Mountain Bike Star Kate Courtney Just Won Her First Road Race

Kate Courtney had never raced on a road bike competitively. This weekend she won a stage race in Europe straight away.

Just four days into the first road stage race of her career, the American mountain bike star blazed to victory in the fourth and final stage of the Tour de Feminin in the Czech Republic on Sunday.

That was the first European road win by an American woman in 2026.

“First UCI road race, and it’s already a stage win for Kate Courtney at the Tour de Féminin,” USA Cycling posted after the victory.

Courtney admitted the transition to the European road peloton had been just what she’s looking for as she tiptoes into road racing after a glittering career on the dirt.

“The first days in the European peloton were humbling to say the least. But growth happens outside your comfort zone, and sometimes the best way to learn how to swim is to jump right into the deep end,” she wrote.

Racing with the Women’s U.S. National Team, Courtney capped a strong week for the American squad across the four-day race.

Teammate Katherine Sarkisov also hit top-5s in the final two stages and led the team with ninth overall. Courtney was 13th.

From mountain bikes to European road racing in four days

Crossing over between disciplines usually takes time and the traffic typically flows one way.

Road cyclists transitioning to mountain biking have a longer history of quick impact. The reverse can be slower as fat-tire racers sometimes need to adapt to positioning, speed, and longer distances.

Right now, for example, two-time men’s world XCO champion Alan Hatherly is two years into his road racing experiment, and he’s yet to win a race.

Courtney, 30, is already one of the most accomplished American off-road racers of the modern era, and now she’s adding skinny tires to her quiver.

In 2018, Courtney became the first American woman in 17 years to win an elite cross-country world title, then added the overall World Cup crown in 2019.

Last year, she won the marathon mountain bike world title and smashed the women’s course record at the Leadville Trail 100 on her first attempt.

All those bike skills came shining through in the 2.2-rated Czech Republic race.

Courtney said she is exploring road racing to push her limits and become a more complete rider.

“I’m productively intimidated by just how much I have to learn. But I couldn’t be more excited to keep taking on new challenges,” she wrote.

Could this be the first step in perhaps following multi-disciplinary superstars like Pauline Ferrand-Prévot? Stay tuned.