British World Champion cyclist Evie Richards’ training regimen is anything but boring. Richards, 27, shared a video of herself wearing blue workout pants and a white sports bra, running in the stunning Andorra mountains (filmed by her very supportive dad). “Dad’s arrived to Andorra, which means he’s treated to a week of chasing me round the mountains 😂🙃🫶🏽,” she captioned the post. “Looks like spring out there, gorgeous!” a fan commented. Here’s what Richards’ training, diet, and wellness routine looks like.
1. Vegetarian Diet
Richards enjoys a protein-packed vegetarian breakfast. “For breakfast, I’ll have oats, almond butter, banana and berries, and coffee,” she told Red Bull. “I love coffee, not for the caffeine, I love the process of making it. I normally have an Americano with oat milk. I eat mostly veggie, so for lunch today I had quinoa, chickpeas and a big chopped salad. If I have another ride in the afternoon I might have a hot cross bun before I go out and then I don't have to fuel as much while I'm on the bike.”
2. Fueling During Rides
Richards always fuels herself during rides, unlike in the past where she says she would ride for hours and have only eaten a pear. “In the past, I wouldn't fuel at all,” she told Red Bull. “I'd go out for five hours and I wouldn’t take anything, and if I did take something I’d feel like I’d been defeated. There were many times I had to get someone to pick me up because I’d emptied myself so much I physically couldn't pedal. I don't get to that stage anymore. When I'm riding, I either make my own bars, banana bread or flapjacks. Sometimes I use gels, especially when I'm doing [high intensity] efforts.”
3. Post-Race Recovery
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Richards uses a foam roller after races. “It’s slowly getting better!” she told British Cycling. “I normally have doping control which actually really helps as it forces me to rehydrate. I’ll take my rollers to dope control and try to have a protein shake but hands up I’m not great and sometimes milk is just easier for me.”
4. Recovering From Disordered Eating
Richards worked with a psychologist to deal with disordered eating in the past. “He made me realize that people weren’t looking at me and judging me on my weight,” she told Red Bull. “This was an assumption I had come up with in my head and if they were, why did it matter? There will always be people that make unnecessary comments, but it’s not important what these people say, the important thing was to think about what my family and friends thought of me and what I learned was that weight was never something they associated with me, it’s not what defines me.”
5. Repeat Training
Richards has favorite training sessions she repeats. “ I have a hill that’s just outside the front of my house that I’ve ridden pretty much from when I first started riding,” she told British Cycling. “It’s about a 3-minute effort, it’s my go-to workout, I’ve done those today and I’ve got a book with four years’ worth of times for that one climb noted down. I’ll also do 8-minute efforts and 30-second efforts.”
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