Sports
Redding Cyclist Strikes Gold in the 2013 World Championships
Richie Rude is now the reigning Junior World Champion after dominating the Mountain Bike championship race held in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
Redding native Richie Rude rode his Mountain Bike at high speeds through a course in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, flying through jumps and using his powerful legs in pedaling sections en-route to winning the Gold medal at the 2013 Junior World Championship. He's the first American cyclist to win it all since 2000.
Rude left for Norway on Monday to complete in the World Cup Race in Hafjell. Then he heads to Leogang, Austria. But his proud parents, Richard and Karen were still in town this week.
"We have always run and ridden bikes and Richie started racing Mountain bikes when he was 7," Richard Rude said of his son.
In 2004, when Richie was 9, Rude said he wanted to try Downhill.
"He and I raced all over the East Coast at Mount Snow, Plattekill Mountain and Mountain Creek," Rude said.
The boy had become a talented rider and the team AllRide Academy took notice. Richie became a member in 2007 and raced as an amateur for them until he turned professional at age 15.
Richie was offered a spot on the Yeti/Fox World Cup Team for 2011 and beyond. He has been Racing at the Elite level in the UCI World Cup Downhill for 2012 and 2013.
"We are so proud of him," Rude said. "He has been working toward this dream of World Champion since the first race at Mount Snow Vermont in 2004."
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