Annie Last signs for Brentjens' second UCI MTB trade team

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British cross country racer Annie Last signed with the Milka-Brentjens MTB Racing Team, a new second UCI mountain bike trade team started by Bart Brentjens for this season.

"I am very happy to start working with Annie Last in 2012. She has a great relationship with Boardman Bikes and because of this, I decided to start a second UCI Trade Team so she can continue to ride on Boardman bikes in 2012," said Brentjens, who already runs the Milka-Superior MTB team (formerly known as the Milka-Trek MTB team in 2011).

"Annie Last is a promising talent. Her best result this year in the World Cup was sixth in Nove Mesto, Czech, an extraordinary result considering her young age. In 2012, her focus will be the Olympic Games in London in August. I think she can have a good result there!"

This team will give Last the opportunity to continue to use Boardman bikes in 2012. Boardman Bikes is a long term personal sponsor of Last. The other main sponsor of the her new team is Milka.  Brentjens' other team is racing Superior bicycle frames in 2012.

The 21-year-old Last finished second at the 2011 Under 23 European and world championships.

"I am looking forward to working with Bart Brentjens and his team. They have got a huge amount of experience about performing at the highest level in the sport, and they have presented me with an exciting opportunity to be part of the Milka Brentjens MTB Racing Team. I will continue to be sponsored by Boardman bikes, who will be supplying me with my bikes for the 2012 season. I am happy to take my relationship with Boardman bikes forward with me into my new Milka Brentjens team."

In 2012, Last is focusing on the Olympic Games and the world championships.

Last lives in Derbyshire, United Kingdom, and is ranked 13th in the world by the UCI. She competed her first cyclo-cross race when she was 10 years old, and she received a goodie bag full of chocolate after crossing the finish line as her prize. It provided enough motivation for her to try another race. She won her first national title as a junior at age 15.

As a junior athlete, Last finished 16th in 2007 and ninth in 2008 at the world championships. In 2009, Last became a U23 racer, and she finished fifth at the world championships.

In 2010, she competed in her first 'cross world championships in Czech, where she finished 11th in the elite women's race. In the same year, she went on to finish second at the U23 mountain bike world championships and fourth at the European Championships.