Annie Last is accustomed to making history and has now pulled off the best result of her career after becoming the first British female to win a cross country mountain bike medal at the World Championships.
Two months ago to the day, Last became the first British woman in 20 years to win a cross-country World Cup when she triumphed in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
And overnight the London 2012 Olympian finished second in Cairns, Australia, at the UCI MTB World Championships to create more history.
Finishing behind only Switzerland’s Jolanda Neff, Last could not quite believe her achievement.
“It feels amazing, I’ve had a tough couple of years, then I won the World Cup in Lenzerheide and I’m just happy to be back racing at the front of the race – instead of just pushing to get through it,” said the 27-year-old.
“I felt good going into this, I like the track, I made some good decisions on how I was going to ride the race and I don’t think it’s sunk in yet.
“But second is amazing, to be on the podium is so good – I’m really happy.”
Elsewhere in Cairns, fellow Olympian Grant Ferguson finished 33rd in the men’s elite race, while 2016 Under-23 cyclocross world champion Evie Richards was forced to abandon her race.
Sportsbeat 2017