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Courtney Duncan, welcome to my podcast. >> Thank you. Thanks for having me. I'm
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stoked to be here. >> So nice to connect. Courtney Duncan, um, the motocross rider regarded as one of
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the most dominant female riders in the sports history. This was written by Chat GPT.
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>> Pretty humbling to hear that. >> This is what AI thinks about you. um
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four times world motocross world champion 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2023. And the most successful rider in uh um WMX
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history with 42 victories out of 80 starts. >> Yeah, that's pretty cool. I guess
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>> it's impressive. >> Yeah, thanks. Um you don't really resent
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it at the time. You just as an athlete, you're always looking forward and you
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don't really count your victories or listen to stats or anything like that. So sitting here is, you know, when
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life's tough at the moment, it's cool to hear. >> You're you're a big deal and you you and
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you, with all due respect, you're probably not as famous as what you deserve to be. Would that be a fair
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thing to say? >> Yeah. I mean, I guess motorsport and and motocross in general here in New Zealand
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is it's not mainstream. Like not too many people know about it. It's not one
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of those big sports like footy or net or anything like that. So, it probably lives under the radar a little bit, but
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I'm a southern girl. I'm pretty low key and I'm pretty cool with it.
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>> Yeah. So, it doesn't doesn't grind your gears. It doesn't get you down.
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>> No, I enjoy it. I mean, you can go out and about and people don't notice you.
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And I think even more so like the fact that we race with a helmet. So, when when I'm ever on television, you don't
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really see what I look like. I'm always just full decked in guess. A lot of people don't really recognize me and
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just like living life under the radar. It's good. >> Yeah. Well, you are uh New Zealand
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Sporting Royalty and it's an absolute honor to have you on the podcast today
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and uh you reached out to me and I I really appreciate that. It's so cool. >> Yeah, I'm here in um in Oakuckland and
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I've got a specialist appointment this afternoon. So, I got some time to fill
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and I've listened to quite a lot of your podcasts and uh previously and they're
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awesome, man. Credit to you. You do a good job and a lot of inspirational people come on and I love podcasts. I
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think they're great. It's a great way to get insight into people's lives. And
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even with athletes, like a lot of the time you see the glory, right? You see like the the podium shot at the end with
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the trophy or the cup, but you don't really get to hear their journey. So, I
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think like being able to listen firsthand to that, it's pretty cool. So, >> Oh, thank you. Oh, that's a that's a
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huge compliment. Yeah. One thing I really love about it is um yeah, just it it makes people feel less alone, I
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think, when you realize that everyone um is going through some sort of adversity
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or some sort of struggle. >> Yeah. >> Um >> yeah, there's just so many lessons from
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the podcast I've done. And you realize that that you no one is like born super
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talented or super lucky. Um that the only cheat code really for anyone is hard [ __ ] work.
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>> Yeah, 100%. Like I mean talent it's it's not really a thing, right? It is hard
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work. Most people get to where they are in life and sport and business is just hour after hour of just hard work and
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doing the extras that aren't people aren't willing to do. >> Yeah, this is going I can tell already
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this is going to be a great chat. I'm so excited. Okay, so you mentioned um you're in Oakuckland for a specialist
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thing. What's going on? You've got some heart issues at the moment. >> Yeah, so um here I am in what May 25
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meant to be overseas. This time of year I'm always overseas for the last decade
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and I'm still here in New Zealand cuz I'm battling some health issues. So, um
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it's been a tough four or five months I think. I uh first got really ill at the
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end of January. Had severe chest pains and struggling to breathe. And at first I was just in and out of hospital. Like
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what the hell is wrong with me? And anyone that knows me knows like I'm never going to hospital. like I've got
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to feel like I'm dying to go to hospital. And that's what I how I felt like. I'm like, man, like am I going to
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get through this type thing? And I just went in and out of hospital and every and every doctor I saw and everyone in
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there was just like, nothing's wrong with you. I'm like, I've got this severe pain on my chest. I
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can't breathe. I'm gaspy for ears. Something is wrong with me. And I went
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through like four different doctors and hospitals. And man, it was a a long road
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and I finally got to see a cardiologist about 4 weeks later and diagnosed me with pericarditis. So, um people Yeah.
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>> What does that mean? >> It's exactly what I what I thought as
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well. Like the hell is that? Like it's a inflammation on the lining of the heart.
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So, it's not the heart itself, but the lining of it. So, let's start with the
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the bad news is obviously it takes me out of the year and it's a long slow recovery. like it can be anywhere
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between 6 months to 12 months. We we don't know. Everybody's different. But
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the good thing is it's curable and I'll get back to 100%. But it's just one of
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those things where it's just time and just rest. And >> the old saying like rest is the best
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medicine. Like just letting the body just do nothing. >> And you're you're how old now?
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>> 29. >> Yeah. So you don't really want to What's the sort of age that you pick in your
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sport? >> I mean it's hard to say. Like you've got an amazing 18year-old out there in MXGP
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right now battling at the top step and he's battling like a 34 year old for the
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world title. So it's hard to say. It's hard to put an age on it. I mean I
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whenever the body kind of says no or whenever you believe it's time to go I think you know like
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>> a lot of good athletes go. You know they know when they know type thing. Um
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>> but I suppos I suppose for you like you'd be you it'd be fair to say you're
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in the second half of your career so you don't want to lose a whole year. >> Yeah. Sure. I mean, the fact is we we
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pretty much have in my sport, you race six World Cups a year. And if you don't
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get on the line for that first World Cup, it's pretty much championship done.
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Like, you can't accumulate enough points to win the title, if that makes sense.
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And uh as soon as we got these issues and and the cardiologist and my team and everyone was like, we're not going to
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make this first World Cup or the second one, then it's like, okay, we really
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need to focus on getting 100% healthy. like there's no point of coming back to
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struggle your way through it for no championship or or no results. So, um right now it's in that phase of if it
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takes six months, it takes 6 months and we're just going to really focus on getting back to 100% and I guess that'll
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be the focus on next year. >> I know how hard how hard how hard how hard how hard how hard how hard how hard
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how hard how hard how hard how you train. I've seen you on Instagram. Um, so I suppose it's like the iceberg. Like
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people see you on the track doing these incredible things, but they don't see
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the stuff beneath the water on the iceberg. >> But for anyone that's listening to this
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that thinks, well, you know, why can't you just ride your bike with a a sore
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heart? Like what what is the answer to that? >> I mean, it's so funny. Motocross riders,
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like we go through everything as well. Like we break our collar bone, we get it plated, we ride 3 days later. Like it's
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crazy. It's probably not right, but it's what we do. We go through anything. We
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just push through it. And this heart condition, it's just been one of those things where I physically can't. Like I
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was just saying previously, like I just walked up those stairs into studio and I'm like sweating and it's it's hard
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work. There's no way I could go out there and race a 30 minute moto at a heart rate between 180 to 200. And in
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order to even get to that level, you need to be training day in day out at that level to be able to compete at that
00:07:38
level on the weekend. And my body, like I say, can't even get through like a 30
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minute walk at the moment. So that kind of answers the question. It just >> and it makes a decision so much easier
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because it's like physically I just can't be there. >> How's this been for you? You've been
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through so much adversity. Um so when you when you got the result from the cardiologist like Yeah. How do you how
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do you take that news? >> It's tough. I think the hardest thing about it is the uncertainty, right? Like
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you go through an injury, you go through an ACL and I mean it's people have gone
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there before and and had the same thing and you know like it's it's a four to
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six month injury, maybe 9 months type thing. And um you kind of get those markers 2 weeks, four weeks, what you
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can do and you just see that progression. And with the with the health it's just like a lot of the time
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we have no answers. I can't I can't sit here with the cardiologist and he he
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tell me it's going to be 6 months >> cuz we don't know. And I think that
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uncertainty has been really hard. And although it has been easier since I had the diagnosis, before that, prior to
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that, well, my anxiety was through the roof. Like, no one could give me answers. So,
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what do I do? I sit there on my laptop and I'm like, Dr. Google, >> it's always cancer.
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>> Oh, it's always like, I need a lung transplant and everything. And I was
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like, oh my god, I'm going to die here. But um I had to put that to bed cuz the
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anxiety was just going even more through the roof. Um >> but yeah, it's it's been tough and I
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mean anyone that knows me is I'm busy. I live life 100 miles an hour which probably hasn't been great on the body
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in hindsight like throughout my whole career. And um it's been hard to just accept it is what it is and you need to
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rest. M >> and um when we made the decision that we weren't going to race the World Cup
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prior to that before we knew the diagnosis I was trying to train through it just lightly just 30 minute spins on
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the bike and it was making the symptoms worse and once we decided okay we're not
00:09:47
going to be able to make that first World Cup we ease back from the training and I was like okay I'm resting but what
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was I doing I was going out I was meeting people I was going to appointments I was doing this I was
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traveling here there and there and I was just getting worse. And it wasn't until
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um my physiologists just said like, "You can't do that. You just need to lie on
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the couch for 2 weeks completely. Like, don't even leave the house. You're
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allowed to leave the house for 20 minutes each morning for a walk. Other than that, you're housebound."
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>> And that was like that was so hard. That was way harder than everything I've ever
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gone through. Just >> like you say, having to rest. Yeah. What did that look like for you? Do you you
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break down? Have you got some like good people in your team that you can talk to
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about the stuff? >> Yeah. Yeah, I do. I have amazing family. I've got some amazing friends. And even
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my sponsors, like my team, um Kawazaki, my sponsors, Monster Fox, they've been
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awesome. They just said, "Hey, like do your thing. If it takes the year, it
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takes a year." And I think I owe a lot to them for just um having my back through that and allowing me to Yeah.
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supporting me as a person before an athlete, I guess. a lot of time in sport. Um, if you're not able to line
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up, someone else takes your place and uh, that's that. But I think just loyalty as well. I've been with my
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partners for for a long time, so they're really understanding with that. And
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yeah, I've got good people around me, which makes it easier. >> Oh, that's wonderful. And also, yeah,
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they know this is hurting you more than anyone else. Like I I can't you I mean,
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you're super competitive. Like you don't you get the results you've got without
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being um that you driven sort of that way. So, I can't imagine how hard it is
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for you sitting sitting on the sofa, twiddling your fingers and thumbs, not doing anything, knowing that your
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competitors are racing. They're making all these gains and they're getting Is
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that the mindset? >> Yeah, it's tough. I mean, and like you say, I'm no stranger to adversity. I've
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gone through multiple injuries and >> and one one way I I know that I can come
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back from it and I know how to deal with it. But at the other hand, like you say,
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your competitors are getting better every single day. And I feel like over the last few years I've had a lot of
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injuries and couch time and um you're watching them progress forward and you're you're going backwards type
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thing. So I think it's been hard but it's just been having to accept it for
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what it is. Like there's nothing I can do. It's out of my control. >> Yeah.
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>> Just got to focus on resting and getting better. >> And and right now am I right in saying
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you should be in Italy in Sardinia? >> Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think next weekend
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is round three of the World Cup in Germany. So, um those weekends that there's a World Cup on, it's always
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tough. >> It's really tough. Although, I'm getting a little bit better. I'm watching the
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second moto of the WMX, which um in previous years, I'd been really bitter against it and hadn't been able to
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watch. And I've been able to step over that hurdle and I'm at least being able to watch it.
00:12:45
So, >> that's good. You're growing as a person. We like that. Personal growth is good.
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>> All right. Um should we we'll go back and explore the early years e of
00:12:53
Courtney Duncan. So you're born in um January 1996 in Otago >> uh a town called Palmyston.
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>> Mhm. >> What are your earliest memories? >> Oh man, just being a normal kid just you
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know just going to school and just loving the outdoors. Um >> I played every sport there was at
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school. like I don't know if it was whether I could get out of school if I you know put myself in every single
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sport or what but just footy, tennis, swimming, I mean I you name it, I did it and just a real humble beginning.
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Parents work super super hard. Um and I think in one way that's kind of, you
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know, lent over on me a little bit. I've been able to watch my parents work really hard to kind of get where they
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are and um yeah, just got introduced to a dirt bike at 7:00 and was just the best feeling ever. I remember throwing
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my leg over that and just loving it and couldn't wait to get home from school.
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Like it would be the first thing I want to do. Like I'd quickly get out of my
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school uniform and run to the garage and I was fortunate that we we lived on a little lifestyle block so I had a little
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track behind the house and I could just ride whenever and um just loved it. and just wanted to race super competitive.
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Wanted to win everything I did and um a few tears along the way when I used to get beaten a but um yeah here we are
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still loving that dirt bike as much as I did as I started. So >> yeah. So who intro how yeah how do you
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get introduced to a dirt bike at seven? Was you did you was it older brothers or
00:14:21
your dad or? >> Yeah, my stepdad introduced me to a bike at seven and and me and my brother and
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um yeah, I took to it like a fish at water, but my brother wasn't too interested it in it. But um yeah, just
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super fortunate, I guess, had the lifestyle block. I think that was everything cuz a lot of kids that grow
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up in uh cities, they're unable to just go ride their bike. It's not like kids
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that play footy, right? They can just go down to the local field and kick a ball
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around where dirt bikes is a little bit harder than that. So, um, having a track
00:14:50
behind my house definitely >> helped yeah, navigate my way to where I am today.
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>> Was your stepdad like in into the sport or? >> Yeah, he rode previously um as a junior
00:15:00
or something. Never in the professional scene and um but yeah, he he was a good amateur growing up and um yeah,
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obviously taught me all the tricks and trades to it from a youngster. M how do you go from like clowning around
00:15:14
on a a dirt bike in the backyard to um yeah taking the next step and competing? >> Yeah. I think also like we were super
00:15:23
fortunate then back then in our community like in down in Otago there was a lot of opportunity for racing like
00:15:28
grassroots would almost have a club day or some sort of race meeting locally every weekend and I guess that's a
00:15:35
teaser like that's you're there every weekend you're racing and you fall in
00:15:39
love with it and you just go further. My parents happened to see I had a little bit of you know talent or skill at it
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from a young age and um fortunately they're in a position to help me pursue that and would take me just further a
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field and through those amateur days like from 8 till 16 we're away racing every weekend like it's crazy if I told
00:16:01
you stories about how my family did it like my dad would finish work at on a Thursday evening about 5:00 we'd hop in
00:16:08
the van we'd drive through the night to the ferry would catch the 6 a.m. ferry,
00:16:12
would drive all the way to say Talpo or Oakland or wherever the race was in the North Island and uh get there Friday
00:16:18
evening. I would race Saturday, Sunday, we'd hop in the van Sunday afternoon,
00:16:24
boot it to try to catch the fury, like the last fury of the evening, and then drive all the way through the night, get
00:16:31
home at Monday morning, my dad would go to work, and I'd go to school, and that
00:16:37
was normality. >> At what age for you? I'm I think I did my first trip to the North Island at
00:16:42
10:00 and we were racing. I think there was some times we'd race 20 weekends a
00:16:46
year in the North Island. Like that's a crazy commitment from the family and
00:16:51
>> crazy commitment. And you I mean you look back now with the benefit of hindsight and it's um I mean it's worked
00:16:56
out really well for you, but at 10 there's it's a hobby at that point. Like
00:17:00
maybe you're good at it for your age group, but there's nothing to suggest
00:17:02
that you're going to become a world champion. >> No. >> That is so selfless. Now that that makes
00:17:07
me quite emotional just hearing that. Is this um not that this is overly relevant, but is this your stepdad or
00:17:12
your biological dad that you >> No, my stepdad, >> right? Yeah. >> So, yeah, I heard you talk about him in
00:17:17
some podcast and um >> you talked about how he's big on hard work, ownership, respect.
00:17:22
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Huge on those lessons. Like >> like I talked about earlier, like I
00:17:26
hated to lose. I hated it. And um I remember once like I was really young. This is the first time. And I come and I
00:17:33
got beaten by my mate and I threw my bike in my helmet and I was crying. My dad just come in and like he said, "If
00:17:39
you do that one more time, I'm going to sell the bike." He put the bike on the
00:17:44
trailer. I hadn't even got out of my gear and I was sent home. And I think just stuff like that, like it holds you
00:17:49
accountable. It shows you like, "No, you can't act like this, you know?" So, I
00:17:54
think that definitely helped my attitude towards respect to my opponents. and um
00:18:00
it's okay to be pissed off at it, but you know, still have respect towards him
00:18:04
and just things like that. I was never allowed to make excuses like on the bike or the tires or the track and yeah, he
00:18:11
he just kept me um yeah, I guess like accountable to that, right? Like we're
00:18:16
all here, we're all racing the same track and if you didn't win, tough luck.
00:18:22
Uh give it a go again next weekend. So that's what we did. >> Seems like a good role model. How how
00:18:27
long has he been in your life? >> Uh yeah, since I was seven. So well, six, seven. So
00:18:32
>> you still have a relationship with your biological dad. >> Yep. >> Yeah.
00:18:35
>> Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, I was just speaking to him last night. So um and he's super
00:18:40
supportive, too. Would come watch. He was at the first World Cup that I won. So um World Championship that I won. So
00:18:46
um I've had really supportive parents and my mom too. She's u been the been
00:18:51
the backbone towards it all. And um yeah, she doesn't like me racing, so she
00:18:57
doesn't tend to watch. She'll like she will just turn the TV off until someone
00:19:02
texts her and says, "The race is done. Courtney's safe." And then she'll turn
00:19:06
it on and watch a replay. >> Oh, she's worried about you hurting herself. Yeah,
00:19:09
>> even now. >> Oh, yeah. Yeah. >> How did she handle it when you were 10?
00:19:13
>> I mean, actually, that was easier for her. >> Really? >> Well, you're on mini bikes and you're on
00:19:19
the mini track. You're not going as fast. you're not in the air for like
00:19:22
five, six seconds at a time. >> And and at that age, I hadn't had too many injuries. I mean, now, I mean, I
00:19:28
>> I don't really blame her. I've put myself through I f through injuries and
00:19:33
hospital visits and a lot of tough times. So, um >> yeah, I suppose like, um a mother's
00:19:39
concern is probably the like the worst case scenario. There's um a another girl
00:19:42
I've had on the podcast, I don't expect you to know who she is, um but her
00:19:45
name's um Casey Brady, and she was a motocross rider. She had this real funny
00:19:49
she was about to race in Toppo on the track there. >> Ah yeah. Okay. >> Yeah. And she had a real funny feeling
00:19:55
about the day and >> just didn't feel 100% and she rode and then she long story short she ended up
00:20:00
like um breaking her knee or back and getting airlifted to hospital and >> now she's um gosh she's so inspirational
00:20:06
but she's she's confined to a wheelchair but she is determined >> to walk again.
00:20:11
>> So I mean it's the same for you like something could happen in an instant
00:20:14
that could completely change your life. >> Yeah. >> Forever. >> Yeah. Sure. And it does like the off,
00:20:20
you know, we we do see injuries like that. But I mean the thing is I I've always said like that can happen in
00:20:26
anything, right? It can happen if you know step foot outside crossing the road or driving a car. And um I guess it's
00:20:33
also why we train hard and why we try to work on the skills and the technique is
00:20:37
to be as safe as possible and um to be one with the bike. >> But I mean you always have those
00:20:43
variables and you always have those things that are out of your control. But I guess as a racer, you don't really
00:20:48
think of that at the time. >> Yeah. Have you seen that happen to any of your peers or anyone you've raced
00:20:53
against? >> Um >> like an accident that's that's so bad that someone ends up paralyzed.
00:20:57
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah. I've saw that and even a few
00:20:59
deaths and stuff, but um >> a few deaths. >> Yeah. It's few and far between. Like you
00:21:04
don't hear of it that often. Um but >> still too many for my liking. >> Yeah. Sure. Sure. But like man, like I
00:21:11
say, it's in anything. It's in anything. Yeah. When you have a bad um accident,
00:21:17
how do you Yeah. How do you not lose your nerve? >> Um yeah, it's never really phased me to
00:21:23
be fair. Um yeah, I've kind of got through those injuries pretty good. I mean, I've had multiple ACL's and I
00:21:30
think the first few weeks I've been a bit hesitant with putting that leg out
00:21:33
around the corner cuz I don't want to dab it. Um but it wears off pretty quick
00:21:38
and you're back to it and you forget. You're just so in tune and you're just
00:21:42
so in the moment and Yeah. you're not really thinking about anything like that.
00:21:47
>> Yeah. So, uh, when you're 12, um, you see the World Champs on TV. >> Mhm.
00:21:52
>> And like, is that a pivotal moment for you? Is that a moment where you're like,
00:21:56
"Shit, I could do this." >> I still remember it. Yeah. I was sitting
00:21:59
in the lounge and um yeah, the world championship was won on TV at the time and back then we we did have like a
00:22:06
strong field like in the in the MXGP overseas like we had Ben Townley, Josh Cppins, we had Kathern Prom, we had a
00:22:13
lot of Kiwis overseas kind of winning races and um I guess that in itself adds to that aspiration, right? You're able
00:22:20
to see it. It's live and a Kiwis's over there doing it. And I remember just just
00:22:24
watching it then and just going from that day like that's going to be me. And
00:22:29
um yeah, it took longer than expected. Like I didn't do my first season until
00:22:34
19 or no I was 20 maybe. Um but yeah, we we got there and I mean I had so many nights where I just manifest like I
00:22:44
remember just visualizing crossing the finish line with both hands in the air being crown world champion. And I'd run
00:22:50
the roads as a as a young kid and I'd have goals written everywhere. Like they'd be written everywhere. Like
00:22:56
>> a young kid as in what age? >> Yeah. 13, 14. >> And what what goals?
00:23:02
>> Just I'm going to be world champion. I want to be the best in the world and it
00:23:05
would be all over the wall in my bedroom. Like they would be stuck everywhere on my door. So the first
00:23:11
thing I saw in the morning was just like world champion. And um you know, no one
00:23:17
kind of gave me that mindset. They just I don't even know where it come from. It
00:23:21
was just like you have a goal and you're going to do whatever it takes to achieve
00:23:26
it. Like >> I don't care what I'm going to go through, I'm going to get there type
00:23:30
thing. And um went through some hardships in those first few years and there was a point where I was just like
00:23:36
I might quit. Like I too many injuries and um glad I keep going. >> [ __ ] That's powerful. E, and I suppose
00:23:45
that just demonstrates the difference between um like a dream and and a goal. Like a dream would be like I want to be
00:23:51
a world champion, but a goal is that like >> reverse engineering it and going out and
00:23:55
running on the roads or you doing all the beneath the iceberg stuff that you did
00:23:59
>> to get there. >> Yeah, sure. That's one thing like Yeah. Like you say, just dreaming about it,
00:24:04
riding it down, but it's everything that went down to doing it as well. Just like
00:24:08
the 6 a.m. wakeups and just running the rope before school. And I'd have an exercise bike in my room. And I remember
00:24:15
my mom would come in and she's like, "It's 8:00. You should be ready for
00:24:18
school." I'll be like, "I'm training. Can you not see? Leave me alone. Wait till I'm finished.
00:24:25
I'm going to get the principal in here and he's going to drag you to school."
00:24:31
>> What were you So, but you say you to your mom you were training, but like
00:24:35
what were you training for then? >> Like to be the world champion like 10 years later?
00:24:40
>> No. Like Yes. to know. I mean, I was also training for the moment like I
00:24:45
wanted to win everything. So, it wasn't like that was >> the goal five, six years down the track,
00:24:50
but also we had goals gone racing. Yeah, I was still racing every weekend at the
00:24:55
time. So, the goals were >> um shortterm as well. So, I was training to be the best I could next weekend and
00:25:00
um just wanted to outwork my competition and just work harder and just wanted to
00:25:07
win >> and that's all I knew was just like hard work will get me there.
00:25:16
>> Are you familiar with the 10,000 hours theory? >> No. Yeah, a little bit.
00:25:21
>> Yeah, it's a guy called Malcolm Gladwell put this book out. Um I think it's he's
00:25:26
got a few books. They're all great. I think that's this one's in the book um
00:25:29
the tipping point. Yeah. >> And he talks about it sort of takes 10,000 hours to get to sort of expert
00:25:34
level or a level where your gains after that point are going to be just really really incremental.
00:25:39
>> Um and from what you're explaining like you know racing every weekend from the
00:25:44
you know a very young age you would have got your 10,000 hours in probably by the end of your teenage
00:25:50
years. >> Yeah for sure I would say so. I mean, some of my bikes had like 300 hours on them. 300 plus hours on
00:25:58
them a year. I remember those bikes we would just put hours on them. And I mean, it was just I just loved it. I was
00:26:05
just a kid just obviously wanting to win, but just loving it. Just I'd have friends come over and ride in the
00:26:10
backyard and we just >> ride for two hours, come in and eat, go back out, ride for another two hours,
00:26:16
and I'd make tracks all around the paddics and yeah, just had fun. >> Yeah. And that that is fun, but what's
00:26:23
not fun is getting up at 6:00 a.m. and, you know, going for a run or being on the exercise bike before school. That's
00:26:29
the not so fun stuff, right? >> Yeah. Well, you would think so, but I loved it.
00:26:34
Maybe I'm a strange person or a strange kid because No, I didn't see any of my
00:26:39
peers doing that. >> Um, and the kids I raced against certainly weren't doing it or if they
00:26:43
were doing it, like you say, it was a chore. >> But, um, I loved it. I would get up and
00:26:48
I'll swim a 100 lengths before school and in the pool and or run, you know, 10ks. I just loved it. I don't know why.
00:26:55
Maybe hard work gets you to where I was or was just part of the road to to get there. And um but even now like I still
00:27:04
enjoy the hard work side of it, even if I'm not on the bike type thing. So >> do do you have anything in the way of
00:27:09
natural talent? Like when you first got on the bike, >> I mean natural talent is a hard one
00:27:14
because you always believe in like the hard work, but at the same time like it come easy. Yep, it did. Like the first
00:27:20
time I threw a leg over felt pretty natural to me. I won my first ever race and >> um yeah, it it came pretty easy, I
00:27:29
should say. >> Yeah. It's only going to get you so far, though, wasn't it?
00:27:32
>> Oh, yeah. Absolutely. some some of the most talented kids in the world and um
00:27:36
especially through the amateur scenes, but they don't make the pros when it becomes, you know, everyone's
00:27:41
>> kind of working hard, everyone's on good equipment and um yeah, that kind they
00:27:46
kind of dwindle off. >> The um the time and energy and money, I guess, that your parents poured into
00:27:52
this like how how do you reflect on that now as a a woman in her late 20s? >> Super appreciative. At the time, like
00:27:59
you say, you're so young and you probably don't see it, right? When you're young, the world the world
00:28:03
revolves around you. >> Yeah, it's just normal. Yeah, it's normal.
00:28:07
>> You don't realize >> I'm driving 15 hours on a Thursday back.
00:28:10
That's normal. >> So, your dad would have been driving while you were just I guess crashed out
00:28:14
sleeping in the back. Like >> that's him like basically sacrificing sacrificing his life and his free time
00:28:21
um for the betterment of you. It's a massive massive sacrifice. >> It's hugely humbling.
00:28:25
>> Eh. >> Yeah. Yeah. It's it is really it really is looking back at it. like we did some
00:28:30
miles and we did the hard yards and >> um but at the end of the day it's where
00:28:35
why I am where I am today. Um and at the same time like you see I think from my parents side of it like I say they saw
00:28:43
how much effort I was putting into it. Like they saw all the early mornings, they saw all the hours on the bike. I
00:28:49
mean you want to do everything you can to pursue your kid's dream at the end of
00:28:53
the day. And I think that was their side of it. Like Courtney's putting 100% into
00:28:57
this. we're going to put 100% into this as well. And I know right now that if I
00:29:02
was just halfassing it, there's no way, you know, we we as a family would have
00:29:07
done that. But it was just the the amount of effort and how bad I wanted. I mean, I used to sit at the dinner table
00:29:12
tell telling my parents how bad I want to be world champion and that I'll be
00:29:16
there one day. And I think as a parent, if you're, you know, resenting that,
00:29:20
like you're going to do whatever it takes to help them achieve it. >> Yeah. You you high performance people,
00:29:28
you're a bit different, eh? Um I haven't had um I haven't had her on the podcast,
00:29:33
but uh Dame Lydia Co, I've had her um high performance coach on. >> Oh, yeah.
00:29:38
>> And he worked with her at a um Dave Ney. And he worked with her at a really young
00:29:41
age, and he said the issue he had was actually like sort of slowing her back. >> Yeah.
00:29:45
>> Um because she wanted to like overtrain. >> Yeah. >> Um at a really really young age. It
00:29:50
sounds like there's parallels with you and her. completely different sports,
00:29:53
but you know, just young young Kiwi girls that um just want to be the best in the world.
00:29:58
>> Yeah. Yeah. Funny you say that. Like my parents did say like when I would get up
00:30:02
at 6, do you need to be doing that? You're going to break your body. I'm
00:30:06
like, no, I'm doing it. So, yeah, I guess we we probably at times I should have been held back and told like,
00:30:13
"You're doing way too much." But, um as a I was pretty stubborn as a kid, too.
00:30:19
>> I was going to say that. I don't know if you would have listened. Yeah.
00:30:22
>> And how was it a male dominated sport early on for you? Was there a female
00:30:26
league or female races or >> That's a good question because um the growth to the this day is huge. Like
00:30:33
when I first started riding there were especially in the South Island side of things in the in the southern like there
00:30:40
would be no girls. Like I'd be the only girl on the entry list. There was absolutely no way there'd be a girls
00:30:47
class. like I'd just have to front up with the boys and um nowadays like you
00:30:53
go to the like I was at a race last weekend just a local race and there was almost more girls and boys in the minis
00:30:58
division so it's awesome to see that growth but yeah growing up there was not
00:31:03
a lot of that and I just had to race the boys but at the end of the day it it made me me um it made me way more
00:31:10
aggressive way more hungry and I had to have pretty big elbows um at the end of the day the boys hated getting beaten by
00:31:18
a girl. Like they hated it. And the parents, man, the parents even more so. Oh, I went through some tough times as a
00:31:25
kid like that. Parents screaming at me like, "You need to make your mind up if
00:31:29
you're a boy or a girl. Like, you can't race both classes." And stuff like this.
00:31:34
They hated their sons getting beat by a girl. But I was so young. I was just like so chill. Just like
00:31:41
>> Oh, that's um Yeah. Yeah. So, water a duck's back for you. What about for your
00:31:46
parents? >> Oh, that would >> a parent and you just want to protect your kid. That would piss you off.
00:31:51
>> Yeah, I fired my stepdad up multiple occasions. Yeah, it just like f off.
00:31:56
Yeah. >> Really? >> Bring it on. He's just like to me just go out there and wax him even more.
00:32:04
>> Is it quite um >> Yeah. Is it Is it quite a um confrontational sport in terms of the
00:32:10
elbows and stuff? Do you mean like pushing and shoving? At the end of the day, it's it's an individual and you're
00:32:15
there for yourself and it's everyone against each other. Everyone wants to be
00:32:18
the best and you'll do whatever it takes to win. So, um, a lot of the times I I
00:32:23
got along with everyone, but I didn't have too many close friends in this sport. I kept it pretty separate with
00:32:28
school and stuff. I had some great friends at school and um I I honestly like my stepdad taught me up. We just
00:32:35
arrived. We had to do a job and we leave type thing. So, I would just show up, race, and I'd race multiple classes,
00:32:41
too. Like, that's something like if we had 10 classes on the weekend or or say
00:32:46
six classes. If I was eligible for three, I'd race three. So, I'd just be
00:32:50
on the track all the day. And um yeah, didn't have too much time to mingle with
00:32:54
the with the other kids. I was just there for I guess business. >> Get a job done. Okay. So, um yes. So,
00:33:01
try and track us through a path here. So, you finished school, year 17, 18. Do you go to university after that or what?
00:33:07
No, I didn't. Um I just always had that dream to to go overseas and I went actually my first year I went to the
00:33:14
States. I went to a training facility um in America for six 7 months I think. Um
00:33:20
and there was at the time there was a pretty good woman's scene in the States
00:33:23
with the pros and I kind of I had raced as an amateur in the states so we chose to go there after I left school and um I
00:33:32
ended up getting injured. I ended up having a massive concussion actually and um coming home and I remember when I
00:33:38
come home at that point I I didn't want nothing to do with a dirt bike. Uh I
00:33:43
just had a really bad headnock and it took me a long time to get over it. took me probably 6 months and um I kind of
00:33:49
dabbled in a bit of jobs here and there and just rode a little started to ride a
00:33:54
little bit casually there again and then started to to build back into it when I
00:33:58
was about 18 and and from then it was like preparing and having the eyes on the world championship scene in Europe
00:34:04
and um yeah so no uni and and nothing like that I've kind of come from school
00:34:09
straight into the pro scene really >> right how were you paying for it early
00:34:12
on >> did you manage to get some sponsors early on or some help local businesses
00:34:16
or >> Yeah. Yeah, we did. We were always pretty fortunate. I had some really good
00:34:20
sponsors even as a kid growing up. Um that yeah, obviously helped my parents and me do what I was I was able to do.
00:34:27
And also I was with Yamaha for like 12 years all the way through the junior scene and and they were unbelievable
00:34:34
with support. Um they actually like helped me get overseas a couple of times and stuff like that. So um yeah,
00:34:42
otherwise it would have been very hard to do like my parents would have had to I don't know dig deep
00:34:49
on the >> Yeah. So So when you had that first trip to the States in your in your late
00:34:53
teens, who went with you? Did you go on your own or >> uh Yeah. Well, my stepdad come for a bit
00:34:58
to kind of get me settled in there and um I had a mechanic over there at the time, too. But um yeah, I I didn't have
00:35:04
any family there and that hit home. That hit home. I was like I had a like I said
00:35:10
I had a really I'm going to say normal upbringing but it's not normal after the
00:35:14
stories I've given you. But I was still around my family. I loved my brother, my
00:35:18
sister, my mom and my friends at school. Went through school and played public sports and I had that environment and
00:35:25
then I went to going to the States and pretty much like being on my own and just missing that. Um, it just made me
00:35:33
not negative against the sport, but just it just wasn't fun. And it was like the
00:35:39
first time I experienced not having fun riding a bike. And >> that's when I realized like if I'm not
00:35:45
having fun, I'm not getting results either. That's why the the fun factor is
00:35:49
super important for me. Um, and having good people around me, you know, >> you think it was an element of
00:35:57
homesickness or something, first time away from home and You're very young as
00:36:01
well. >> Yeah. Yeah. I was crazy. I had even cooked a meal for myself and I'm like
00:36:06
overseas. I'm like I can remember calling my mom like how do I wash my sheets? Like what do I put in the
00:36:11
washing machine? Like I had no idea. I was just this kid overseas just trying to navigate life. And I guess it Yeah.
00:36:19
made me grow up pretty fast. >> Well, you have to. E. And and I suppose it was just um a reality check like
00:36:25
you'd been in your bedroom through your high school years like you know getting
00:36:28
up early doing the exercise and you realize oh [ __ ] if I want to be the best in the world this is what I have to do.
00:36:33
>> Yeah. Yeah. >> This is the next level. >> Yeah. >> Um yeah. And when did you first start to
00:36:38
believe you could be the best in the world? >> Um I always had that. >> Yeah.
00:36:41
>> I always had that inner belief I think. Um, >> now was there a moment like in a in a
00:36:46
race or a moment where you're like, "Oh, okay, actually I can I I will do this?"
00:36:51
>> Um, like from when I was already racing overseas or before >> when you started having some results. So
00:36:57
you thought, "Okay, I've had this dream in my in my bedroom and we've been
00:37:01
>> going around all these races in New Zealand over the weekend, but I can
00:37:05
actually do this." >> Honestly, like like I say, that was just from day one. Like that day I watched
00:37:09
the TV and I said like I was watching that and wanting to do that. It wasn't
00:37:13
even I I didn't even say to my parents I want to do that. It was I'm going to do
00:37:17
that. Like I remember saying it was just super cheeky. I was like to my dad, I reckon I could beat them on my 85 and
00:37:24
that's like a mini bike. There's no way I could have. But that's the, you know,
00:37:27
that's how much confidence I had in myself and in a belief. So, um I think deep down I've always believed I can be
00:37:36
the best at what I do and and win championships. And you need that. M >> you need that when you get down to the
00:37:42
nitty-gritty championship stuff. When you go into the line with title on the line, you need to believe you're going
00:37:48
to win it. Like >> that's half the race. >> So reflections on 2016. So this is the
00:37:55
year you um burst onto the world stage and you won the first ever Grand Prix in Qatar. So So that's nine years ago. How
00:38:02
old are you in then? >> 20. >> Yeah. 1920 was the start of the year.
00:38:07
>> Yeah. um huge moment for me. Uh I actually we we had worked with Yamaha about going
00:38:16
overseas in 2015 to do two World Cups, see how I stacked up. Um and before we committed to a full series and it's kind
00:38:24
of like one of the things in our sport is you can't just ring from New Zealand,
00:38:27
ring a team, hey, I'm pretty good. I've got some talent. Can I have a ride? No,
00:38:32
you have to go over there and showcase what you've got to get a ride. And that's costly. like I think that's tough
00:38:39
on a family. >> And um so the idea was to go over Yamaha were going to take me over New Zealand
00:38:45
and um put me in for a couple World Cups, showcase what I got to sign me for hopefully a contract for the following
00:38:50
year. And 3 weeks before I was about to go, I had and it was playing basketball and my knee popped out. Ended up doing
00:39:00
an ACL. Devastating at the time. Like I felt like my dream was over. Anyway, fast
00:39:06
forward. We missed that whole year. I got back on the bike at the end of the year and um I started having some good
00:39:12
results. I moved up to Nelson to work with the coach Josh CPP and it was going to prepare me for that next season to
00:39:18
hopefully go over to a World Cup that year. And we had some really good results at the end of that season. Like
00:39:24
I ended up winning a Grand Pricks against the men, first girl to ever I think at the time or still to this day
00:39:30
win against the guys at um MX2 level in New Zealand. And we're like, and I remember saying like, I want to go race
00:39:37
now. Like, I I'm ready. I want to go over now. They committed to helping me get to the first World Cup of the
00:39:43
season, but there was nothing guaranteed for the year because at that time of the
00:39:49
year, like contracts are signed and I hadn't showcased anything yet. And um so
00:39:54
my my stepdad and me went over for that first World Cup and I I remember at the time like Josh calling me before and
00:40:00
he's like I don't want to put any pressure on you but I'm just going to be
00:40:04
honest like you have to go there and you have to dominate >> if you want a contract to go on further
00:40:10
you know cuz most of the contracts are off the table and I'm like holy [ __ ]
00:40:14
like >> oh talk about pressure you know otherwise I'm coming back to New Zealand
00:40:19
and my my stepdad at the time was also like man we need to make it happen. Otherwise, we're probably coming back
00:40:24
and going to university or school or getting a job. >> Yeah. You're running out of sort of
00:40:29
runway or options at that point, huh? >> Yeah. So, um I was like, "Okay, here we
00:40:33
go." Nothing like a little bit of extra pressure. And off I go to that first
00:40:38
World Cup in Qatar of all places. Boy, bizarre for a little girl from Deneda to head over to the Middle East. And
00:40:45
everything was so different in itself, let alone the competition. And um >> you're not in Palestine anymore.
00:40:50
>> Not in Palmy. Hey, I'm like, "Wa, this place is unreal." And um
00:40:54
>> well, there's there's buildings that are taller than two stories.
00:40:57
>> I remember that day of that World Cup. Like, it's a bit of a different schedule
00:41:01
in Qatar. We race in the evening under lights as well, so it was all new. And we do quali and and free practice the
00:41:07
day before the race. And I qualified fourth. I was 2 seconds off the pace. And I was like I went there,
00:41:14
>> is that good? Is that good or bad? >> Terrible. Like I went there just winning
00:41:19
a Grand Prix in New Zealand against the boys like the men. I expected to go there and wax them just you know like
00:41:26
and I was like fourth. I was like 2 seconds and I was stressed. I remember that night I did not sleep at all
00:41:33
because like I'm like I'm fourth. I need to win to go further. Like I want this
00:41:39
to be like my career. I need to dominate tomorrow. Thankfully, like I woke up the
00:41:44
next day and um was able to go 1-1, commanding wins and um signed a contract to go on further the end of the year.
00:41:51
But the time poor talk about pressure. How >> Yeah. How did you turn that around? How
00:41:56
did you go from fourth on the one day to winning twice the next day? >> Well, actually funny. S my coach
00:42:02
messaged me. He wasn't there. Josh wasn't there, but he I remember him messaging me and goes, "Hey, don't worry
00:42:06
about the qual. Those Europeans are very good at qualification. like they've had
00:42:10
to have so much empathy on it growing up because it goes on gate pick where they're in New Zealand we don't have to
00:42:16
do one hot lap we just race and to choose our gate pick we choose a peg it's like ah 15th oh 15th gate picks and
00:42:25
nothing goes off a hot lap um and he just said they're really good at don't
00:42:29
worry you're a racer you'll out race them and end of story and um I just
00:42:35
believed in that and once the gate dropped it's just you forget about everything right it was just so in the
00:42:40
zone that we can like I'm just so in the zone and just Yeah. made made it happen.
00:42:46
>> Yeah, you did. And so that's 2016 and then um 2019 that's when you win your
00:42:51
first world title. >> Yep. >> Yeah. Let's go there. >> Yeah. So 2016 to 2019 after winning my
00:42:57
first ever race. It takes three years to win a title. >> Amazing. >> Like
00:43:01
>> what was that longer than what you expected? >> Oh yeah. >> You're impatient. Well, I you're just a
00:43:09
kid and you don't understand. Like, that's what I mean. You don't understand. You just think, "I'm the
00:43:14
fastest. I should win." And it's not about that. Like, there's so much more
00:43:17
that goes into it. You got to manage a championship. You got to be consistent. And I'd never had to learn how to manage
00:43:23
a championship. It was all new. And I was so inexperienced in that field. And also with Europe, like, you're racing so
00:43:30
many different countries and traveling to all these different cultures and different terrains. And I mean I
00:43:35
remember showing up to Holland and we're like, "Yeah, we're going to go ride the
00:43:38
sand." I'm like, "Oh yeah, like I've rode the sand." Like talking about down
00:43:41
at the beach. I arrived to Europe, I was like, "Wow, we what is this?" Like this
00:43:46
is like nothing I've ever experienced before in my life. Going to Belgium and
00:43:50
Holland and riding the sand with like holes like 2 m off the ground. It's just
00:43:54
a complete different style. So there was so much for me to learn. and also living
00:43:59
overseas without family for you know 6 months of the year like there was so much that you're not naive at the time
00:44:06
too. Um >> and yeah, a lot of it's all my own fault, right? Like I had some
00:44:10
misfortunes but at the same time I made so many mistakes and um >> misfortunes like like injuries or
00:44:17
>> Yeah, like I had the photographer I did my ACL in 2017 mid-season. So I had
00:44:22
>> Wait, you you hit the photographer? >> Yeah, in 2016. Yeah, they were standing
00:44:26
on the course. >> Clipped. Just clipped, >> but it blew me off the bike.
00:44:32
>> All right. Was the photographer okay? >> Yeah, she got a ban actually. She wasn't
00:44:37
allowed to get >> Oh, she was in the wrong. >> Yeah, she was standing on the track and
00:44:41
I come over a brown and didn't see her and just clipped the clipped my handlebars and just flew down the track.
00:44:46
And so, we had like a lot of things happen out of our control as well. But, >> weird luck, eh?
00:44:51
>> Yeah. Yeah. But at the same time, there was so many moments through those years
00:44:55
that I made dumb mistakes, you know, and there's no one to blame for those that
00:44:59
other than myself. Like I could have been so much more patient. I had so much more speed than anybody yet. I would
00:45:04
just blow it away. And um so it took me a while to figure that out. And um yeah,
00:45:10
like I say, every year I had a big injury as well. Um 2018 I think I had 30 point lead with two rounds to go. And in
00:45:19
a rac's mindset like that's pretty much change. you pretty much got like one
00:45:23
hand on the cup like you're almost there. And then at a offseason race I ended up um not crashing but I ended up
00:45:29
crushing my foot and um yeah did my Liz Frank in the foot and I remember going in and going to see the surgeon. This
00:45:37
was maybe like 3 weeks or two weeks before the the second to last um World Cup and I was
00:45:44
like I still want to race. like this thing could be broken in pieces and I'm
00:45:49
still lining up like I've got to win this championship and he's like you
00:45:54
can't like if you go out there now and try to ride with this foot and cuz like
00:45:58
there's so many little bones in the foot and blow that to pieces your foot may
00:46:02
never be the same. You're just going to have to forth it. Um so that was 2018. I
00:46:07
went through a pretty tough time then. You know like one year of misfortunes or missing missing out. It's like okay
00:46:14
we'll get it next year. 2017 missed out by two points. Went through an ACL operation then whole offseason off and
00:46:24
felt devastated that year as well and then 18 it's like third year lucky and
00:46:28
then I say had one hand on the cup and then you know just had to default like wasn't able to race. So um I was in the
00:46:36
dumps in 2018. >> Yeah. What did they do? >> Real dumps. Um I don't want nothing to
00:46:41
do with a dirt bike. I stepped away from it. I was really down. I didn't want to
00:46:45
talk to anyone. I just felt like I was a failure. Like honestly, like I just felt
00:46:51
like I let everybody down. I just felt like I let my parents down, my um team, my country. Like I was this unbelievable
00:47:00
gifted kid. Like so much talent was written about in the newspapers to being a world champion at, you know, such a
00:47:07
young age. And here my chance was and I kind of lost it. like and it's like you
00:47:12
have those thoughts like [ __ ] maybe I'm just good but maybe I can't just win a
00:47:17
championship maybe it's just not for me I I was struggling and that time you
00:47:23
know contracts are pretty much off the table and a lot of people lose faith in you like you're a super fast kid but you
00:47:28
don't have what it takes to >> win championships and um I kind of wrote
00:47:32
myself off and >> yeah I just I guess I woke up one morning was just like a few months later
00:47:38
like man I'm so close I'm just going going to have to give it another crack.
00:47:43
So yeah, but yeah, there was there was not a whole lot of offers and most people had wrote me off as well and like
00:47:49
I say, even times I'd kind of wrote myself off there at one stage. So um it was pretty tough to go through being so
00:47:56
close and just not getting it three years in a row. You know, >> that's a bummer. And then um I suppose
00:48:00
self-doubt creeps in and yeah, you you start to think, oh, do I am I just not mentally tough enough? Am I not talented
00:48:06
enough? Am I just a big fish in a small pond? Um yeah, there's a quote from I
00:48:12
think it's a Thomas Edison quote, you know, the dude that invented the light
00:48:14
bulb and it's something like um success is going from failure to failure without
00:48:18
losing any enthusiasm. >> Yeah. >> And it sounds like that's kind of I mean
00:48:22
you had a lot of wins in between. >> Yeah. >> Um but yeah, a lot of adversity and a
00:48:26
lot of failure as well on the path. >> Yeah. Yeah. 100%. And then um a lot of
00:48:31
success like I'd have wins and I'd dominate by 30 40 seconds and then I'd
00:48:35
just have the downfall of just crashing out and having injuries and this and that and um yeah you I guess it's like a
00:48:42
seesaw though cuz you you go back and you win and it keeps that confidence there type thing but yeah end of 18 it
00:48:48
was yeah pretty tough pretty all time low but um >> part of it have you ever played any
00:48:55
golf? Um like golf, the reason I bring that up is like um I'm a very [ __ ] golfer, but you can have like 10
00:49:04
absolute [ __ ] shots in a row, then one amazing shot, and it's that one amazing
00:49:07
shot that sticks with you and keeps you coming back. >> Just that feeling. You're like, there's
00:49:12
something there. >> I think that's why I don't play it. >> I'm like, man, I go out and have a game,
00:49:19
man, I'm good at this. And then I go out the next day and I'm just horrible. I'm
00:49:23
like, how do people play this? Yeah. Where's Courtney from yesterday? >> Yeah, exactly.
00:49:28
>> Um so, so yeah. So 2019, um that was the year that everything came together.
00:49:34
>> Yeah. Yep. >> So yeah, your your first world title and you'd won this you you had this locked
00:49:39
up before the final race. >> A 2019. >> Yeah. The first one. So it was so it was
00:49:45
like in the bag. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. With I won the first race and clinched the title before the last race.
00:49:50
Um 2019 just it was an unbelievable year actually. Um I come in I signed with Kawazaki that year. Like I said there
00:49:58
wasn't a whole lot of offers and um yeah Kawi come through and at the time I
00:50:02
hadn't I I actually signed with a team that I knew nothing about. I moved from
00:50:09
Holland in Belgium where I was the previous three years over to England and um yeah rode a brand that I'd never read
00:50:17
before in my life and I just signed it and I was just like betting on myself like let's go let's give this thing a
00:50:23
try. And >> is that is that a big deal? Why is that a big deal? >> Well, there's a lot of unknowns there.
00:50:28
Like I mean most people would at least go meet the team or ride the bike at least. Like I'd never even rode a Kawi
00:50:34
before in my life before I signed that contract. And um so it was just a lot of re like it was just refreshing I guess.
00:50:41
And I think with one of the the reasons that worked so well as as the team manager Steve he allowed me to commute a
00:50:49
bit more. So the seasons over course of 6 months and I'd previously just stayed
00:50:54
over in Europe for like 7 months and um this this year changed. I was able to kind of commute so I able to fly over do
00:51:03
a couple races and come home if need be. If it was like anywhere between 4 to 6 week gap, I'd come back home. And I
00:51:10
think that's really tough to do, but at that time, that's what I needed. I
00:51:14
needed to reconnect with home. I needed to just go back to riding with my mates that I grew up with. Like it would I I
00:51:20
mean, I was riding weekends just like I was as a kid. Just back to the humble beginnings and and just having fun. And
00:51:27
it bring the fun element back into it. And I'll just fly over fresh, ready to
00:51:32
go race, win, fly home, train, fly over a few weeks early, get over jet lag, ride the bike a couple times, and it was
00:51:41
just fresh. >> Um, >> it's kind of like your childhood all over again. Just get in, get the job
00:51:46
done, get out again. >> At the time, it's what I mean, and needed. I mean, it's tough on the body,
00:51:50
right, to do four trips to Europe and stuff like that. And sometimes it can be really difficult if the bikes aren't
00:51:55
quite the same on New Zealand and the state um and Europe. But thankfully I could bring my suspension over back home
00:52:02
to New Zealand. So I was training on the same bikes type thing. And like I say at
00:52:07
the time that's what I needed. I needed to fill the cup up again, be home, be
00:52:11
back with my family and friends and um yeah, just bring the fun back and had the fun in life and it just translated
00:52:18
over to bikes and uh yeah, felt like a really effortless year. Just >> everything everything came together.
00:52:27
>> Yeah. >> Well, that you said something interesting before. I did wonder about
00:52:30
that. So, you don't travel with a bike. You >> Yeah, you you just travel with parts.
00:52:34
>> Uh >> suspension, you said. No, >> not really. like you everything's in
00:52:38
Europe so I just arrive over to the team and everything's there but like coming
00:52:42
home to New Zealand my bike and everything will be here but >> I like to bring my suspension back at
00:52:47
least um so I'm on the same suspension settings and everything else you can get
00:52:51
here right they're just off the shelf sort of things and not >> um anything factory or something you
00:52:57
can't buy so yeah >> so what does it feel like when you cross the line and you know you're the world
00:53:03
champion so do you do you know immediately that you're the world champion or are you waiting on other
00:53:08
results or >> No. No. I mean like that race, you know where you're sitting. Like you come in,
00:53:14
mindset's the same. It's like I'm just going to go out there and do the exact
00:53:17
same thing I've been doing all year. Like if I go out there and win and it gives me the championship, cool. If I go
00:53:24
out there and something's not right or like it has to wait till another motor,
00:53:28
it does. Like I'm not putting on any pressure on myself to make it happen this race. And obviously it unfolded and
00:53:34
I knew if I won the race I was going to be champions and obviously my team have it on the pit board last lap you are the
00:53:40
world champion and it's just like just gives you goosebumps you know like yeah
00:53:44
I remember crossing the the line and um my family and and stuff were there was just monkey off the back here we go like
00:53:52
three four years of just grinding like is this ever going to happen is it ever going to happen and it finally happens.
00:54:00
>> Yeah. What's that moment like? Is that the happiest you've ever been in your
00:54:03
life or is it relief or >> all of the above? >> Yeah, >> definitely relief.
00:54:10
>> Um, unbelievable feeling. Like that's the moment you manifest like you know as a
00:54:16
kid every single day I went to sleep as a kid dreaming about crossing the finish
00:54:21
line being a world champion. Like and and that's no joke. Like that's it's
00:54:25
just how it was. That was everything to me. That's just my vision, my goal every
00:54:29
day. And that doesn't just get handed to you straight away. You have to persevere
00:54:34
and takes four years. Four years to finally happen. Especially after winning that first World Cup. You know, it puts
00:54:41
you on a pedestal. >> Sets your sights and everyone around you really, really high.
00:54:46
>> And in hindsight, I needed to win that first World Cup, but it probably damaged
00:54:50
me if not, you know, cuz it sets the standards very high. Um but yeah, when I crossed the finish line, it was just
00:54:57
like relief and just almost just numb. >> But it it wasn't a disappointing feeling
00:55:05
like, you know, cuz you'd had this goal for so many years. There was all the
00:55:08
sacrifices you made through high school, the early starts and all that. >> Um it was everything you imagined it to
00:55:14
be. >> Yeah, it was special. It was really, really special. And um I mean I'd go
00:55:20
through everything I've gone through, every single thing. like that's I'm
00:55:24
going through what I'm going through today. Like it's okay cuz we'll come out
00:55:27
the other end and you'll, you know, can go for another championship. And um yeah, I guess there's been sacrifices,
00:55:33
but at the same time, like people say that like you've missed out on school proms and birthdays and this and that,
00:55:39
but at the same time, there's nowhere I'd rather be than overseas racing for
00:55:44
World Cup wins and victories. So, it hasn't really felt like too much of a sacrifice just cuz there's been so much
00:55:50
love and passion in it and it's where I want to be at the end of the day. >> Yeah. It's like that that saying if you
00:55:56
love what you're doing then you're not actually working, are you? >> Yeah.
00:55:59
>> Yeah. >> Um and so what do you get for winning the world championship? Is there is
00:56:04
there like a massive ceremonial check that you get? Is there a >> actually like you have
00:56:08
>> in the in the business or >> you get like contingency from your sponsors and stuff but the or um the
00:56:14
series itself doesn't have prize money which is pretty crap to be fair >> like I think that's why you don't have
00:56:20
too many on the line like you only have pros and um guys with contracts really cuz they're able to make you know good
00:56:27
money through contingency but the series itself doesn't um there's not too much
00:56:32
of a celebration afterwards like you get your you know your medal or your replica
00:56:35
medal um a gold plate and stuff and you actually get flow in business to Monaco,
00:56:41
helicoptered in um put up in like a this amazing resort in the weekend in Monaco
00:56:46
with Yeah. the motorsport athletes or motorcycleycling athletes for the award ceremony which is pretty cool. That was
00:56:53
epic. >> Oh my god, that's badass. >> Yeah, it was badass. Here I am like this
00:56:57
little kid like growing up like walking in bare feet to school like just in Palmyon and next minute I'm
00:57:04
flying like business and then like getting helicoptered from Nissan to Monaco and escorted to the hotel and red
00:57:11
carpet and I'm just like I'm just a motocross rider you know >> just little Courtney when something like
00:57:19
that happens I think I think everyone sort of goes back to like themselves as a little kid. Yeah. So you're like you
00:57:24
were like little Courtney from Palmyon. What the [ __ ] >> Yeah. >> So so cool. Oh man, that's amazing. And
00:57:30
what was the reaction? Was it was there any sort of media response or reaction back home?
00:57:34
>> Yep. >> Like did it blow up here a bit? I can't remember. >> Yeah. Yeah, it was. Yeah. Yeah. like
00:57:39
breakfast and TV and I had a you know big welcome at the airport and stuff like all the high schools and um yeah
00:57:46
local community and stuff gave me a really nice welcoming and um yeah it was it was pretty cool. I mean it was
00:57:54
special. I mean all my family and my grandparents were there and they've kind
00:57:58
of lived that life with me, you know, like my aunties and cousins like they've
00:58:02
saw everything that's gone on. And they've been, like I say, I'm really
00:58:05
close with my family. So, it just feels like when I win every, you know, they all win. Like, it was really nice
00:58:12
feeling for us all. >> Well, it really is a team effort, eh? >> Yep.
00:58:16
>> 100%. It It really is. It's Yeah, you can't do it alone. >> And did anything change after winning
00:58:23
that first championship either in how how people saw you or how you saw yourself?
00:58:29
That's that's really good as well cuz you know like that was everything for me
00:58:35
growing up like I just wanted to be a world champion and when I missed out I was felt like like I said I felt like a
00:58:41
failure you know >> and when I did won that win that world championship it was like it just put it
00:58:47
into perspective that you know you're still Courtney whether you win or lose
00:58:51
you're still Courtney and I think I don't know why but maybe leading up to
00:58:57
it I thought different in that term. Um, >> you thought it might sort of change.
00:59:01
>> Well, it's not so much like that, but just like it doesn't define you, if that
00:59:08
makes sense. Like whether you're winning a world championship 10 or five times,
00:59:12
like this doesn't define who I am. >> I'm still Courtney. Like if I
00:59:17
>> decide I don't want to ride dirt bikes again, like I'm still the same person
00:59:21
>> type thing. So, um, yeah, it was, yeah, it was pretty special though, for sure.
00:59:27
It will always go down as the best title, that first one. >> Yeah, cuz of how much work just went
00:59:33
into that. >> And then 2020, um, >> yeah, you win that one as well. >> Y
00:59:38
>> um, but you go into that with a with a target on your back. Um, did that change
00:59:42
anything in terms of your like your preparation or your nerves or anything? >> Not really. I no because I felt like
00:59:49
I've always had the target on my back. I've never been another dog. I've always
00:59:54
been the one expected to win every, you know, even if I don't win the title,
00:59:58
people like I duck like I'm still expected cuz I'm I've always had the
01:00:02
speed and people just, it doesn't matter if I'm coming back from an injury, I've
01:00:06
still been able to come back and win or hasn't been my strongest conditions.
01:00:10
I've usually been able to find a way to battle to win type thing. So, I've
01:00:14
always been expected to win. So, I didn't really resent that any different. Um, it was a tough year. We got um the
01:00:21
year got split up with co um back home here in New Zealand. So, the series got put on hold and it was like I don't know
01:00:28
if we're going to go back and race. And when we went back to race in September,
01:00:32
there was only there was three rounds left, I think. And I remember my mom saying, "You're not going." And I'm
01:00:39
like, "Oh, hell yeah. I'm going. There's a championship on the line. I'm going,
01:00:42
Mom. See you. Love you. And um the first race I actually had a huge crash. It's on it's on YouTube.
01:00:52
You'll have to have to Google it. Um in Monta Italy and I flew through the air
01:00:58
and I landed and my handlebars snapped. >> Oh, I saw that. >> Yeah. >> You had quite a soft landing though,
01:01:03
were you? You were sweet. You stood up straight away. >> Yeah, I was sweet. Yeah. Bike wasn't I
01:01:09
run to my bike like cuz that's the first thing that happens. I could cartwheel
01:01:13
like 20 m down the road and I'm just running back to my bike cuz I've lost so
01:01:17
many championships also by like two or three points. It makes me think, okay, every point counts. Even if you get back
01:01:23
to seventh, that point can make or break a championship. So, I'm fighting back
01:01:28
for points and I get to my bike and I pick it up and there's no handlebar. I'm
01:01:32
like, no freaking way because that's 25 points lost then. Oh, so you just want to get back on the
01:01:39
bike and finish. Even though you finished last, but you still finish the >> cuz championships on my mind and I'm
01:01:45
like, I need points like and I go 25 points down. That's very hard to claw your way back. Two rounds remaining. I
01:01:54
think I was at a deficit of like 16 points. I knew that I needed to almost win every single race now to then to be
01:02:01
champion. It was pretty stressful times. That's such an interesting insight because I I literally saw that clip
01:02:10
yesterday and I thought, "Oh, Courtney's all right. Everything's sweet." Oh, you
01:02:12
were just worried about the bike. Oh, that's so funny. >> Yeah. And then I think I come back. I
01:02:18
won the next round. Um and then I went into the final round, which was like 3 weeks later with I think I was
01:02:29
I don't know maybe eight or seven points behind. Anyway, I needed to win. So
01:02:34
yeah, and I crashed on the first corner and then I was just like, "Fuck, I got
01:02:39
to go." I had one of the most um unbelievable races of my life. It was just like one of those races. Very few
01:02:47
times in your life any athlete will probably say they're just fully in the zone. Like they don't see, hear
01:02:53
anything. They're just in the zone. And thankfully I was in the zone that race.
01:02:58
I was able to claw my way back and win. Goodness knows how I did that. But um and that gave me the title. So yeah, it
01:03:07
was a a pretty special moment that one too cuz you crash at the on the first corner, you're like, "Oh no, like that's
01:03:14
how am I going to win this?" >> Cuz how long is the race? How long do
01:03:17
you have to >> 25 minutes? >> Okay. Yeah. >> Um so yeah, that's how I won title
01:03:22
number two. So I was also special on its own feet. It was >> I really had to make it happen. The year
01:03:28
prior, right? Like I said, it came pretty easy. I won almost every I think I won nine out of 10 races and this next
01:03:34
year I was like clawing my way back and yeah it was definitely a different scenario and different way to win.
01:03:41
>> That's amazing. Yeah. What you're talking about I've heard that described
01:03:45
as flow state. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Oh man that's amazing. >> Yeah.
01:03:50
>> Just muscle memory. E muscle memory. You're not even years and years.
01:03:54
>> Yeah. You're not even thinking really. It's just like >> just happens.
01:03:57
>> Yeah. So the world champs won 2019 2020 which we've just talked about 2021 then
01:04:02
2023. >> Yeah. >> So two of those through the sort of co area. How how many stints in MIQ did you
01:04:08
do? >> Um >> or did you just stay in Europe? >> No, I came back. Yeah. Because the the
01:04:14
2020 it was fine to get a um spot in quarantine. But 2021 I hadn't booked a spot to come back. I
01:04:22
left mid-season and I I had to leave for the year because well for 6 months anyway and I didn't know when I was
01:04:29
going to fly home because depending on if you win the championship you have you know sponsors um requests and different
01:04:35
things that obligations you have to do. So obviously I just had the one-way flight and I have a visa so it's fine
01:04:41
and um then all of a sudden they like block the quarantine spots and I couldn't get home. So, the the last like
01:04:50
um few races I was racing for a championship and I had that uncertainty of maybe not being able to get home this
01:04:56
year. That was pretty gnarly in its own right. And um yeah, I couldn't get home.
01:05:00
I ended up having to stay for maybe 7 weeks after the season before I finally got home. And I got home on Boxing Day.
01:05:08
>> So, yeah. >> It's a surreal time to look back on. E I remember that the um the MIQ lottery
01:05:13
system. >> Yeah. So every couple of weeks um you have to get online and try and get
01:05:19
register for a spot. >> Yeah. I remember like racing >> for a world cup and then that evening
01:05:25
after I finished racing I'll be lying in my hotel bed on my computer like cuz
01:05:29
obviously the time difference. So, I'd have to wait up till like 1:00 a.m. 12:00 or whatever time it was trying to
01:05:36
get in. And then I'd be like waiting, waiting, waiting. And then it would come
01:05:39
up and you like you're like 2,853 in Q. I just slam the laptop down. E, >> I'm not waiting, man. Slam that thing
01:05:50
down. Oh, next week. I think I ended up doing that like 10 weeks in a row trying to get home. M
01:05:58
>> yeah it was a stressful and a cruel time for a lot of people eh >> so 2022 you missed out um on winning the
01:06:05
world champions >> y >> uh that was an injury plagued season >> yeah yeah there was a lot of lessons
01:06:12
learned in 2022 um that was a year in co that I got stuck overseas so I didn't
01:06:17
arrive back until end of end of December start of January and I pretty much had no riding or offse
01:06:25
and um yeah just come in so underprepared. >> No excuses. Just so underprepared and
01:06:30
had a shocking first World Cup and um that just put me on pressure. Really put me on pressure just coming I think I got
01:06:38
like a ninth or something and then >> it kind of just puts you like I say under pressure and you're stressing
01:06:43
leading into the next World Cup and I made a mistake and uh Portugal and quali and broke my collarbone and rest was
01:06:50
history. >> Why didn't why didn't you give up then? Yeah. I mean, you had a three, Pete.
01:06:56
Three world titles in a row. >> Mhm. >> That would have been enough.
01:07:01
>> I know. It's It's never enough. >> I want more. >> Yeah. Yeah.
01:07:07
>> Yeah. I don't know. I'm just a You know, you Yeah. Exactly. So, you got like
01:07:11
those two different athletes, right? I know athletes are like, I want to be world champion. They get world champion
01:07:17
and then it's like life's done. Life's complete. Or you got other ones, it's
01:07:21
like they win. It's like, now what else can I win? I want another one and another one and another one. They become
01:07:27
addictive. And that's just me. Just like, oh well. As soon as I lost that one, I was just like, I'll just have to
01:07:34
rest up, come back, win, and I remember I think I said on on national TV when they were videoing my broken collarbone,
01:07:42
I'm like, oh, it's just a stepping stone in coming back to win next year. And
01:07:46
that's what I was able to do. So, um, yeah. >> Did that knock your confidence? Well,
01:07:53
not really. >> No, no, >> I was obviously pretty upset about it like cuz I wanted to fall and um yeah,
01:08:03
that kind of put that to end and um in hindsight I think it was good lessons learned. You know, like I say, I was
01:08:09
underprepared. things weren't aligned and um I think a lot of the time I'd
01:08:14
kind of won those previous titles on a lot of skill and and just being a bit more speed and a bit better and um
01:08:22
hadn't kind of worked in other areas that well kind of just relied on like I said my skill set
01:08:29
and um yeah just opened it up a bit and was like okay like I need to do more work in different areas. So
01:08:36
>> sometimes, you know, like that saying, you learn more if you lose than when you
01:08:39
win. >> 100%. >> I think I just in those years, I just stayed on top of the peak. You know, I
01:08:43
never come back down. I never reassessed the year and looked and reviewed it. I just stayed on top and just won and won
01:08:50
championship and another championship. And >> what about 2024? What happened there?
01:08:56
>> Yeah, last year was a really tough year. Really tough year. I had a big um injury
01:09:02
in the offse. I had another knee, micro fracture. And at the time, I'd already I
01:09:07
had resigned with another team. Um, and in hindsight, it probably wasn't good timing because when I was due to be
01:09:14
back on the bike was like 2 weeks before the first World Cup and I had to, you know, get used to a complete new
01:09:22
environment, new team, new people in a new motorcycle with, you know, different brands and parts. And we were just so
01:09:28
underprepared in that aspect. Like I didn't have the time. And then you come
01:09:33
in, everyone else is prepared and at the best and top of their game and you've
01:09:36
just had all offseason off and you're just on the back foot. You're just
01:09:39
clawing your way back. And it took me until like mid-season to find my feet. So tough year, but again just some
01:09:47
learnings and stuff. There was some a lot of success in some areas like I had my best sand performance of my career
01:09:54
last year which was pretty special to battle for the win there. Um so plenty of good but just overall a really tough
01:10:01
year. Yeah. Right. So, there's enough positives you can take from it. So, so
01:10:04
this year 2025 um is a write off because of the heart stuff. >> Um and then back into it next year.
01:10:10
>> Yeah, that's the plan. >> Um >> number five, baby. >> That's what we'll be working towards.
01:10:16
It'll be just Yeah. I mean, I had a memory pop up on my phone yesterday of um my victory in France, me spraying
01:10:23
champagne. I'm like, "Oh, dang." Like, I miss this feeling. like I crave this
01:10:28
feeling, you know, like just the pressure and just getting to perform on the weekends.
01:10:34
I I miss that, you know. I'm not ready to give that up. I >> I'm still hungry. I'm still motivated.
01:10:40
>> Um so I can't wait to get back. >> So many highs, but so many lows as well.
01:10:46
Out of all the injuries you've had, like what's been the most um physically
01:10:49
painful? >> Um physically painful? Ah, they haven't been too bad. >> Oh my god, you're a badass.
01:11:00
>> Um, the knees are like I think I >> Okay, >> I think I'm just so used to them.
01:11:06
>> Okay. I I thought they was um I thought that was a reasonable question. I I used
01:11:11
to do a bit of road cycling and I fell I fell off a there was a a pile up and I I
01:11:15
had a crash on the bike once and I broke fractured a collar bone. >> Um physically it's one of the most
01:11:20
painful things I've ever done. Yeah. >> Impossible. >> Yeah. >> I ask you this question. You've broken a
01:11:32
collar bone. You've done your knee numerous times. You're like, "Oh, not
01:11:35
too bad." >> I did. Like you say, I said, "I broke my collarbone in Portugal." Funny you say
01:11:40
that. And I I had a crash. I got up and I'm like, "Oh, it's a bit sore." I hop
01:11:44
back on my bike and I carry on free practice. I'm doing these jumps and I'm
01:11:48
landing. I'm like, "Oh, it's pinching." I'm going through like roller sections
01:11:52
and just a jarring. I'm like, "Oh." I pulled into the um pit lane and I said
01:11:56
to my mechanic, I'm like, "Man, like my collarbone sore. Should we go get it
01:12:01
checked?" And then he's And then I was like, "I'll go out and I'll do one more
01:12:04
good lap, like one more fast lap, then we'll go get it checked." So, I go back
01:12:08
out, put a heater in. I think I go P3 in free practice. And um I pick him up and
01:12:14
we go up to the um ambo and we get a ex x-ray and yeah it shows a fracture like a broken collarbone. I'm like oh that's
01:12:23
what's bro like that's a pain. And anyway go back to the team and I'm
01:12:27
determined to go race with this broken collarbone. Like I'm determined. So the
01:12:32
race comes around cuz like at that point I hadn't lost the championship. I'm
01:12:36
still in it and I still want to be there. It's hard for me to just go, I'm
01:12:40
not racing cuz that's championship done. So I go down to the starting line and um
01:12:44
I'm like they're like no you're deemed unfit to ride. I'm like no I'm I'm
01:12:49
racing but like medical terms if you've just showed you have a broken collarbone
01:12:54
you're deemed unfit. So for safety and stuff you're not allowed to ride. So I
01:12:58
got wheeled back to the team team tent. But I was pretty devastated. I was going
01:13:03
racing. >> You're a savage. This is so funny. Honestly, anyone that's had a collarbone injury will know
01:13:12
how excruciating it is. It's so annoying. >> Yeah. The next morning I woke up and you
01:13:16
are right. I was like struggling to put my t-shirt on and and then I was like, "Oh, I don't think I would have been
01:13:21
able to race today anyway." >> What was you think it was just like adrenaline at the time?
01:13:25
>> Yeah, it was pretty fresh. I'd only broken it like an hour or two before.
01:13:29
So, >> yeah, I think adrenaline and you're just kind of you're not seized up yet. And
01:13:33
the next morning I woke up and I was like, "Oh yeah, >> she's definitely broken."
01:13:37
>> What's the closest you've come to like packing it all in? >> Um,
01:13:41
>> have you seriously contemplated throwing it all in, throwing it all away, or you
01:13:46
just had like glimpses like an hour or a day here and there? >> No. 2018 I was like
01:13:52
I I wasn't phased whether I'd go back or not. Like I was like, "Oh, well." Cuz
01:13:56
like I say, I didn't have a ride. No phone. The phone wasn't calling. Like I
01:13:59
had no ride. I was with Yamaha and they decided to put all their eggs on one basket and go down um with the the
01:14:06
current world champ. She was with um with Yamaha at the time and she had won six titles and they chose her. So um
01:14:13
yeah, I guess uh from that aspect it was like oh well if no one wants me, no one
01:14:18
wants me. I'm not too faced. And then I just had people in my corner be like man
01:14:23
are you really serious? Like you have a lot of talent. You've look how close
01:14:26
you've come. Like you've had some misfortune. Like you'll get there.
01:14:29
You'll get there. And then just, you know, you you give it a few months and you come around, you're like, "Ah, yeah,
01:14:34
I miss it. We'll give it another crack." But it well was close. >> Yeah. You just need that dust to settle
01:14:40
in and get a bit of clarity. You imagine if you threw it away then like imagine that four world titles that you would
01:14:45
have missed out on. >> Uh that's the thing that kept me going back. Like when I did think about it, I
01:14:50
was like, I don't think I'll be able to sleep. Like I don't think I'll live with
01:14:54
myself knowing that I walked away when that had been my dream from such a young kid. and I'd got close so many times
01:15:02
like I was like I said I was almost there. We just needed to kind of piece it all together, work on a few things
01:15:08
and um yeah, it would have been a crazy Yeah story if I hadn't have done that.
01:15:13
>> I I think there's um there's so many lessons in that for like so many people
01:15:18
like the the point uh where you were the closest to giving it away >> uh was the point where you've never been
01:15:23
closer to unimaginable success. >> Mhm. Yeah, I know. and just how different things could have been if you
01:15:29
if you did decide to quit then. >> Yeah. Yeah. Who knows what I'd be doing.
01:15:33
>> Yeah. Hey, I said on Instagram you're coming in here. There's heaps of heaps
01:15:36
of questions. >> What do we got? >> So, these are sort of random and all
01:15:40
over the place, but um someone wants to know uh you've had long-term relationships with Monster and Fox. Is
01:15:46
it good money? >> Yeah, it's all right. It's pretty good to be fair. I'm pretty grateful for what
01:15:51
I've got. I've been able to, you know, purchase some property and have a pretty
01:15:54
good lifestyle. But um if it's compared to like the males, no, not at all. Yeah.
01:16:01
So >> work to be done there, eh? >> Yeah, definitely. Um in terms of that,
01:16:06
but um I never kind of like to look at what others have. I'm just kind of pretty happy with just living my own
01:16:13
life and not comparing myself to others. >> Yeah. You just hope that if you're the
01:16:17
best in the world and not a fluke, like a fourtime world champion, that you get to the end of your career and you've put
01:16:23
so much into this that you've got something to show for it. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah.
01:16:27
>> Uh what's the first Kiwi thing you do when you land back home? >> Oh, straight for a coffee.
01:16:32
>> Really? >> Yeah. Flat white. Kiwi flat white, mate. Straight there.
01:16:38
>> You can um you can get a good flat wine overseas, can't you? >> Uh well, you know, I spend a lot of my
01:16:46
time in Belgium and Holland, and that's very few and far between. Like, you know, the filtered coffee, and
01:16:53
>> yeah, it's just different. Um, but since I've been there a much longer time now,
01:16:58
yeah, I can find some good flat whites. But, um, I'm just stoked I think at that
01:17:03
time to see my family as well. Like that's probably the thing I've missed
01:17:06
the most. My family and my friends. >> You've been overseas offshore for like 6
01:17:10
months or whatever you've been. It's just like get back home and back to
01:17:15
Yeah. how you grew up and going for a walk along Sinclair or just seeing the mates.
01:17:22
Yeah, there's something about coming back home e um even when I've been overseas even that m if you're flying if
01:17:27
your last leg of your flights an New Zealand flight there's something quite comforting about just even getting into
01:17:32
>> an air New Zealand flight seeing the Kora magazine seeing your name on the
01:17:35
little screen >> like it just it feels like you're one step closer to being home
01:17:40
>> I feel you on that one and just yeah especially when you're coming into land
01:17:43
you just peek out the window and it's just like I don't know I just get this
01:17:47
>> rush like this feeling it's just like I'm home here I I am. I'm home.
01:17:52
>> How good. And then um you fly to Newton airport. Get a cheese roll at the
01:17:55
airport. Do you I always get a cheese roll at airport. Do you or no? >> No, I haven't. But how good's a southern
01:18:03
cheese roll? >> Sushi of the south. They say >> they're good, eh? They are good. Yeah.
01:18:08
>> I just noticed your nails. Are you a nail biter? >> Yeah. >> Are you?
01:18:12
>> Yeah. >> What is it? Is it a stress thing? An anxiety thing? Do you do it when you're
01:18:15
thinking or concentrating? >> It's so funny. my mom and um she's always like, "Stop biting your nails.
01:18:22
Just stop it." Especially my friend Amanda, like she's always like, "Stop
01:18:27
it." Like, I don't know. I just I just do it. I don't know. >> I do it as well, but I I I tend to do it
01:18:33
when I'm thinking or concentrating and then I'll catch myself >> or bored or Yeah.
01:18:37
>> But a lot of people do it as like a stress or an anxiety thing. >> Yeah.
01:18:40
>> Yeah. I just I don't know. >> Just recreational. Yeah. Yeah. >> Um, is motocross the kind of sport where
01:18:48
people slide into your DMs trying to impress you? And if so, what's the weirdest fan message you've had?
01:18:54
>> Um, yeah, I've had a few. Um, >> what have you got? Like groupies?
01:19:00
>> I can't remember what the weirdest one is, though. >> Oh, none that's coming to my mind off
01:19:07
off the topic. But, >> uh, what's your pre-race pump up routine and what music gets you in the zone? Um,
01:19:14
depends on the moment, you know. I do like to listen to tunes before the race. Um, I like Fred again. Um, depends
01:19:22
though. Depends on the mood. Like if I need amped up, if I need to just, you know, calm down or
01:19:27
>> can vary a bit, chuck a bit of Post Malone on or um, it's funny. My best
01:19:32
year it was um, 2023. I had an awesome teammate, Jack Chambers. He was American. And man, we had some good
01:19:40
times that year. would just be blasting the music in the truck before the race and Post Malone would just be screaming
01:19:46
out the speaker and yeah, I do recall those were good times and um amp me up a bit and off to the line I'd go and got
01:19:54
some good results that year. So yeah. >> Do do you have a like a sort of routine
01:19:58
or superstitions? >> Not really. No, I I have the odd routine but no superstitions. No like left foot,
01:20:05
right foot, tap the helmet, blah blah blah type stuff. M >> um just like to get ready at a certain
01:20:10
time and like I said listen to a bit of music like the food I eat and the timing
01:20:15
that I eat and stuff like that and make sure I check the track before I race and
01:20:19
this and that but but nothing superstitious. >> Have you ever had a hilarious fail on
01:20:25
the bike that you can laugh about now? >> I don't imagine any of them would be
01:20:30
particularly funny. Oh, you do get the the old one where you like wash the front or
01:20:36
>> where you what >> like just lose the front. Lost the front for the camera like TV won a few times.
01:20:42
I'm like, "Oh, get up and have a look and just like ease." That was a bit
01:20:46
embarrassing. But um yeah, I wouldn't say that they're funny. They were not
01:20:50
funny. They're sore. Some big crashes. I don't think I'm laughing at the other
01:20:54
end of it. >> That's the answer I expected. What a dumb question. Yeah. Uh, what do you
01:21:00
hope young girls watching you on TV or online or even to this podcast take away from your journey.
01:21:06
>> And nothing in life is easy. Nothing's given to you, you know, like nothing's
01:21:10
guaranteed. You got to earn what you get. And um, just work hard. I think I I've, you know, noted that multiple
01:21:17
times in this podcast. Just hard work gets you to where you want. And, uh, anything is possible as well. I was a
01:21:22
little Kiwi girl from Denedan and had dreams to become a world champion. and um in Europe and uh yeah that can be
01:21:31
seen as like yeah too far a field and um yeah so whatever you set your mind to you can do and
01:21:38
>> yeah even if it's for the girls type thing it's not a male dominated sport as
01:21:42
yeah there's still a road for females you can still be successful and you can
01:21:46
still foot it with a boy so >> yeah I love that that's a great answer when you're at school like say secondary
01:21:54
school and you you you're sort of manif esting this and you're dreaming this.
01:21:58
>> Did anyone try and like sort of squash your dreams or tell you, you know, just tell you to
01:22:05
pull your head in or anything? >> Uh, not really. No. >> No. I know I've heard of stories and
01:22:10
like athletes have that, but I think I'd had so much success as well like as a
01:22:16
junior. So people like like I said it was more like they expected it of me as well like to be world champion. people
01:22:24
expected that from like as young as like 10, 11. Like they said like you'll be
01:22:29
world champion one day. Like I remember getting told that a lot. Um so I didn't
01:22:35
really have that negative side of you'll never really make it. I mean maybe the
01:22:39
odd person here and there. Um but yeah. >> What about what about internally
01:22:45
self-doubt? Um, only 2018 really, you know, >> um, >> prior to that, not really. No, I was
01:22:55
probably on the other side of that, like overconfident, pretty confident. >> Needed a couple of setbacks in life
01:23:03
potentially. >> Yeah, maybe. Like I didn't really Yeah. have much self-doubt.
01:23:08
>> Um, what do you do to unwind or reset after a big race or a tough season?
01:23:14
>> That's a good one. Um I think like especially in my early careers like I
01:23:20
would win and I would already I would win that World Cup celebrate like on the podium blah blah blah and then as soon
01:23:26
as I walk down from the podium it's like okay next next race next win my mind had
01:23:31
already switched and I I think that's also part of an athlete that has a lot
01:23:35
of success having that mindset but I think what I learned over you know the last few years is just to also enjoy
01:23:41
that moment. So like that evening might go out with a group of friends and have like a nice dinner or you know take the
01:23:47
next day off and if it suits like with the schedule maybe take the Monday off to sightsee in the city or um just to
01:23:56
soak it in for a bit before you switch and get back to the next goal. And um as far as like the the offseason type
01:24:04
thing, you'll come back. I usually um my favorite place is Queenstown. So I'll
01:24:10
usually go up there and just chill, you know, not have a schedule. I think that's the biggest thing for you. You're
01:24:16
so like on a schedule for the season type thing. So it's nice just to wake up
01:24:21
when you want. Um train when you want, do what you want for for a few weeks there.
01:24:26
>> Queenstown's beautiful. Who who do you know that lives there? >> Yeah, so I have like um my grandparents
01:24:30
live there. So, um obviously I've been going there since I was little and um I
01:24:35
have some really good mates there. >> Some of my best mates live there. So, uh
01:24:38
it's perfect. It's like a nice balance between not having too many people, but
01:24:43
also having a good group of friends that you can count on. >> Who Who are your your best mates down
01:24:48
there? You got any high performance mates down there like Zoe or Nico or? >> No.
01:24:53
>> Do you not hang out with them because they're Red Bull and you're monster?
01:24:56
>> No, I've met Zoe a few times. She's a cool chick actually. I think just we're
01:25:00
so busy in our own lives like and we're different seasons. >> Yeah. You're on a dirt track. They're on
01:25:05
they're on snow. >> Yeah. So like this time of year I'm also never home and that's their winter
01:25:09
season so they're home. But um I've met her a few times. She's a cool chick. But
01:25:13
um I got some good mates like um and also outdoorsy people like one of my best mates Moren. She's um into like
01:25:22
adventure running and um yeah like skiing and everything like on the outdoors. And uh Scotty is also a good
01:25:29
mate of mine. Owns um off-road adventures. So if anyone wants to give dirt biking go and some cool back
01:25:37
country, hit up off-road adventures. And yeah, we always go out and do some trail
01:25:41
riding in the hills and mountain biking and like stand up jet skis and just do cool stuff that this beautiful country
01:25:49
has to offer. >> Yeah, Queenstown's amazing. God, it must be surreal for you for your
01:25:53
grandparents, eh? >> Yeah. like they they remember you being a little girl that had this massive
01:25:58
dream and you've made it come true. Like I can't imagine how how much pride they
01:26:02
have. >> Yeah, they're pretty. Yeah. >> Are they Are they scrapbookers? Is it
01:26:06
Who's the scrapbooker in the family? Who who rips out every newspaper article
01:26:10
there? >> That was my nana on on my other side of the family and and she kept every like I
01:26:16
knew we had this funny thing. I knew I was in the newspaper because at 7:00 a.m. in the morning, I'd wake up to like
01:26:21
a photo of me in the newspaper for my from my nana and she would send it through. She's like, "Yeah, you're in
01:26:27
the paper today." And uh yeah, she she has kept every single newspaper clipping
01:26:32
that I've had since I was like eight. And um but it's cool. Like my grandparents um they tell all their
01:26:39
friends about it. And my granddad actually said as um he was dropping me to the airport, he's like, "Would you
01:26:44
mind coming to Seniors on a Friday?" cuz all the all the oldies want you to talk.
01:26:48
So I'm off to seniors in a couple of weeks to do a we speech for them. So they're super proud and um yeah grateful
01:26:55
to have such loving caring grandparents. >> Yeah, that's wonderful. Jeez. Um yeah,
01:27:01
my dad needs a lesson from your nana. Like dad will message me say, "Oh, Dom,
01:27:04
you're in the paper for something. I'll send you the article." And I'm thinking,
01:27:08
[ __ ] if you could just learn how to take a photo on your phone, like you could save the admin of like putting it
01:27:14
in an envelope and setting it up today. >> Yeah, I'll teach him next time I'm down.
01:27:19
Um, what's your favorite place in the uh to ride in the world? >> Oh, that's hard. I love coming home and
01:27:28
riding in front of home, but at the same time, like favorite World Cup, like in terms of atmosphere would have to be
01:27:34
France. I think I think it's such a special unique place in the world to race. Like the French crowd is just
01:27:41
crazy air horns and they just dress up and go crazy over the fences and um to add to that they're probably my favorite
01:27:48
tracks on the circuit, the French tracks. So really old school big hills kind of what I grew up racing. So I'm
01:27:55
going to have to go with France. >> Nice. >> Do you do anything special to keep your
01:27:59
mindset strong like journaling, phys visualization, anything like that? I think it's all natural, you know, just
01:28:08
like I guess I do, but it's not like intentional. >> Um, >> yeah,
01:28:16
>> when you're not uh racing or training, what do you love doing just for you?
01:28:21
>> Um, I love going for like a stroll on the beach with a mate and a cup of
01:28:26
coffee. Um, I do enjoy going down to Sinclair and doing that or like I say in the lake or um when I'm up in
01:28:33
Queenstown, I love going on my on my mountain bike. Specialize hook me up with sick bike and um I love going up in
01:28:40
the hills. I think if if I wasn't to do motocross as a profession, I would definitely want to do downhill or
01:28:47
something towards that. Um I don't know everything outdoors. So I'm I'm very
01:28:52
fortunate because like my hobbies are also part of my job. So yeah, >> you just love type two fun, eh?
01:29:00
>> Yeah. >> Um, if you could FaceTime 16-year-old Courtney and give her one savage pep
01:29:07
talk, what would you say? >> Um, be patient, >> you know, you don't have to rush. I
01:29:15
think my whole life I was looking towards people like older and I was never even just in my age group. It was
01:29:21
always like gauging myself on the older kids and trying to keep up, shall I say,
01:29:26
instead of just taking my time and letting it do its course. Um, and I think that was the same thing like when
01:29:34
I first entered the pro scene, I was like, I need it now. I need to win now. Like I won my first World Cup. I should
01:29:39
be world champion now. And it's like things take time. Good things take time.
01:29:44
>> And you need to experience that and you need to grow and mature and just let it
01:29:48
happen. And I think I was just impatient a lot of the times and yeah, didn't
01:29:54
really understand, I guess. >> Yeah, it's um it's hard when you're that
01:29:58
age though, right? Cuz you want everything to happen all at once. >> Um and then you look back and I suppose
01:30:03
you can see how it how it plays out. And >> yeah. >> Yeah. It's hard though. It's be hard.
01:30:08
It'd be hard having that conversation and telling you to be patient. >> Yeah. Yeah. Just be patient because I
01:30:12
can't really say enjoy the just enjoy the journey because I have enjoyed the
01:30:16
journey. Um, so I just say, >> yeah, >> if you could be doing um if you could be
01:30:23
with anyone doing anything right now, who would it be and what would you be doing?
01:30:27
>> Oh, Jesus. >> It's a good question, too. >> It's a tough one, isn't it?
01:30:32
>> That's a really tough one. >> Someone's going to be offended.
01:30:35
>> Oh, that's a really I don't know. >> I got so many things I'd love to be
01:30:39
doing right now, especially right now in this current state. I mean, I would want
01:30:42
nothing more just to be at the mates local dirt bike track and cluther riding around with my best friends on bikes.
01:30:48
Like, that would just be so good. Um, >> or like I say, just hiking the hills in
01:30:53
the back country or out my mountain bike and >> Yeah. >> Oh, yeah. You can't even do that from a
01:30:59
physical nothing. So, that's a really >> Yeah, yeah, that's a cruel question.
01:31:05
There's many things I'd love to be doing right now. >> Yeah. This um this current adversity
01:31:09
that you're going through. Yeah. What's it Yeah. What sort of impact has it had
01:31:12
on your mental health? >> Um, yeah. I think, like I say, I've gone through some tough times before, like,
01:31:20
yeah, so I feel like I'm kind of, it's nothing new. It's not like this is just
01:31:23
out of the woodwork and be, you know, hit me, but at the same time, it is new in terms of a health issue. Um, when we
01:31:30
first started talking about the heart, I was like, why would we want to talk about the heart? Like, I'm 28, you know,
01:31:36
like I'm fine. There's nothing wrong with my heart, but I think just understanding that, you know, you're
01:31:42
going through some some pretty tough times with the health and the importance of health. I think that's the most
01:31:48
important thing in the world. Really, it is because >> 100%. >> When I was lying in bed through that
01:31:53
acute stage like I couldn't do nothing like I had a feeling of my chest like
01:31:59
having something stuck in my chest and I couldn't get air. I was gasping for air.
01:32:04
I was I remember being like like I've got no use right now. This is nothing to me. Like I'm just here. And
01:32:13
um this went on for a few weeks and you soon puts it into perspective of how important health is. And I think that
01:32:21
was why I'm like, you know, taking it pretty seriously and want to make sure
01:32:24
I'm doing everything right and and very cautious of it because I don't want to
01:32:29
go back to that state I was in. I'd love to get back to doing what I'm doing, but
01:32:33
there there is no rush. I just need to make sure that I heal 100% and correctly because like I say, I love the outdoors.
01:32:42
I love putting my body through the hurt locker and everything and I can't wait
01:32:46
to get back to doing that. I >> couldn't imagine life without it. >> What are the biggest lessons you've got
01:32:52
from all this adversity? Um, I think it's going to make me way wiser as an athlete around prioritizing
01:33:00
recovery. >> Mhm. >> And um, you know, understanding that you don't have to be super human. You don't
01:33:06
have to put your body through like, you know, the pain every single day. You can
01:33:10
just nurture yourself and have that odd day to yourself and just really optimize
01:33:15
rest when it's needed. I think a lot of times, and it probably stems back to my
01:33:19
upbringing, right? like traveling 15 hours, arriving home, back to school, blah blah blah. Everything's been go
01:33:25
going 100 miles an hour and you never really slow down. And it has been taxing probably over the years on my body. So,
01:33:31
I think just moving forward, it's just realizing that you can work hard, but
01:33:35
you you do need to have some days where you just allow your body to have its rest. And
01:33:40
>> it's really I've really noticed that by how I progressed forward with having
01:33:46
those two weeks of full rest. Like I took a big step forward then. So it's like okay like rest is so important for
01:33:54
your health. >> Yeah. You're you're a a super resilient person. Do you think do you think you're
01:34:00
sort of born with that or is it like a muscle that you've developed over the
01:34:03
years? >> What are your thoughts? Do you think much about resilience or No.
01:34:08
>> No. It does come natural. I mean I don't know where it comes from. I really don't
01:34:13
know. Maybe I was born with it. Um, I mean I think >> all the [ __ ] you've been through would
01:34:18
have would have helped as well. It's like scar tissue. >> Yeah, sure. And you get hit with
01:34:23
something else and I know I'd get hit with an injury and most people would be
01:34:27
pretty devastated or like said as like, oh, they'll never come back from it. I'm
01:34:31
just like, oh, >> another one, >> we'll deal with it type thing. It's just
01:34:36
>> been through worse than this. >> Yeah, but that's the thing. And and
01:34:38
there's always someone worse out there than you, >> you know? So, it's like really hard for
01:34:42
me to even sit here and explain what I've gone through cuz I don't want to
01:34:46
sound like the poor me because there's been so many people in worse situations
01:34:50
than what what I've gone through. >> I'm not the only one going through some
01:34:53
health issues. So, um this is someone always worse off than you. >> Yeah, it can really um bum you out if
01:34:58
you compare up >> like so say you watch your um competitors racing that could really bum
01:35:04
you out. But if you compare down Yeah. there's a lot people far worse off. >> Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. There is. So, um,
01:35:11
it's just another one and you just got to kind of embrace it for what it is.
01:35:14
That's the biggest thing is stressing about it, worrying about it just makes
01:35:18
things worse. And, um, I think I've still got that race or that athlete mentality though that I'm still like
01:35:24
still trying to work out what race I can get back from. And it's like, man, you
01:35:27
can't even walk up the hill. Like, I can't even walk up a hill yet. I think I
01:35:31
need to be able to walk up a hill before I can focus on my return to the track. >> Yeah, just chill. Stop potting. Stop
01:35:37
potting. Um, so yeah, >> how are you with um like vulnerability? Like are there people in your team that
01:35:43
you can talk to about what you're going through and in a real honest and open
01:35:47
and unfiltered way? >> Yeah, I've probably got better better at it. I would say definitely as a
01:35:53
youngster I wasn't very good at it. I just kind of bottled everything up. Um,
01:35:58
didn't really show too much emotion like that. Just kind of dealt with it and uh
01:36:03
yeah, I guess wasn't very open. I would say still these days not not the best at
01:36:09
it but um yeah learning >> it's hard as as long as you're aware of
01:36:16
it you can make more of an effort. Yeah. Who who who do you talk to? Who can you
01:36:20
talk to in a real open and unguarded way? >> Yeah. I've got some really good friends
01:36:25
that I can talk to. Obviously my mom. Um I feel like I've got a lot of moms too.
01:36:29
like I've got a lot of um yeah, good older people looking out for me and um yeah, I've got people there if I need
01:36:38
them for type thing. >> I'm just one of those Kiwi girls that kind of just gets on with it.
01:36:43
>> Yeah, I love that. I love that. That's um definitely the impression I've got
01:36:46
from you today. >> Just rough and tumble and yeah, just crack on with it. Do you are are you
01:36:52
very a very emotional person? >> Do you when was the last time you cried? definitely emotional around. Yeah, I am.
01:37:00
I am like um my my nana passed away two years and that was really hard on me. >> Um I got real emotional over that. I
01:37:09
would she got really sick just all of a sudden ended up in hospital and passed two weeks later and I remember I would
01:37:14
visit her every day and just sit by her and I would cry every time I left her. And um I think I am emotional when it
01:37:22
comes to my racing like cuz I care about it. like I really care about my performance and I want to do the best
01:37:28
for my people and and for myself. So I get a bit emotional if I don't quite get
01:37:32
the results I want. Um but um I'm also getting better at that like nowhere near
01:37:38
like I used to be but yeah >> maturity. >> Yeah. Yeah. But still like I I have
01:37:43
feelings like Yeah. >> What would you say your best and worst habits are? Poor
01:37:52
>> impatience >> as a kid. Yes. No, I'm all good. I've lived in I've lived in England, you
01:37:59
know, that that taught me so much about my patience. I can Well, I'll be stuck
01:38:04
in traffic for hours. And I mean, I grew up in Palmer, right? My mom still goes to Deneden and she's like, "Oh, the
01:38:10
traffic is just so bad. I just can't stand it. I can't wait to get home." And
01:38:14
I'm like, "Mom, like it's there's nothing. I've sat in traffic for hours
01:38:19
and you learn like you got to like let traffic in to keep the flow going. >> Kiwis are so bad at that, man. So bad. I
01:38:27
just let people in. I'm pretty patient on that aspect. Um >> I feel like I've definitely grown in in
01:38:34
that. I could definitely tell you that was something when I was younger, but I feel like I'm grown up in in that. Worst
01:38:40
habits, maybe my nails. >> Well, if that's your worst habit, you're
01:38:44
doing okay. That's not That's not the end of the world, is it? >> Yeah.
01:38:47
>> What are you most afraid of? >> Um, afraid of h actually I'm a pretty I am a scaredy
01:38:56
cat. Like I'm afraid of a lot of animals. Like even if I don't know someone's like dog or cat, I'm like I'm
01:39:03
a bit standoffish. Um, and which is crazy. I grew up on like a lifestyle like we had cows and sheep and
01:39:09
everything. Um, I I'm not a big fan of heights. I remember my mom got me like a
01:39:14
um for one of my birthday presents the um bungee jump in Queenstown one year. Signed up, got all suited off, went and
01:39:22
walked there and I was just like, "Nope, nope. Can't do it. Can't do it." So, she
01:39:27
paid and jacked it all up for my birthday. I was just like, "I'm sorry,
01:39:29
Mom. It's teary teeyed and walked off. I I don't like heights." Um so, I'm afraid
01:39:36
of that. >> Yeah. Yeah. You know how absurd that is cuz you see videos of you racing online
01:39:43
and you're you're you're very high and you're in the air and you're on this
01:39:48
bike and you may be in the air for like four, five, six seconds, I don't know,
01:39:51
but you're not tethered to a rope or a platform or anything either. >> Yeah. So people say that cuz like they
01:39:57
say, "What do you love about the sport?" And I'm like, "Well, the least things I
01:40:00
love about it is the speed and the height." They're like, "What? That doesn't make sense, you know?" But
01:40:05
that's like my least two things I love about the sport is the speed and the height. So, um, yeah.
01:40:12
>> Oh, you're a mixed bag. Um, what what about your future goals? So, when you're
01:40:17
29 now? >> Yep. >> Where do you see yourself at? Like 35, 40, even 50.
01:40:22
>> Probably that ahead far ahead. I'm 52 now. Honestly, it it creeps up on you so
01:40:27
fast. >> Honestly, it feels like you have a couple of naps and there you are.
01:40:31
>> Yeah. No, I believe it. I often go, "Wa, like was that 6 years ago type thing?"
01:40:36
Um, I don't know far a field like that. I I don't know. I think I'm pretty like
01:40:41
just let life do its course. I don't tend to stress and worry about anything
01:40:46
like that. Even like with anything in life, it's like it will work its way out. I think that's what life taught me
01:40:52
in in 2018 when things weren't going well and I kind of just went down the path it took me. So, I've always just
01:40:59
trusted the instinct like you you end up where you're meant to be and life will
01:41:02
always work out for you. But, um I know I'm all I can say is I'm not done. I
01:41:08
want to come back. I want to win more races, more GPS, and more championships. For how long, I don't know. We'll see.
01:41:15
We'll see how long the body lets me do it. But in the meantime, I still have
01:41:18
the hunger and the desire, and um yeah, I miss it. So, hopefully just more wins.
01:41:25
>> Oh, we haven't talked, we didn't even mention the Hellburg Awards. So, you've
01:41:28
been you've been nominated for the uh the Halberg Awards for sportswoman of the year. How many times?
01:41:33
>> Three times. >> Yeah, three or four times, I think. >> Yeah. And you you you're yet to win it.
01:41:40
>> Um [ __ ] What? >> Dame Lisa, right? >> What do you have to Yeah. So, did she
01:41:45
win every year that you were in the finals? >> Yeah. >> Who were the other finalists? Drop some
01:41:49
names. >> Zoe. Zoe's been in it every year with me. Um >> Lydia Dame Lydia Co.
01:41:54
>> She's been in it a couple times, but it's always Zoe. It's always been me,
01:41:58
Zoe, and Lisa, and then there's like the fourth person would change each year.
01:42:01
Um, but man, you're coming up against GOAT, so it's hard to win that. >> Are you are you genuinely like at peace
01:42:08
and happy just to be in the final with those guys? >> I mean, it's such a surreal like just a
01:42:14
little bit like the World Championships. I grew up watching the Hellbergs. Like I
01:42:17
mean, I've been a big fan of sport. My mom's a huge sport fan. Like, she played
01:42:21
hockey and she wanted me to be a a black stick. Like, and we just love sport. We
01:42:26
just have family that love sports. So I grew up watching the Halbergs. It was that one night a year where I was
01:42:31
allowed to stay up late the Wednesday or the Thursday night and I just loved it.
01:42:35
And I remember also thinking like I wonder if I could be there one day like that. I would love to be there and I
01:42:42
really wanted to be there and I got that phone call. So it was just an achievement in itself and I think it's
01:42:47
one of those things where it's not like you're fighting for a world title,
01:42:50
right? You're fighting for award and you're generally like stoked for everyone that's there. They're all
01:42:55
representing New Zealand. They're all amazing at what they do and they're
01:42:58
putting New Zealand on the map. So whether you win that evening or you don't, like you're just stoked to be a
01:43:04
part of it. Like you and you're stoked to see Carrington win how many ever gold
01:43:09
medals she has for the country. And Zoe killer at the X Game. She'll just >> just cool to be a part of and be part of
01:43:16
that history, I guess. >> Do do you like those events? You like frocking up?
01:43:20
>> Yeah. Yeah, I do. I love to dress up and um the red carpet and stuff. There's not
01:43:24
too many opportunities. I get to do it a few times a year, but yeah, I enjoy it.
01:43:28
I enjoy Yeah. the big night out under the lights. It's pretty cool. >> And um and did you meet Dame Lisa? You
01:43:36
know her? >> Uh briefly. Yeah. Not a whole lot obviously. I'm down in Denedan. She's up
01:43:40
here in Oakuckland. Um >> so I haven't had a whole lot to do with her, but I've obviously followed the
01:43:45
journey and >> Amazing, right? It's just it's remarkable. It's
01:43:50
>> it's pretty awesome. I think what people don't understand is >> it takes some amazing things to be able
01:43:57
to win to be able to win at world level, but to be able to retain that year in year at at that level for almost a
01:44:04
decade like >> that speaks volume in itself. Like people don't understand that like you
01:44:11
know like you can win once and it's sweet but that comes with so much added pressure and expectations and to be just
01:44:16
be able to handle that like I say sustain that for a decade is just it's amazing. We don't they you don't see too
01:44:24
many athletes ever do that. So um >> and this isn't a word that um champions
01:44:28
like you or her would use but normal people like me would sacrifice. >> Yeah.
01:44:33
>> Like it comes at a huge cost to remain at that level for that long. >> Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. Like
01:44:40
>> your whole life revolves around it. It's you you have to like you say like
01:44:44
there's late nights and there's things that you'd love to go to but you can't
01:44:48
because the training and you know the routine has to come first because if you know if you don't do that that might be
01:44:55
the difference between winning or losing at world level. And if that comes down to it and you didn't win and you go back
01:45:01
and what if I did that you know never live with yourself. You have to put it all on the table to get those results.
01:45:06
And at the end of the day, like if it is a sacrifice, which it isn't really for
01:45:09
me, like I spoke about for others, it's such a short period of your life, you
01:45:14
know, 10 years or I know Richie spoke about it. He threw everything into it for such a short period of time, but
01:45:20
life goes on after that and you have plenty of time to do the things you love with the people you love and do
01:45:25
different things after. So yeah. >> Yeah. Have Have you thought about that
01:45:28
part of the puzzle like what you want to do after this? >> No, not really. People do often ask. One
01:45:35
day I wake up and go, "Oh, maybe I'd like to do that." And the next day,
01:45:38
maybe I could do that. But I mean, the thing is like I went through school and I just had the ambition and just passion
01:45:45
to be a racer. Like that was all I saw. So I didn't even >> go through school thinking I might be
01:45:50
like a, you know, accountant or what what do I want to do? It was just I'm going to be a racer. That's all I ever
01:45:56
had. And I've kind of been fortunate enough to have that lifestyle where I've
01:45:59
just been an athlete for such a long time. So um that time will come obviously and uh decisions will be made
01:46:06
whether I stay in the sport or stay in sport or what I would do. I think it would be cool like I've gone through a
01:46:14
lot to be able to kind of help people and you know like I feel like it's wasted if you're not able to share and
01:46:21
advise people kind of moving forward with with their journey and stuff. So >> yeah 100%. So, so it could be Yeah, it
01:46:27
could be commentary or coaching or >> Yeah, maybe. Yeah, we'll we'll see.
01:46:32
>> Ah, well, that's something to worry about another day. >> Yeah, we got we got enough on the cards
01:46:36
at the moment. >> Okay, this uh sounds a little bit morbid, but imagine it's your funeral
01:46:42
and your family and friends are all around. Uh, what three words would you like them to use to describe you? Um,
01:46:51
oh Jesus, I never really thought that far ahead. >> Um, I really like this. There's a reason
01:47:00
I really like this question. It's um, it seems like a like a I'm a trivial one on
01:47:05
the surface, but if you come up with these three words, you can sort of reverse engineer your life and live in a
01:47:10
way where it's likely that they will be the three words that people would use to
01:47:14
describe you when your life comes to an end, if that makes sense. So, it's actually quite a big one.
01:47:20
>> It is a big one. Loyal, I guess. I don't know. >> Why are you saying it so reluctantly?
01:47:31
>> I don't know. I'm just trying to think of words. I'm just trying to I don't
01:47:35
really know if I'm allowed three to describe myself. Like, I don't want it
01:47:38
like >> You don't want to waste one. >> Oh, I don't know. Like,
01:47:43
>> it can be just how you feel that feeling right now. I I like driven, focused,
01:47:47
determined. It could be that if you want. >> Yeah, sure. I mean, they're all of the
01:47:50
above, but I feel like >> you're more than that. >> Yeah. You just want to be like known for
01:47:56
being >> there for your friends. >> Yeah. >> Right. Like I'm still there to pick up
01:48:00
the phone for my mates. >> Yeah. I'm still pretty caring. Like >> um have a lot of love for my family and
01:48:08
even though like you say, I'm focused, I'm still Yeah. I'm still Courtney as a person for
01:48:13
for my family and friends. So, it's that's quite a hard one to kind of separate those two, I guess.
01:48:18
>> Yeah. >> Well, there's a lot of words there. >> There's Yeah.
01:48:21
>> But I can I can Yeah, I know what you're meaning. You're you're a good person and
01:48:25
you care. >> Yeah. A good person would be would be nice to be remembered by. Um Yeah.
01:48:30
>> Are you proud of yourself? >> Um yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I am. >> That didn't sound convincing.
01:48:40
Is that is is that just a small town? I I know you are, but I I feel like you struggle just to say it because it
01:48:46
sounds I don't know boastful or something. >> Yeah, I think I'm definitely proud like
01:48:51
in terms of I was like I said I was that young kid with big dreams and I fulfilled them. Um
01:48:56
>> and I'm proud that we're you know as a family able to achieve that and cuz a
01:49:01
lot of kids don't get to fulfill their dreams that they had as a young kid. So
01:49:05
to be able to do that definitely through what I've gone through through the hardships definitely makes me proud to
01:49:10
climb up the climb out the other side of it. But in one way I still feel like I don't know if I ever I don't know if
01:49:18
I've reached my potential like in what I was destined to do as a young kid. Like
01:49:23
I just feel like I probably could have potentially gone further. um like I had a so much success and as a young kid and
01:49:33
coming through that I feel like I could have expanded a bit more into the male scene and I probably just sheltered
01:49:40
myself from that and just um yeah I didn't kind of go for it in that sense. I feel like I could have probably
01:49:50
achieved a bit more but I mean it's always easy to say that right on the other side. though. Uh, I've still
01:49:56
achieved some cool things. >> That's it. We'll end it there on those
01:50:04
four words. I still achieve some cool things, honestly. Uh, yeah. Where's that
01:50:09
introduction card again from GPT? Seriously. Um, regarded as one of the most dominant female riders in the
01:50:16
sports history. four world championship titles 2019, 2020, 21, 2023, and the most successful rider in WMX history
01:50:26
with 42 victories out of 80 starts. I've achieved some things. >> Yeah, sure. I guess yeah, listening to
01:50:34
that, like you like I say, like I mean my trophies and medals, I don't even know where they are. They're just hidden
01:50:41
somewhere. I don't go home and look at what I've achieved and I'd have to dig
01:50:46
out to find them. Um, so I guess yeah, I never really Yeah. understand it until someone on the
01:50:55
other side kind of explains, you know, what you've achieved. >> Um, yeah.
01:50:59
>> Yeah. Interesting. Maybe the maybe the time for reflection will come afterwards.
01:51:03
>> Maybe there's a time and place for that, but maybe it's not now.
01:51:06
>> Yeah, I guess so. I mean, some people are so different in that aspect. And I
01:51:09
think maybe maybe that's me. Maybe that's why I've gone on to kind of keep
01:51:14
trying to achieve every year cuz you're always focused on more and you're always
01:51:18
looking to what's coming next instead of what you have potentially. Yeah. One day
01:51:23
you'll sit back and hopefully can say, "Yep, that was pretty special."
01:51:30
>> You are pretty special. Uh Courtney Duncan, thank you so much for coming on
01:51:34
the podcast today. >> Yeah, it was awesome. >> How's it has it has it been all right
01:51:37
for you? H >> It's been stoked. I'm so stoked to chat with you and like I say, you you're
01:51:41
great at what you do. You make it so easy and um it's cool to share my story
01:51:46
and the insides and outs cuz I haven't done a whole lot of it. So, it's cool to
01:51:50
do it with you, mate. Appreciate it. >> Thanks, mate. Likewise. I'll tell you
01:51:53
what, it's hard to pump up someone's tires if they if they don't want their
01:51:56
tires pumped up. >> You're so casual, but I love it. Honestly, you can take the girl out of
01:52:02
Palmyon, but you can't take the Palmyon out of the girl. Eh, >> that's a good way to put it.
01:52:07
>> Yeah. I love to connect. >> Yeah. Awesome. Thanks, Don.