The Top Group Of U.S. Women’s Mountain Bikers Are As Competitive As Ever

A July showdown in Pennsylvania displayed just how competitive women’s mountain bike racing has become at the elite level in the U.S.

Savilia Blunk, who is attempting to make her first Olympic team in 2024, battled 2020 Olympian Kate Courtney to the finish in the national championship race, winning by a mere five seconds.

Gwendalyn Gibson, a 2022 world bronze medalist in short track, finished third in that same race, a little over six minutes behind.

All three are California-bred riders who, along with 2022 world championships bronze medalist Haley Batten, have helped boost the U.S. women into fifth place in the UCI rankings. Now Blunk, Courtney and Gibson are now positioned for a run at the podium when the cross-country world championship race is held Aug. 12 in Glasgow, Scotland.

“I think it’s the most competitive the American women have been like, ever,” Blunk, 24, of Inverness, California, said. “We have at least five of us who are really tight and battling together. It’s really great. We are all pushing each other, bringing each other to the next level.”

Added Gibson: “I honestly think each time we race and the order of how we finish has kind of been shuffling every time. I think it just lights a fire every time.”

Those fires will burn deeply in Glasgow. The championship race not only has a rainbow jersey for the champion at stake but also an automatic spot in the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The top three finishers lock up those Olympic spots, and the American women will be among those in the furious chase for the podium.

“It’s going to be intense because everybody is gunning for that spot,” Blunk said.

“Me, Savilia and Kate are all riding super strong this year,” said Gibson, 24, of Ramona, California. “We’ve all been showing good in the world cups. I think we’re all capable of having a good result.”

Of the three, Courtney, 27, has the longest resume, which includes a world title from 2018. The native of Kentfield, California, finished 15th in her Olympic debut two years ago in Tokyo and is the only American with a top-10 UCI individual ranking. (Kelsey Urban, another California native who was on the national team at age 16 and is a close friend of Batten, also was named to the U.S. team but later declined her starting position.)

Sitting back home and watching anxiously will be Batten, who pulled out of the national championships in July and then the world championships as she recovers from a concussion she sustained during a world cup training run in June.

“It’s a super big bummer,” Blunk said of Batten. “It’s just crazy. It shows how quickly things can change in this sport.”

The group of five has powered an American push in women’s mountain biking. Gibson, Batten and Blunk have been racing together since they were juniors.

“To see how far we’ve all come and get to watch each other succeed on the elite level, it’s special, for sure,” Gibson said.

The national championship race turned into a duel between Blunk and Courtney.

“It was a super tight battle with Kate the whole race,” Blunk said. “So, it was really exciting. It was a track that was really naturally technical, had lots of roots and rocks. It suited me well.”

Gibson finished third in that race and has finished as high as 12th in world cup competition this year. She finished one spot ahead of Courtney in the most recent world cup race, July 2 at Val di Sole, Italy.

“It’s really special to be a part of such a strong women’s team,” Gibson said. “I think it’s been really nice to see the U.S. at the front of these races that are typically dominated by the Europeans. I think it shows that we’re coming in strong and we’re just going to keep getting stronger.”

Blunk had finished no higher than 30th place in world cup competition, then went home to refocus her training at home. The result was a win at the national championships and high expectations for Glasgow.

“My goal is to shoot as high as I can get,” Blunk said. “It’s a race where you line up and I really want to shoot as high as I can. I’m feeling really good right now. I think nationals is a really good confidence boost more than anything. Just being in my rhythm and training, I’m focused on that top three. It’s going to be a super tough race.”

If the two spots that the U.S. has for the Olympic Games aren’t filled at the world championships, then a rider who finishes among the top three in the world cup final standings would be nominated. Beyond that, the Olympic spots will be determined by world cup results through May 2024.

“I would not want to be the one in the position that has to choose who goes to the Olympics because we’re all riding really strong,” Gibson said. “It’s exciting. I think it’s pushing us all to be better.”