'I never expected to be able to make the jump to the World Tour level so quickly' – FDJ-Suez sign multidiscipline champion Kate Courtney
FDJ-Suez announce signing of the current US National Road Race Champion and former MTB XC World Champion – and promise Courtney will race the Tour of Britain Women
FDJ-Suez have bolstered their team with the addition, announced today, of American multi-discipline champion Kate Courtney. An all-rounder with an incredible pedalling pedigree, Courtney is the current US National road race Champion and has been UCI Mountain Bike Cross-Country World Champion (2018), a UCI Cross-Country World Cup winner (2019) and UCI Marathon Mountain Bike World Champion (2025).
This year, Courtney made an incredibly successful switch to road. In May, she entered her first road race since she was 16, having a crack at the Tour de Feminin in the Czech Republic, and took victory on Stage Four. The following month she won her first US National Road Race title in Charleston. Soon she will be riding alongside Demi Vollering in the FDJ-Suez squad.
According to the release put out by FDJ-Suez today, Courtney will be in action for the team within the week, taking part in La Périgord Ladies on 18 July, Picto-Charentaise the next day, and the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women from the 19–23 August.
"Kate is a magnificient athlete whose profile shows great potential on short to mid-range climbs and demanding efforts," says Stephen Delcourt, FDJ-Suez General Manager. "We are excited to support her as she discovers European road racing. FDJ United Suez has always embraced athletes who have thrived in disciplines beyond road cycling. This diversity of backgrounds and cultures will continue to elevate our team as we pursue the highest levels of performance in women's sport."
“It is hard to put into words what this opportunity means to me," said Courtney after the deal was announced. "I never expected to be able to make the jump to the World Tour level so quickly and I am so motivated to rise to this huge challenge and really find out what I am capable of as an athlete and person in this final chapter of my career. I am so grateful to Stephen and the entire team for seeing the potential and giving me this chance to chase a huge dream.
"It is not hard to see from the outside that FDJ United Suez is building something really special. The way the team races - aggressively, fearlessly and with complete belief in one another - has been inspiring to me as a fan. And now it is even more inspiring to me as a rider. It feels like the team environment I have been searching for my entire career - and I could not be more excited to start learning and chasing one of the biggest and most challenging goals I have ever spoken out loud.”
Courtney, who comes from Marin County, California - literally the birthplace of mountain biking - is also a prominent advocate for women's sport through cycling, and founded the NGO She Sends Foundation in 2023.
