Courtney and her extreme setup with shift buttons on the fork

A few days ago, Kate Courtney was proclaimed the winner, with a record included, of the Leadville 100 MTB. A mountain bike race with 160 kilometers at over 3,000 meters that due to its route is very favorable for participants to try setups and equipment that can hardly be used in any other race, especially because it does not have to comply with the strict rules of the UCI. There, Courtney made an extreme setup by placing the gear shifters on the fork crown.

Kate Courtney and her extreme setup for Leadville

In this edition, we saw that many participants of the Leadville 100 MTB configured their mountain bikes with gravel handlebars to adopt more aerodynamic positions in the fast track sections. But Courtney decided that she didn't need any special handlebars if she could hold onto her fork directly. An aggressive and risky setup since it is not difficult to lose control of the bike in that position.

Furthermore, to avoid having to change positions when wanting to shift gears, Courtney had her mechanics install wireless SRAM Blips shifters directly on the crown of her RockShox SID SL Ultimate Flight Attendant 110mm fork. This allowed her to maintain an aerodynamic position for much longer on the Allied BC40 with which she has been competing all season.

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This solution is not allowed in UCI competitions as the regulations have prohibited cyclists from letting go of the handlebars or adopting dangerous driving positions for some time.

 

 

 

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A post shared by Kate Courtney (@kateplusfate)

Courtney herself made a post removing the shifters from her fork and humorously explaining that she is ready to return to the World Cup races, under UCI rules.