Mountain Bike Icons – the Kate Courtney story

Former UCI Cross-country World Champion Kate Courtney was raised in the shadow of the legendary Mount Tamalpais - this is her story.

Scott-SRAM Mountainbike Racing team/Cerveny

off.road.cc staff

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Feb 10 2023

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Feature

[Words by Steve Thomas]

Our beloved sport of mountain biking was born on the wooded slopes of Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, Northern California. To mountain bikers, this is a place of pilgrimage and there are, naturally, those who were fortunate enough to be raised in this fat-tyre holy land – such as the San Francisco-born 2018 Cross-Country Olympic World Champion Kate Courtney of the Scott-SRAM MTB Racing team.

“I grew up at the base of Mount Tamalpais in a very active community. I grew up hiking, running and riding my bike on the weekend with my dad. From a young age, I loved being outside, exploring and pushing myself to reach the top of the mountain quicker and quicker," Courtney says.

“At the time, however, I didn’t know much about the competitive world of cycling. I thought competitive cycling was limited to the Tour de France which involved only men and was completed on road bikes. It wasn’t until high school that I discovered the competitive world of mountain biking through the NorCal High School Mountain Bike League. I started racing as a freshman and instantly fell in love with the sport.”

There’s little doubt that the hallowed trails of Mount Tam, the very same that had been the home for “klunker” bike riders such as Gary Fisher, Charley Kelly Joe Breeze and later on Tom Ricthey, became engrained in Kate's soul from a young age.

“I am most definitely a product of my environment. While I didn’t grow up racing competitively, I did grow up surrounded by beautiful open spaces and with many opportunities to get out and explore them. I am in many ways grateful that I fell in love with the feeling of being out on the mountain and exploring with my dad long before cycling was tied to any competitive aspirations. These roots still keep my love of cycling very much alive. And if I am ever feeling a little burned out - I just head home and ride with my dad!”

Schools of thought

Top-draw results soon rolled in for Kate and she became the first female American racer to win a UCI XCO World Cup round as a junior. She followed that up with two U23 World Cup round victories in 2016 and four rounds and the overall U23 World Cup title the following year. On top of this, she was also completing a degree at Stanford University (human biology).

“It was incredibly difficult to combine my studies with racing at an elite level but it was also a huge gift not only to be able to get an education but to be able to develop slowly into an elite cyclist. I think it would have been so easy for me to overtrain and burn out had I been focused full-time on cycling from the age of 19. Instead, I had an incredibly rich academic experience and was able to grow both as an athlete and a person during my time as a student.

“In terms of making cycling my career - I think it is a privilege and opportunity that must come to you. Many are called and few are chosen. By the time I graduated from college, I had a contract offer that allowed me to support myself and focus full-time on cycling.”

Coming of age

When 2018 came around, Kate stepped up to the elite ranks and took to the higher level much quicker than expected.

“I raced World Cups as a junior, U23 and then as an elite racer, which meant that I had a few big transitions but was also able to take things step by step. I considered jumping to the elite ranks earlier to try and make the Olympic team, but I am so grateful I was able to race all four years as a U23. Those years were very formative for me and gave me huge experience in battling for wins. I think each of these steps required me to grow as an athlete and to become sharper physically, technically, tactically and mentally.”

Earning her stripes

Not only did Kate retain her stars and stripes jersey as US National Champion in her first elite season – she also scored the most precious bands of all, those rainbow stripes of the World Champion.

“It was an incredible feeling to cross the finish line as World Champion in 2018. For me, it was the culmination of many years of hard work and the result of belief and investment from so many different people. I was very proud of what we had been able to accomplish, and wearing the rainbow jersey for a season was a reminder of that work and belief at every race the following year. Even today, the rainbow stripes on my sleeves remind me that you never know when you might be close to breakthrough performance.”

The greatest hits?

“Of course, winning the World Championships is one of my biggest career highlights. The moment that was most personally impactful to me, however, was winning the Les Gets XCC and XCO in the same weekend and in front of my family. I was having a very successful year in the rainbow jersey and won two XCO and one XCC World Cup races in the first few weeks of the season - but my family hadn’t been there. I knew it.”

No regrets

“I don’t have any regrets in my career. We have a saying in our team that you either win or you learn. When specific races, or even whole seasons haven't gone to plan, they have always taught me more than any high win.”

Going Swiss

How different was it switching from the mostly US Specialized team to riding with the Swiss-based Scott-SRAM team?

“It was definitely a big change to sign with a team based in Europe, but that was also part of what drew me to the Scott-SRAM team. In the past decade, Europeans have absolutely dominated the mountain bike circuit. This is in part because of the high-level racing opportunities and professional teams there.”

Hooped dreams

Following a harsh weather snap in Northern California Kate has been training in Arizona and she has her long-range sights on the biggest prize in mountain biking.

“I am currently preparing for the 2023 season and excited to continue racing for my team Scott-SRAM through at least the next season.”

“The 2024 Olympics are obviously on the horizon, which adds a bit of added excitement and motivation to the upcoming season. My focus this year is to continue to build on the strong foundation I set in 2022 and to continue to make incremental progress towards my goals. I have a great team around me and a lot to look forward to on and off the bike!”