Kate Courtney FDJ-Suez move gives the Women’s WorldTour team a current US National Road Race Champion with major mountain bike pedigree.
FDJ-Suez announced Courtney as its latest signing, adding one of American cycling’s most accomplished multi-discipline riders. The move comes after a remarkably quick road breakthrough for the rider from Marin County, California.
Courtney won the UCI Mountain Bike Cross-Country World Championship in 2018. She followed that with a UCI Cross-Country World Cup title in 2019. In 2025, she also became UCI Marathon Mountain Bike World Champion.
Her road return accelerated this spring. In May, Courtney started her first road race since age 16 at the Tour de Feminin in the Czech Republic. She won stage four, immediately underlining her ability to transfer across disciplines.
The following month, she won the US National Road Race title in Charleston. That result placed her among the most intriguing new names moving into top-level European road racing.
Kate Courtney FDJ-Suez signing adds another versatile option
FDJ-Suez said Courtney will race for the team almost immediately. Her early programme includes La Périgord Ladies on 18 July and Picto-Charentaise the following day.
The team also confirmed that Courtney will ride the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women from 19-23 August. That race will offer another early test in her transition to WorldTour road racing.
Courtney will join a squad that includes Demi Vollering. FDJ-Suez has invested strongly in riders able to shape demanding races and attack across varied terrain.
General manager Stephen Delcourt described Courtney as a ‘magnificent athlete’ and highlighted her potential on short to mid-range climbs. He said FDJ-Suez wants to support her as she learns European road racing.
Delcourt also pointed to the team’s interest in athletes from outside traditional road backgrounds. He said that diversity of sporting experience can help the squad pursue higher performance in women’s cycling.
Courtney targets a major new challenge on the road
Courtney said the opportunity carries major personal meaning. She admitted she did not expect to reach WorldTour level so quickly after returning to road racing.
She called the move a huge challenge and said she wants to discover her limits as an athlete and person. Courtney also described the step as part of the final chapter of her career.
The American praised FDJ-Suez for racing with aggression, confidence and trust between riders. She said the team looked inspiring from the outside and even more motivating from within.
Courtney’s background makes her signing unusual, but not unprecedented in modern women’s racing. Several top teams have increasingly valued riders with gravel, cyclo-cross and mountain bike experience.
Her home region adds another layer to that story. Marin County is widely known as the birthplace of mountain biking, and Courtney built much of her reputation off-road.
Beyond competition, Courtney has also worked as an advocate for women’s sport through cycling. In 2023, she founded the NGO She Sends Foundation.
The FDJ-Suez deal now turns her road experiment into a full WorldTour opportunity. Her first races will show how quickly her climbing strength, endurance and technical background translate into European road tactics.