ESFLAT TO FULL GAS
Courtney Comes Back Triumphant. Again.
N-E-V-E-R G-I-V-E U-P. After what could have been a race ending flat tire on the unforgiving Nove Mesto course, reigning World Champion Kate Courtney dug deep and gave it everything she had to sign off on back to back World Cup XCO wins, her second ever as an Elite.
Some ten minutes into the race, the Scott-SRAM team member started to settle in. Courtney quickly moved to the front of a leading trio along with Trek Factory Racing athlete Jolanda Neff. Misfortune struck Courtney when a flat tire put her 40 seconds behind the lead group on the relentless roots and tech of the Czech circuit. It was time for Courtney to fight back. Confidently crushing descents aided by her RockShox Reverb AXS™ dropper, and laying down the power and shifting precision through her SRAM XX1 Eagle AXS™ drivetrain, Courtney clawed her way back through the field with the perfect display of determination and perseverance.
It all came down to the last lap where Courtney forced the pace with only a ten second gap. Kate’s punishing pressure was enough to make race leader Tauber hesitate and stumble, causing a mechanical that dropped her out of contention for the win. Courtney made her strike and left every last effort she had on course to cross the line exhausted but elated for her second win of the season.
Kate rides SRAM XX1 Eagle AXS™ drivetrain, RockShox Reverb AXS™ dropper seat post, RockShox SID Ultimate front suspension, with SRAM Level Ultimate brakes.
AXS™ isn’t just flawless, wireless control. It’s a unique customizable communication platform which all of the SRAM and RockShox AXS components interact within. Each rider can control every AXS component exactly how they want, providing ultimate control.
In Kate’s case, that means using time trial style Blips to operate the Reverb AXS dropper post. Embedded in the left-hand grip, they’re right under the fingertips of her hands and enable clean, underbar positioning of the TwinLoc suspension levers of her Scott Spark.
The Reverb AXS dropper post has been a huge asset to me this season. With more and more technical tracks, running a dropper post has allowed me to get the most out of my descending skills and also maximize recovery even on the roughest parts of the course. It is great, reliable and light option for XC racing
–Kate Courtney
With five weeks to the next XCO round, it’s back to World Cup Downhill next weekend with the biggest party of the UCI World Cup season at the iconic Fort William course. Make sure you tune in to see if SRAM & RockShox athletes Amaurry Pierron, Valentina Holl and Kye A’Hern can repeat their 2018 wins, before Kaprun the week after.
Photos by Matthew Delorme.