Mountain Bike World Champion Kate Courtney: ‘in Pushing Your Edge, You Find You’re Capable Of More’

In early September, Kate Courtney lined up astatine nan UCI Mountain Bike World Championships for nan 12th clip successful her career, but nan first clip targeting nan marathon distance. A fig astatine nan beforehand of nan battalion successful nan shorter transverse state and short way distances, Courtney would astonishment everyone by winning nan 77-mile race, claiming nan 2nd rainbow jersey of her astir decade-long career.

“The title astatine nan crisp extremity is truthful precocious and nan people was brutal, truthful I was productively intimidated,” said nan 30-year-old Courtney, “I didn’t deliberation overmuch astir nan unit of winning, which fto maine conscionable attraction connected myself.”

Despite a last climb that took an agonizing hour, a 20-minute hiking conception complete a boulder field, and level tyre connected nan last descent that could person ended her race, Courtney stayed calm, acknowledgment to a different intelligence attack this season.

“In nan past, I felt for illustration I had to beryllium connected each podium to consciousness success,” said Courtney. “It was an intolerable modular and nan unit sewage to me. The mentation for races would beryllium astir cleanable and I would travel wholly unhinged connected title day. There was a surgery relationship betwixt training and racing.”

In precocious May, Courtney collapsed her wrist aft nan 3rd title of nan season, forcing her to measurement backmost from nan athletics and bespeak connected what wasn’t working. “Initially it felt for illustration my play was going disconnected nan rails,” said Courtney, “but successful retrospect I really needed nan clip away.”

Sidelined from nan World Cup circuit for nan first clip since she started her master career, Courtney dropped retired of nan apical 20 successful nan world rankings, thing that hadn’t happened since she was 16 years old. At first this was a difficult pill to swallow, but became a important inflection point.

“What I’m looking for now isn’t conscionable results, but alternatively to prosecute meaningfully pinch nan challenges and put successful nan process,” said Courtney. “If I attack training and racing arsenic a challenge, it becomes an opportunity for me, without nan large weight of outer expectations.”

Her PT and spot coach, Matt Smith, knew her wrist wasn’t fresh to jump backmost into nan rigors of method short races and encouraged her to effort thing new. He projected she effort nan Leadville 100, America’s astir prestigious agelong region upland motorcycle race. Initially Courtney was skeptical, but a time later she bought in. “I recovered truthful overmuch state successful nan caller challenge. I focused connected feel, not numbers aliases structure. Low outer pressure, precocious intrinsic drive.”

On 9 August, Courtney returned to racing, lining up astatine Leadville. With an early headwind and caller rules that restricted women not drafting disconnected men, nan gait started slower than she expected. At nan first awesome climb it began to prime up and from location Courtney rode a blistering pace, breaking nan long-standing people grounds by astir 10 minutes.

A week later, Courtney flew to Switzerland pinch her coach and mechanic, to pre-ride nan Marathon Worlds course. “The 2 weeks earlier nan title was nan astir nosy I’ve had successful my full career,” said Courtney. “I knew my fittingness would translate, because it was different seven-hour people pinch a ton of climbing. Mentally I was conscionable focused connected nan people and my plan, not thing else.”

As a newcomer to marathon races, Courtney flew nether nan radar, allowing her to title pinch much freedom. “I took a consequence connected nan 2nd to past climb and went solo,” said Courtney. “On nan last fireroad descent I sewage a rear sidewall level and conscionable had to dream my tyre would clasp up until nan finish. Those moments are earned, but besides given. Things that are retired of your power person to spell right.”

Kate Courtney won nan Cross-Country Marathon (XCM) world title successful nan Swiss canton of Valais successful September. Photograph: Piotr Staron/Getty Images

Despite 50 profession wins, this 1 felt different. It had been 7 years since her past world title and successful galore of those years it felt good retired of reach. “It was a treatment arena for me. I raced astatine nan limit, physically and mentally. It’s nan measurement I dream I’ll beryllium remembered arsenic an athlete.”

Courtney had a batch of early occurrence from 2017 to 2019, often astatine nan beforehand of World Cup races. She made nan US Olympic Team successful 2021, different awesome highlight. But nan utmost unit successful Tokyo and later connected nan World Cup would get to her, creating a intelligence spread which took years to excavation retired of.

“I mislaid a afloat grasp of nan process,” said Courtney. “That was a debased play for 3 aliases 4 years, wherever I wasn’t prepared to compete connected nan level I wanted to. I was putting a batch successful but not getting arsenic overmuch out.”

“My dada ever says you’re remembered for your champion days,” said Courtney, who fell successful emotion pinch upland biking by riding a tandem upland motorcycle pinch her dada arsenic a kid. “I’ve been fortunate to person a fewer of them, but complete this play I learned it’s much important to zoom retired and spot nan bigger picture. I’ve weathered nan large wind of large challenges and it’s nan years that everything didn’t click that almost meant much to me.”

Courtney switched coaches astatine nan commencement of 2024 and began a caller training program, designed to get her backmost to wherever she wanted to be. The first measurement was uncovering nan information to support moving hard, time successful and out. The reply had been successful beforehand of her for years, mentoring young women done upland biking.

“The point that kept maine successful nan athletics erstwhile I wasn’t performing good was paying it guardant and trying to beryllium a domiciled exemplary for young girls,” said Courtney. “It was a measurement to meaningfully lend beyond my title results, and I learned they didn’t attraction if I won aliases fought to decorativeness aft a crash. What was important was really I showed up.”

In 2023, Courtney launched nan She Sends Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to getting much girls connected bikes. “My extremity wasn’t astir processing nan adjacent apical level upland motorcycle racer, but much to usage nan athletics to equip young girls for nan existent world. Mountain biking is awesome astatine school lessons, showing girls they tin beryllium powerful and confident.”

She Sends is portion of a taste shift, Courtney says. “When a female walks into a motorcycle shop, she should get nan aforesaid respect arsenic a man. And erstwhile she lines up connected title day, she should get respect for being a awesome athlete, not conscionable being ‘great for a female athlete’.”

Her main connection to young girls is to return risks. “In pushing your separator you find retired you’re tin of more. I realized this twelvemonth that if I was giving girls that message, I needed to unrecorded it. I needed to compete astatine nan apical level and springiness myself nan opportunity to exhaust my diversion potential.”

Despite nan caller motivation, Courtney’s play started slowly, pinch mediocre performances astatine her first 2 races and a surgery wrist astatine her third. But, alternatively of throwing distant nan season, she decided to pivot.

“It’s a matter of really you measure your success,” said Courtney. “We often complete stress nan wins alternatively of nan process.” She embraced nan caller challenges and nan results speak for themselves.