American Courtney wins 2018 mountain bike world title

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The final day of XCO competition in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, at the 2018 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships presented by Mercedes Benz, saw a first time elite world champion in Kate Courtney of the USA for the women's competition. Courtney, in her first year in the Elite ranks, is the fourth American woman to win the Elite title, and the first since Alison Dunlap in 2001.

The women's race began with an attack by 2016 world champion Annika Langvad of Denmark, who opened a gap on Courtney and Emily Batty of Canada. Langvad seemed to have the race under her control, with the 35 second gap on the two chasers by the end of the second lap. However, Courtney dropped Batty on the fourth lap and caught Langvad by the end of the lap after Langvad crashed. The Danish rider pulled away slightly on the next lap, but they were back together by the penultimate sixth lap, and Courtney dropped her rival in the technical sections on the final lap to win by 47 seconds. Batty hung on for third behind a fast closing Jolanda Neff of Switzerland.

"It's an absolute incredible feeling to win," said Courtney, 'I don't know if it's really sunk in yet. I was so focussed on executing my race plan, and to look up at the finish and realize that I was first was an incredible feeling. I just focussed on riding the cleanest lines I could, and I knew that was my opportunity."

Batty clearly went 'all in' on her race, and had to lie down after the finish, then be helped to the podium.

"I'm so proud," said Batty. "When I was racing, I knew that there was no way I was going to walk away without a medal. I found my limit; I've never gone as hard as today. that was my goal: to turn myself inside out, and leave it all out there. We [Batty and Courtney] did get a good gap from behind early in the race, and I just tried to hold that. I feel like I'm just starting to grow into my potential."

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