The 2019 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup series concluded this week in Snowshoe, W. Va. with a showdown between Kate Courtney (San Francisco, Calif.; Scott-SRAM) and Swiss rider Yolanda Neff. After Courtney’s bronze medal ride in Friday’s short track, only 20 points separated her from overcoming Neff to take the title.
As the race started, Neff and Courtney jockeyed for position quickly taking to the front as the first and second wheels. By the end of the first lap, Neff had slipped back to 11th while Courtney continued to remain in the lead group. Courtney ended the day with a fifth place finish to Neff’s 11th place which won her the title by 30 points.
“Today was an incredibly special day for me bringing home the World Cup overall title in front of my home crowd,” said Courtney, “I came into this race 20 points behind and fought with all I had to earn the jersey and finish my 2019 season with a bang. Coming into this season, I never imagined I would find myself in the battle for the overall and am very proud to bring it home on U.S. soil. This win represents a season of hard work and consistency by each and every member of my team. It was also an incredible day for the Team USA Women with four riders in the top 15. I am so proud to be a part of it.”
On September 8, 2018, Courtney won the 2018 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, the first time an American had won the title since Alison Dunlap won 17 years before in 2001. She started her 2019 season donning the World Champion’s rainbow jersey, winning both the short track and Olympic cross country event at the first World Cup of the season in Albstadt, Germany becoming the first American to win an elite UCI cross-country world cup race since Dunlap in 2001 in Albstadt, Germany. She followed that up with another cross-country win in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, and would go on to have another perfect weekend, winning both the short track and cross-country races, in Les Gets, France. Exactly one year after earning the Rainbow jersey, Courtney took home the overall World Cup title, once again marking the first time an American has held that title since Dunlap 17 years before.
Fellow American riders Chloe Woodruff (Prescott, Ariz.; Stans NoTubes Pivot p/b Maxxis) Lea Davison (Jericho, Vt.; Sho-Air TWENTY20) and Erin Huck (Boulder, Colo.; CZ Racing p/b Scott) also had stand out performances placing sixth, eigth and 12th respectively.
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