Since becoming the first American female rider to win a medal at cyclocross world championships, Katie Compton is one of the biggest names in the sport. Having won 16 World Cup races and three World Championship medals over the last six seasons, she is determined to win gold at the 2012-2013 Worlds in Louisville (held for the first time in her home country, the USA). Katie is the reigning US National Champion and Sponsored by US bicycle manufacturer TREK, she now headlines the Trek Cyclocross Collective racing team.
For the sixth consecutive year, Katie takes on the European season from her base in Kalmthout, Belgium. Together with Aussie cyclocross rider Lewis Rattray, I joined her on a training ride.
MarathonMTB: Where do you find the drive to come back every year and face the cold?
I’ve always found it easy to motivate for racing and training in the mud and snow. I love the challenge of the winter elements and it lets me have fun in the summer months like racing autocross in our BMW 1M and my new hobby, riding moto’s with my friends.
M: You arrived in Belgium about one month ago and still have a month ahead of you before the World Championship. How has that first month been and what’s still to come?
So far the past month has been really good. I have a great Belgian family I stay with which makes my stay much easier. I was lucky enough to budget some training time in Mallorca. Training in the sunshine and having some focused down time really refreshes me to come back and attack the rest of the Cyclocross races. I live in Colorado Springs, we see about 300 days of sunshine a year which really helps me even when the temperatures drop well below freezing. Most of the time it doesn’t matter how cold it is outside, if the sun is shining it keeps me in a positive mood.
M: What is your main aspiration for this year?
I want to be the best all season long which allows me to focus on winning the World Cup Overall title. It will be the first for an American rider and the first for a non-european. I want to be at my best for US Nationals, I hope to be able to defend my National Championship and wear the US Champion jersey next season. It’s an honor and I hope to be able to represent US Cyclocross here in Europe the best I can.
M: For the first time in the 60-year history of the sport, the World Championships are being held outside Europe, in Louisville, Kentucky. How do you feel about competing for the rainbow jersey on home ground?
Well it’s both exciting and a challenge as I have to race on two continents this season. Racing in the US is important for my sponsor, Trek Bicycles, and racing in Europe is important for both Trek and maintaining my start position for Worlds. My big focus for this season is winning the World Cup Overall, it means a lot to the best Cyclocross rider all season and I’m really happy I’m in a good position to go for the overall. Racing World’s in Louisville will be a lot of fun, I want to do the best for myself on the day. There’s always a lot of pressure for every Worlds. If I can perform to the best of my ability on the day then I can’t be too disappointed. Whatever the result will be, I’ll represent US Cyclocross, myself and my sponsors to the best of my ability on that day. That’s all I can ask of myself, if I answer the call my body can perform and I can win in front of the US fans it will be a special moment for the sport.
M: And from your experience, what is the biggest difference between cyclocross in Belgium/Europe and the US?
I might say it’s completely different, like playing soccer for your regional club then going onto to the Champions League. Then again it’s a bike race, you pin on your number and you go ride hard, then you go home. There are a lot of differences but there’s the same love for the sport all around the world. My husband and I raced a couple Cyclocross races in New Zealand in July, its winter in July which was different since we both had flown from Colorado Springs in 35C to Queenstown, NZ which was around 1C. The race was small but the love for the sport was huge. One week later we were racing the first UCI race in the Southern Hemisphere. Cyclocross is becoming a universal sport. It’s exciting to see a beautiful sport growing around the world. In the US we have a more participant based sport, for example we had over 100 women line up for the National Championships in Madison, Wisconsin. There’s Cyclocross in Alaska, Alabama and Florida. It’s all over the world now, hopefully we can grow the sport to include other countries. It’s such a great activity for everyone. In the US we have the Pro’s race but we also have Masters, and other categories including little kids. Mom and Dad can race and the kids can either race or play in the sand, it’s an activity for all the family in the US which is great for the health of the sport.
Thanks for the interview Katie, we hope you can take out that rainbow jersey in Louisville!
