How likely is it that a cyclist from an island in the Indian Ocean three-quarters the size of Luxembourg, who raced just five times on the road last year, would become one of the breakthrough stars of the 2024 season so far?
This time last year, Kim Le Court was living in South Africa, racing her mountain bike. Her long-time dreams of a professional road career were a spec of dust in the distance, just a hope that passed her by years ago.
Twelve months later, the Mauritian, who now races for AG Insurance-Soudal, has been one of the revelations of the 2024 Women’s WorldTour season and looks nothing like a rider who has just switched to a new sport.
The 28-year-old started her season in Australia, placing ninth in the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race after playing a key support role in teammate Sarah Gigante’s win at the Tour Down Under. Le Court had more success during the Spring Classics, with ninth again at Classic Brugge-De Panne, tenth at Paris-Roubaix and a string of other strong results.
“I think I’ve completely overachieved [on] what I expected,” Le Court told Cyclingnews during a short break back home in South Africa after the Classics.
“I am someone that doesn’t really believe in my capabilities and myself quite a lot. It might not show, but I’m really someone that’s very shy and insecure. I think the support I have around me did motivate me and kind of gave me that extra mental state where I knew I could do something special, but I just didn’t know how special, how big.”
Le Court may describe herself as insecure, but that doesn’t seem to dampen her doggedness, which she says comes from the fact that she has come a long way to get to this point. She thinks that the journey she has had to make gives her a competitive advantage out on the road.
“Coming from so far and coming from a country with very, very little opportunities has put me in a different headspace than I think most girls in that bunch.
“So I think I want it a lot more maybe …I’m just saying that because that’s how I feel,” she says with a pause, qualifying her point.
She continues: “I just feel like I’m coming here with a lot more to lose than other girls that kind of are there, and they can just go home. I’m not close to home. If I want to just go see my husband or my parents, they’re not just a short-hour flight away. I can’t do that. I’m sacrificing a lot…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…