Kate Courtney’s resume doesn’t look like many 22-year olds. Unless their names are Mikaela Shiffrin or Abby Wambach. She’s a 12-time mountain bike national champion, 2017 U-23 World Cup overall champion, and now, the 2018 UCI World Champion. It’s fair to say she’s just getting started. And with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics not far away, we’ll be hearing her name a lot more.

Cycling is a national pastime in many countries, but Kate’s story paints a different picture for what could come out of the US in the years to come. She didn’t get her start on the typical team sports shown on TV -- she started on her high school’s mountain bike team. She did it for fun. She loved it. She saw progress, and she never looked back.

Kate and I sat down to talk about growing up, and the nutrition, training and mental strategies that have allowed her to reach the highest levels. Also, the community of support -- parents, coaches, sponsors -- and the role they play.

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