so competitive, great role model for young racers.
  • 16 0
 Pushing big watts is super hard on the lower back. Heal well Evie, the sport will be here when you’re ready.
  • 7 4
 Seems like a lot of cross country racers are having back issues (MVDP was another big name). Having had low back issues from riding myself, I wonder if it has to do with cleat position, saddle time, and an insufficient amount of core and posterior chain training. When you ride a bike for dozens of hours a week (or similarly, sit in a chair) you’re never engaging in hip extension, only hip flexion. For me, this led to a lot of hip and low back tightness and pain. The only thing that helped for me was a decent amount of weight training and mobility that focused on my posterior chain and moving my cleats all the way rearward/riding flat pedal more often. Seeing how far forward a lot of XC racers run their cleats, I imagine the under development of the posterior chain muscles and subsequent low back problems would be a big risk.
  • 23 7
 MVDP’s back issues, to the best of my knowledge, took root in his crash at the Olympics.

I hate to appeal to authority here, but I’d be willing to bet that the likes of Evie and MVDP have access to some of the best PTs, bike fitters, and trainers money can buy. So much so that it’d be shocking if her back issues came down to cleat positions.
  • 6 2
 @pmhobson: his back issues came from switching the position between road and xc with not enough time for adaptation in his back muscles. Also him racing year round at a high level with cx in the winter, road in the spring, mtb in the summer and then back on the road in the fall and then back to cx in the winter.

He does an insane number of race days a year compared to pretty much every other top level cyclist. Especially with racing the giro and tour this year. That’s 42 race days in 3 months right there and he does not take it easy.
  • 4 0
 @Daledenton: I see. I misremembered the info in this article:

www.pinkbike.com/news/mathieu-van-der-poels-world-champs-in-jeopardy-due-to-back-pain.html

...which says:

"Van der Poel's crash in the Olympics isn't the root of the problem and his team says he has suffered from worsening back pain since the Albstadt World Cup, but landing on his back in the Olympics certainly didn't help and his condition has worsened since then. A painkiller injection to his back and adjustment of his cleat position so far haven't eased the pain."
  • 3 3
 @eblackwell: gotta wonder, how do you know most racers have their cleats far forward?
been thrown out of any pit areas for suspicious activities?
i think you may be some kind of deviated prevert
  • 3 0
 @p0rtal00: “deviated prevert” is my new internal nightmare injury
  • 2 0
 @Daledenton: Kinda like a modern day Eddie Merckx! Which is unheard of these days. He raced almost 200 days in one year, and won on like half those days. Also suffered from a lot of pain and admits his racing permanently destroyed his body.
  • 1 0
 Humans where not designed to ride bicycles all day or sit all day. Normal sitting (spine at 90 degrees) adds 50% more spinal compression than standing. Hunched over in a chair or on a bike (spine at 80 degrees) adds 90% more compression. Then combine/factor in being hunched over and putting down pedal power.
Steeper seat angle and tilting nose of your seat down (forward tilted pelvis) can help a lot. You want your spine to be in a strong neutral position when sitting or biking not in a hunched over flexion position.
Nose is tilted down on my bikes and I also started wearing a light flexibleish lumbar brace when I ride for support, which helps keep me in a strong neutral position and reminds me to stay in a strong neutral position.
  • 3 0
 @p0rtal00: Hahaha! Well I don’t know for sure, but it’s not that hard to eyeball it. Just look at whether someone has their heels dropped or toe down when descending. If your cleats are very far forward, it’s really hard to drop your heels because it puts a lot of leverage/stretch on your calf. I think it’s also pretty well known that a lot of XC, road, and CX riders run their cleats further forwards because they feel they can recruit their calf for fast accelerations, whereas downhill and enduro riders run them rearward to drop their heels and have more stability.
  • 9 3
 I really hope she'll be back soon !!!
  • 5 0
 Obviously not the ideal time, but it's part of an athlete's journey. Probably be a month or so.
  • 4 0
 I would love to know her diagnosis and the treatment/rehab she will be going through.
  • 4 0
 Who the eff is Miss Leogang?

..asking for a friend…
  • 1 0
 All the discussion and conjecture in this thread says we’d all welcome a thorough pink bike article to document the science of her recovery. I’d love to learn best practice from modern medicine.
  • 2 0
 That would surely be behind a paywall.
  • 3 0
 Good idea. Take the time to get healthy.
  • 3 0
 ......one of those 2021 should be 2022
  • 1 0
 Sad to hear she's going to be out but glad she's taking the time off to get it worked out. Far too often driven athletes keep going until the mess themselves up for life.
  • 2 0
 She doesn't look like an energy vampire.
  • 2 0
 Daaaang... Sorry Evie. Curse of the rainbow jersey strikes again.
  • 1 0
 Dang hope for a a a swift recovery, however, I still don't think she would win a world this year.
  • 10 13
 This might garner some neg props because she's the World Champ and all, but her position on the bike has looked poor since she came onto the MTB scene from 'cross. Her hunched position looks much more like a road sprinter and over time it cannot be good for your back. I used to think her bike was the wrong size for her, but on further reflection it doesn't look all that bad when you compare her knee position to the handlebars. I think she's a fantastic ambassador for MTB and womens in particular with her outlook on certain subjects. I just wish someone close to her could get her to relax on the bike more...or give her some drop bars?!?!?

Hope she gets well soon and returns match fit on her terms!
  • 3 2
 As someone whose position also isn’t pretty (road or MTB) I’ll say her fit looks correct.

Not everyone can get a tidy, flat back position. Even that Lance Johnson guy had an ugly (albeit effective) fit.
  • 3 0
 I always thought the same about her position. Hopefully her back gets fixed and she is back to opening cans of whoop a$$ again soon.
  • 5 0
 Her back problems and hunched position might be related...
  • 3 0
 more a case hips knee ankle alignment poor on bike, lateral loads into glutes then lower back. very common
  • 1 11
flag rich-2000 (Jun 6, 2022 at 12:49) (Below Threshold)
 One of the downsides of being sponsored. You’re stuck with one brand of frame. If it is a bad fit and you can’t make it fit with saddle position, crank lengths and cockpit adjustments, then you’re stuffed.

If I rode a Trek Supercalibre my back would screwed too.
  • 9 1
 I'd say it's always VERY VERY VERY hard to determine if someones fit is right or wrong just by looking at photos. I don't think any of us know enough about her other metrics to know what the proper fit would be for her. Hopefully whoever helps her get setup does know these things though....
  • 1 0
 @stubestrong: Lower cross syndrome?
  • 5 3
 She has an exceptionally good coach who's an ex world champ and WC DH racer, as well as the full Trek team, so I'm guessing her fit is correct.
  • 25 3
 bunch of amateur dudes armchair critiquing the position of the actual world champion, you love to see it
  • 2 0
 bending is one thing, and usually fine, its bending with a twist that murders the discs.
  • 3 3
 @sjk303: she does have a hunched position on the bike, which can be caused by postural imbalances that are exacerbated by cycling. I have my bikes fit, and I have a rounded back and back problems too. You don't have to be a world champion to know about muscle imbalances.
  • 1 1
 @sjk303: Thats the fun of it! Talking about things and give our two cents. No different then other sports geeks. Look at all those ESPN a-holes giving nonstop opinions.
  • 2 0
 @stiksandstones: "bending with a twist that murders the discs" love it, so using that with my clients.
  • 3 1
 @sjk303: yea world champion, rides for one of the top teams in the world, Redbull sponsorship, yet somehow the people in the pinkbike section think they have picked up on things the team around her doesn’t already know.
  • 1 0
 @sino428: I mean to be fair, never EVER has a cycling team (especially Trek in this case) everrrrr sacrificed long term health of a team rider for some extra watzz for the upcoming race season hahaha.

I mean more likely that they would know it isn’t good long term, but was doing everything they could to keep her going healthy and strong if that is the position she feels the best in for putting out hard efforts.

But still that is alllll silly armchair anaylisis from a guy with back problems from being too hunched on a bike + slouching in an office chair. Thankfully she probably has the absolute best access to doctors with Red Bull/Trek to help get her going again.
  • 1 0
 @yoitsrobj: if you read any of her interviews talking about her struggles with eating disorders you'd realize she's not a perfect athlete with spot on 100% evidenced based training. It's an open secret that a good deal of the xc females are underweight and have disordered eating and/or outright eating disorders, and you expect them to be perfect in every way? Lulz.
  • 2 0
 @sino428 @sjk303 @weeksy59
Her coaches and staff most certainly know her position is not ideal and could likely be causing issues with her back. But that doesn't mean they will change it. She's performing at the highest level with a 'bad' position. They're not going to change anything until it implodes. This year she starts having massive back pain. They likely have had the conversation with her about bike position/flexibility, etc. But to fix these types of issues almost always means a setback on the bike in terms of performance. To fix those issues, the racer has to work on flexibility and bike fit (amongst other things) all of which will translate to less riding and less intensity until they're back at 100%. This could take a month or (easily) more. Racers at this level don't take more than a couple days off so doing a reset like this is the last thing they want to do. Which is why you see many in less than ideal positions their whole careers.
  • 1 0
 @weeksy59:

If her back hurts so much, that she needs to skip a race (her career), then maybe "exceptionally good coach" is wrong.
  • 2 0
 @btjenki:

Exactly. Anyone who follow baseball remember Kerry Wood? Dude had terrible pitching form his whole career. But he could land 20Ks in a game so no one ever said anything. Threw out his elbow in no time flat. ‍♂️
  • 1 0
 @smgishot13: Not sure its fair to say no one ever said anything. I've read some stories and interviews from him and his poor mechanics were always known about, even to him. But he said himself that he had no desire to change and probably wouldn't have listened even if the team had pushed him to make a change. That was how he learned to pitch his entire life and was going to roll with it.
  • 1 0
 Thats too bad. Best of luck to you
  • 8 11
 A few suggestions as a Trainer who specializes in low backs and as a rider who has suffered back issues. By no means the "right" answers, but something to consider, once you are pain free with everyday, non-riding activities, and of course cleared by your Dr., PT, Physio etc.

1.) Raise the bars(riser or stem angle), at least saddle height or 1-3cm above. If your spine is hunched/flexed, while you are riding flat terrain, it would already be in a precarious position. Then when you do have to get low, pull and torque up some insane grade, you are just begging for trouble.

2.) When you do have to get low and pull into the ground/pedals, hip hinge, keep the chest up and "try" to keep a flat back(easier w/higher bars). Not easy to do and takes conditioning. Again just helps spread the load a little more evenly over the discs.

3.) Race Downcountry! I started racing XC 30 years ago on a Klein hardtail, it nearly broke me in just 1 seasonat age 23. 100-150mm full susser “trail” bikes ever since, in the 25-28 pound range(XL). 100mm minimum both ends, MAXIMUM SAG, 2.2 tires w/light inserts like Pepi’s.

This is easy for Evie...Top Fuel. The more you can say seated over minor rough stuff, the less hovering/siting/standing is required. Less fatigue of low back muscles, which can now be used to help maintain the flat back when climbing. Would you rather push a few extra pounds or listen to your back scream at you for 90 minutes? Plus most of us already know…it’s just faster(and more fun) all around.

4.) Train posterior core endurance. Not “strength” but strength endurance, not abs, but low back. Not saying don’t do anterior work(plank etc.) but when was the last time your abs were sore after a hard mountain bike ride? Pick exercises that put your spine in a “bike” position, maintain flat back, light loads for 60-90s or micro intervals15s on, 5s off for 2min. etc. e.g. bent over rows, or battling rope work. General low back stuff works too(bird dog), key is time under load.

5.) CX races on dry courses kill my back(riser drop bar, +17degree stem, 38mm tires and inserts have helped). I could really use some high level clients so I can afford to build up a full suspension monstercross bike. Evie and MVDP you can reach me at…
  • 2 0
 Im sure the Trek wizards can make a wc competitive top fuel for their racers. Im guessing they just don't want to and that would show that their beloved supercaliber is a dud.
  • 5 0
 Lol bars above the saddle in XC?
  • 1 0
 Happy healthy healing!!!
  • 1 0
 Healing Vibes Kid! Smile
  • 1 0
 Who is Miss Leogang?
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