"You're a bada**" - Mikaela Shiffrin reacts as Olympian Kate Courtney makes impressive debut at Leadville Trail 100 MTB race

Mikaela Shiffrin praised U.S. mountain bike Olympian Kate Courtney for her “huge day” after the cyclist’s record-breaking performance at the 2025 Leadville Trail 100 MTB. The race held on Saturday in Leadville, Colorado, is one of the biggest and toughest mountain bike marathons in the world.

Shiffrin was there to support her brother, Taylor Shiffrin, who competed in the event and completed the 105-mile course. The men’s race saw Keegan Swenson claim his fifth consecutive victory in 5:45:35, with John Gaston and Simon Pellaud finishing second and third, respectively. In the women’s race, Courtney made a stunning debut, breaking the course record in 6:48:55, while defending champion Melisa Rollins took second.

After the race, Courtney posted a photo with Shiffrin.

“Met a hero today! You’re a bada** @mikaelashiffrin," Courtney wrote on her Instagram story.

Shiffrin reposted the story, adding a note:

“Congrats to you for a HUGE day! @kateplusfate.”

Screenshot of story (IG/@mikaelashiffrin)

Shiffrin is now turning her focus to the 2025–26 Alpine World Cup circuit, with her sights set on the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan–Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, from February 6 to 22.

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Mikaela Shiffrin celebrates brother Taylor’s 105-mile Leadville MTB finish

Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup - Men's and Women's Slalom - Source: Getty

Mikaela Shiffrin also shared a series of photos from Leadville on Instagram, featuring her mother, Eileen Shiffrin, her brother Taylor, and her sister-in-law Kristiana Shiffrin. In the caption, she praised Taylor’s remarkable effort and told the story of how he ended up racing.

Mikaela Shiffrin mentioned that after reconnecting with an old friend, Cristhian Ravelo, Taylor trained for just six weeks, while working full time in data science, managing only a few long rides before race day. Despite the limited preparation, the pair still completed the entire 105-mile course on mountain bikes.

“Lots of reasons why I look up to my big brother, but this just might take the cake… Let’s see if I can get the storyline right: @taylorshiffrin ran into friend from years ago @cristhianravelo, and they decided to meet up on the bike trails at some point… maybe even a race??”

“Flash forward through 6ish weeks of ‘weekend training’ (in the midst of a full-time data science job)… a few 30mi rides and a couple 85mi… Cristhian and Taylor finish all 105 — yes that’s ONE HUNDRED AND FIVE — miles of the Leadville 100. ON A MOUNTAIN BIKE 😵😵😵. I’m shookededed… befuddleded… flabbergastydabbered…”

Mikaela Shiffrin ended the note by calling Taylor “pretty much the coolest” and saying she was inspired by him. Before this, Taylor had also competed in the men’s pro/open XCO mountain bike race at the GoPro Mountain Games.