Annie Last (born 7 September 1990), is an English professional cyclist, representing Great Britain and England, who specialises in

mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...

and

cyclo-cross Cyclo-cross (cyclocross, CX, cyclo-X or cross) is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter (the international or "World Cup" season is October–February), and consist of many laps of a short (2.5–3.5&nb ...

. She was chosen as a female competitor in the cross country mountain bike event for the Great Britain team at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, going on to take 8th place. Last won the silver medal in the mountain bike cross-country event at the

2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships The 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships was the 28th edition of the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships. As in 2016, the championships in the various disciplines were held at separate events. The world championships in four-cross were he ...

, before taking the gold medal in the same event at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

. She competed at the 2018 Cross Country European Championships.

Career

Last was introduced to

by her father and brother, Tom as she accompanied them on racing trips. In 2009, she joined the

British Cycling British Cycling (formerly the British Cycling Federation) is the main national sport governing body, governing body for cycle sport in United Kingdom, Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands a ...

Olympic Academy programme, and was originally expected to be a potential athlete for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. During the two-year-long build up for the

, she elected to compete in full adult competition instead of the under-23 events she was normally entitled to enter. This was in order to enhance her chances of competing at the Games. At the World Cup event in

Dalby Forest Dalby Forest is a forest located on the southern slopes of the North York Moors National Park in North Yorkshire, England. It is maintained by Forestry England. Dalby Forest, along with Langdale Forest and Cropton Forest, forms part of the No ...

during May 2011, she finished a career best of 14th place. At the first World Cup event of 2012, in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, she placed ninth, although at one point she was leading the race. She finished one place better, in 8th place, at the World Cup event in

La Bresse La Bresse () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. The area is known for its ski resorts and outdoor activities. La Bresse is located about 45 km west of Colmar and 55 km north west of Mulhouse in ...

, and later another 9th-place finish in Windham in the United States. Her qualification for the 2012 Olympics came down to the World Cup event in

in May 2012. Great Britain did not get an automatic qualification spot for the women's mountain biking event, and so finishes in international events were required for the team to gain a place at the Games in the event. She finished eighth at the event, giving Great Britain a spot at the Olympics in her event, and was expected to be announced in the British team for the Games. Her place in the women's cross country was later confirmed along with Liam Killeen, who will compete in the men's competition. In March, 2017, Last took part in the eight-day Absa

Cape Epic The Absa Cape Epic or the Cape Epic, founded by Kevin Vermaak is an annual mountain bike stage race held in the Western Cape, South Africa. First staged in 2004, it has been accredited as ''hors catégorie'' (beyond categorization) by the Un ...

stage race for the first time and finished second with South African partner Mariske Strauss. It was Last's first Cape Epic, which takes place in the Western Cape, South Africa, every year. The 2017 route was 651 km in total. She continued her good form later that season by taking her first

UCI Mountain Bike World Cup The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup is a multi-round mountain bike racing series that is sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale The Union Cycliste Internationale (; UCI; ) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees int ...

win in

Lenzerheide Lenzerheide ( Romansh: ''Lai'') is a mountain resort in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland at the foot of the Parpaner Rothorn. The village lies in the municipality Vaz/Obervaz in the district of Albula, sub-district Alvaschein. Th ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in July, becoming the first British woman to win a cross-country World Cup event since Caroline Alexander's victory in

Sankt Wendel St. Wendel (; sometimes spelled in full as Sankt Wendel) is a town in northeastern Saarland. It is situated on the river Blies 36 km northeast of Saarbrücken, the capital of Saarland, and is named after Saint Wendelin of Trier. According t ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1997. She went on to finish second at the

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in September, becoming the first British female medallist in the elite cross-country event. Annie Last and her partner Mariske Strauss worked to stay on GC podium at the 2018 Cape Epic after Strauss fell ill before the second last stage. Last broke through Canada's hold of, and earning England's first

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

gold medal in the women's cross country at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. She has been a member of professional mountain bike teams Milka-Superior, Trek Factory Racing, and Silverback OMX Pro Team. She currently races for KMC-Ekoï-SR Suntour.

Personal life

Last has deferred attending university to study medicine in order to be a professional mountain biker. Her brother, Tom, was also a professional mountain bike and road cyclist before becoming a presenter for

Global Cycling Network Global Cycling Network (GCN) is a cycling-related YouTube channel which was launched in the United Kingdom in 2013. The channel's parent company, Play Sports Network, became a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery through its TNT Sports unit in 20 ...

Major results

Cyclo-cross

;2006–2007 : National Trophy Series ::2nd Cheltenham ::3rd Derby ;2011–2012 : 3rd

National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

;2012–2013 : 3rd

;2014–2015 : 3rd

;2021–2022 : 2nd

: National Trophy Series ::3rd Gravesend

Mountain bike

;2008 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Cross-country, National Junior Championships ;2010 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Cross-country,

: 2nd

Cross-country, UCI World Under-23 Championships ;2011 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Cross-country,

: 2nd

Cross-country, UCI World Under-23 Championships ;2012 : BMC Racing Cup ::1st

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

::1st

Davos Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...

: National XC Series ::1st

::1st Sherwood Pines : UCI XCO World Cup ::3rd

Val d'Isère Val may refer to: Military equipment * Aichi D3A, a Japanese World War II dive bomber codenamed "Val" by the Allies * AS Val, a Soviet assault rifle Music *''Val'', album by Val Doonican * VAL (band), Belarusian pop duo People * Val (g ...

;2014 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Cross-country,

: National XC Series ::2nd Sherwood Pines ;2015 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Cross-country,

: National XC Series ::1st

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

::1st

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

;2016 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Cross-country,

: National XC Series ::2nd

;2017 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Cross-country,

: UCI XCO World Cup ::1st

: National XC Series ::1st

: 2nd

Cross-country,

UCI World Championships The UCI World Championships are annual competitions promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to determine world champion cyclists. They are held in several different styles of racing, in a different country each year. Championship winn ...

: 2nd Overall

(with Mariske Strauss) ::1st Stage 6 ;2018 : 1st Gold medal blank

Cross country,

: 1st

Cross-country,

: National XC Series ::1st

: 3rd Overall

(with Mariske Strauss) ;2019 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Cross-country,

: Copa Catalana Internacional ::1st

Banyoles Banyoles () is a city of 20,168 inhabitants (2021) located in the province of Girona in northeastern Catalonia, Spain. The town is the capital of the Catalan ''comarca'' " Pla de l'Estany". Although an established industrial centre many of th ...

: National XC Series ::1st

Cannock Chase Cannock Chase, often referred to locally as The Chase, is a mixed area of countryside in the county of Staffordshire, England. The area has been designated as the Cannock Chase National Landscape, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and muc ...

::1st Sherwood Pines : UCI XCC World Cup ::2nd Nové Město : UCI XCO World Cup ::3rd

Snowshoe Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footw ...

;2020 : Copa Catalana Internacional ::3rd

;2021 : UCI XCC World Cup ::3rd

Albstadt Albstadt () is the largest city in the district of Zollernalbkreis in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the Swabian Jura mountains, about halfway between Stuttgart and Lake Constance. Geography Albstadt is spread across a variety of ...

;2022 : National XCO Championships ::1st MaillotReinoUnido

Cross-country ::1st MaillotReinoUnido

Short track : National XC Series ::1st

Newcastleton Newcastleton, also called Copshaw Holm, is a village in Liddesdale, the Scottish Borders, a few miles from the border with England, on the Liddel Water. It is within the Counties of Scotland, county of Roxburghshire. It is the site of Hermitag ...

: 2nd

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

: Copa Catalana Internacional ::3rd

;2023 : XCC French Cup ::1st

Guéret Guéret (; Occitan: ''Garait'') is a commune and the prefecture of the Creuse department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in central France. Geography Guéret is a light industrial town, the largest in the department, with a big woodland a ...

: Shimano Super Cup ::2nd Baza

References

External links

Annie Last
at

Annie Last
at MTB Cross Country * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Last, Annie 1990 births Living people English female cyclists British female cyclists Cross-country mountain bikers British cyclo-cross cyclists Olympic cyclists for Great Britain Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Cyclists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Sportspeople from Bakewell Sportspeople from Derbyshire Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Cyclists at the 2023 European Games European Games competitors for Great Britain 21st-century English sportswomen People educated at Lady Manners School Commonwealth Games gold medallists in cycling