INTERVIEW I WORCS, NGPC AND ISDE CHAMPION BRANDY RICHARDS
P72
A
n undefeated season in
WORCS, a total of three national
championships, and a world
championship feat that no athlete in the
history of enduro has accomplished—riding
to a flawless victory at the ISDE winning
every single test over all six days—the
2021 season was a straight flush for one
of the world's best off-road racers. And
yet Brandy Richards remains a modest
privateer (Elite Off-Road KTM) still working
on carving her path through the off-road
racing scene. The 25-year-old Arizona
native seems all but untouchable in the
West Coast off-road racing scene, having
dominated the Women's Pro ranks in both
WORCS and NGPC, and even earning
the WORCS Pro-Am Championship racing
against the men. So what's next for Brandy
Richards?
We caught up with Richards to hear
more about her landmark season, what
the big change was that vaulted her into
a dominant year in 2021, and what it's
like competing against the men. Richards
also talks about what the reception was
like at the ISDE where she achieved the
impossible, and how she feels being the
flagship female athlete in off-road racing,
and where she hopes to be in 2022.
BRANDY RICHARDS LAID DOWN AN UNBEATABLE
HAND IN 2021. WITH FOUR TITLES, INCLUDING A
PRO-AM CHAMPIONSHIP RACING AGAINST THE MEN,
WHAT'S NEXT FOR ONE OF THE GREATEST
FEMALE TALENTS IN OFF-ROAD RACING?
STRAIGHT
FLUSH
BY JEAN TURNER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KTM MEDIA, HARLEN FOLEY, MARK KARIYA
