Kate Courtney (cyclist)

Kate Courtney (born October 29, 1995) is an American cross-country and mountain bike cyclist.

Kate Courtney
Courtney in September 2018
Personal information
Born (1995-10-29) October 29, 1995
San Francisco, United States
Height5 ft 4 in (163 cm)
Weight58 kg (128 lb)
Team information
DisciplineCross-Country
Mountain bike racing
RoleRider
Medal record
World Championships
2018 LenzerheideCross-country

Early life

Born to Maggie and Tom Courtney in October 1995, Kate Courtney grew up in Marin County, California at the base of Mount Tamalpais, which is considered to be the birthplace of mountain biking.[1] Courtney was introduced to cycling at a young age by her father and they would ride a mountain-bike tandem up Mount Tamalpais together.[2] Her interest in cycling was piqued when, as a freshman, she joined her school mountain bike team at Branson High School.[3] While at high school, Courtney competed for the USA National Team and Whole Athlete Development Team in events around the World. In 2012, Courtney became the first American woman to win a UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in the Junior category.

In 2013, Courtney graduated high school and left for Stanford University to study human biology.[4] In the same year, she also signed her first professional contract with Specialized Bicycles.

Professional cycling career

After graduating from Stanford University in 2017, Courtney began racing full-time and in her first full season in 2017 won four U23 World Cups and the U23 World Cup overall title, and took a silver medal at the U23 world championship.[5] She is also a two-time US cross-country (XC) national champion, having won the title in 2017 and 2018. Courtney participated at the 2018 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, winning the gold medal in the women's elite cross country race.[6] It was the first such win for an American since 2001.[7]

In 2018, Courtney took part in the Cape Epic Stage race with her Specialized teammate Annika Langvad where the teammates won seven individual stages and took the Overall team victory.[3]

In 2019, Courtney left Specialized for the Scott-SRAM team.[8][9] She ended the season as the UCI World Cup series winner.[10]

Personal life

Courtney is a huge fan of sharks and Shark Week.[11] Her other hobbies include skiing, surfing, yoga, and photography.[4]

References
  1. Heil, Greg (2012-08-30). "Visiting the Birthplace of Mountain Biking: Marin County, California". Singletracks Mountain Bike News. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  2. SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing Team (2019-05-16), Rising – Ep 1: Roots w/ Kate Courtney, retrieved 2019-06-11
  3. "About". Kate Courtney. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  4. "Kate Courtney". Team USA. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  5. "Kate Courtney". CyclingTips. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  6. Cross-country results
  7. "Mountain Biker Kate Courtney - Marin Magazine - December 2018 - Marin County, California". www.marinmagazine.com. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  8. "MTB World Champion Kate Courtney to leave Specialized". www.cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  9. Specialized Bicycles (2018-12-30), Farewell to Kate Courtney, retrieved 2019-06-11
  10. "Kate Courtney secures MTB World Cup title with podium finish". September 8, 2019.
  11. PowlisonApril 30, Spencer; 2019 (2019-04-30). "Q&A: Kate Courtney on learning from Thomas Frischknecht". VeloNews.com. Retrieved 2019-06-11.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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