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Photo off usoc.org
Over the weekend 29-year-old Katherine Compton rocked the world of cycling after she captured her first ever Cyclocross World Cup win in Pijnacker, Netherlands.
It was her second World Cup CX podium appearance, the first coming last month at the opener in Kalmthout, Belgium. Compton also placed second at the 2007 Cyclocross World Championships at the start of the year.
Where did Katie come from? We first became aware of her in 2003, when she took a 7th in the downhill event at the Sea Otter Gravity Omnium. But her cycling career actually began a year prior, when she began piloting a tandem with blind partner Karissa Whitsell in Paralympic events. The team won numerous national titles as they built up for the 2004 XII Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. They left with four medals: two gold, one silver and one bronze.
Now with her Paralympic obligations behind here, Katie could begin her professional career and could enter UCI-sanctioned events. She shifted her focus to cyclocross, and seemingly out of nowhere and with no elite racing experience, blew the doors off the women's division of U.S. cyclocross. She has owned domestic cyclocross ever since, and is currently the three-time defending U.S. National Champion.
Katie has never lost touch with her mountain bike roots. Compton has 12 elite mountain bike wins this year. The biggest of which was the Super D win at the 2007 Southridge Norba National. Katie also swept the cross-country and short track events at this year's Chile Challenge in Angel Fire, NM.
Katie hails from Colorado Springs, CO and rides for Spike Shooter.