Worlds Week: A chat with Mark Legg (a.k.a. Mr. Katie Compton)
Mark Legg and Katie Compton on race day.
Photo: @alain_vandepontseele
In the lead up to each year’s UCI Cyclocross World Championships, we like to take the time to chat to each of the competitors from Down Under to get their thoughts heading into the big race.
However, with no women representing Australia or New Zealand at this year’s UCI Cyclocross World Championships (stupid COVID-19), we’ve got the next best thing - a chat with Kiwi Mark Legg, also known as the husband of Katie F’n Compton!
What’s your CX background? How did you first get involved in the sport?
I grew up in Auckland racing on the road in the 80’s but never did any offroad racing. MTB’s were still a new novelty in NZ and I didn’t have the money to buy one. When I moved to the US in 1988 I got into some MTB riding and racing in the San Francisco Bay area which was super fun.
I briefly raced on the road in Belgium in 1995 after doing well at some races in Trinidad and Tobago. After I returned from the very rough trip to Belgium where I was racing for KSV Deerlijk I returned to the San Francisco Bay area. I had always read about about the cyclocross racing so as bit of an adventure I borrowed a friends converted Trek 520 steel touring bike and raced it in Santa Cruz, CA. I tore my achilles during the race however I was an instant fan and addict.
I continued to race locally in the San Francisco Bay area before moving to Missoula, Montana to attend the University of Montana. I created a local mid-week cyclocross racing series that still continues twenty years later. While attending Montana I met Katie at World Championships for the Blind in Quebec, Canada where I was the team manager. We got along really well and after I graduated I moved to Colorado to be with her. She had done some cyclocross racing locally and was the U-23 National Champion.
She hadn’t done any racing for a couple years so I got her back into the sport. Her introduction to the sport was simpler and included a lot of drinking alcohol.
While best known for his support of Katie, Mark’s also a quality CX racer in his own right - here he is leading the Masters 35+ field as part of the US Grand Prix of Cyclocross, a series he won twice.
Photo supplied by Mark Legg.
You’ve been competing in Europe for a number of years now - what differences have you noticed in the 2020/21 season compared to previous ones?
We first arrived over to Belgium in 2008 for World Championships. In the next few years of racing over here it was rare for any women’s television coverage and when they would show the highlights they went out of their way to show the women crashing and making fun of them. Some race series would only allow the women to race before the Juniors which mean’t there was no TV coverage and no spectators.
Largely the prize money and television coverage has improved so much that it’s a completely different sport in Europe. The speed of the last season has been bit of an eye opener. The average race speeds are up a lot and the number of young Dutch riders that were minutes back in the previous years are now at the front of the races. While cyclocross is very big in Belgium, in The Netherlands it remains as a minor sport - which is why you don’t see too many international competitions in the heart of The Netherlands. Both Dutch World Cup races, Hulst and Hoogerheide (Ed: the latter of which was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns) are very close to the Belgian border.
Teamwork makes the dream work.
Photo courtesy of Mark Legg.
What does a typical race day look like for you?
We generally leave the house in the dark since the sun doesn’t rise until around 8:30 and drive to the races which are mostly an hour’s drive when they are in Belgium. Parking in the tight confines of Belgium is always a challenge although arriving in a mobile home it’s much easier to gain access to parking for Elites instead of a van - even if it’s a USA Cycling van.
We usually arrive between 9:30-9:45am for the 1:30/1:40pm race. We have to head to inscription with our COVID-19 test paperwork where they take your temperature, then Katie collects her race numbers and entry bracelets. Entry bracelets are to enter the course, then there’s a second bracelet to enter the Materialpost (the pit) for the women and a separate one for the men. Sometimes the riders have to wear an entry bracelet but not for all races. I then unpack the bikes and wheels, set up the rollers and awning (not for the sunshine) bike washing equipment including water containers. I’ll head back inside the mobile home for something to eat and discuss tire pressures for the pre-ride. Katie will warmup on the rollers for the pre-ride which is usually around 11:00 then when she returns I wash the bike which has been a lot this wet winter.
When you’re this big in the sport, you get your name on the van.
Photo courtesy of Mark Legg.
As we get close to the start I’ll load up the bike stands and washing equipment back into the mobile home. You can’t leave anything out while we’re on the course because it will get stolen. Once Katie is done with the race I’ll head from the materialpost to the mobile home to unlock it and pull out the rollers for her to cool down while I wash the bikes which more often than not are covered in mud and grass this season. Once she’s cooled down and the bikes and wheels are clean and kinda dry I load up the mobile home. We usually leave right as the men’s race is finishing so we rarely get to see the men race. We make the drive home where I unpack the bikes and wheels. I’ll do some maintenance work or sometimes overhaul the bottom bracket then load up the bikes for the race the following day and fill up the water containers for the bike washing. After a couple glasses of wine with dinner we head to bed early and are woken up in the dead of the pitch black morning to repeat the process.
It’s a glamorous life inside the KFC mobile home.
Photo courtesy of Mark Legg.
What are your hopes/expectations for this weekend’s worlds, both for Katie and yourself?
Katie has had an unusual race season. It’s our worst season results wise by a lot. We’ve both been under a lot of stress both on and off the bike and have been feeling very bad all season. For this weekend we’re simply going to race as hard as we can and not have any expectations. It’s hard to remove yourself emotionally when the racing and the legs aren’t there but we also know Katie has logged some great results at Worlds.
This year it’s not going to be a great result. Historically Katie hasn’t raced well in recent years when the races near the ocean. Her asthma and allergies kick in very bad which means she can’t breathe, she can’t see and she has no legs which makes racing in sand bit of a challenge. Basically it’s logging another day at work knowing there are better days ahead.
Katie crosses the line in 4th place at the 2020 World Championships in Dubendorf, Switzerland - the highest placed non-Dutch rider in the field.
Photo courtesy of Mark Legg.
Any messages for those cheering you both on Down Under?
I’ve coached a few Aussies and Kiwis over the years so I’d like to give a shout out to them. I’d love to see more riders from Down Under over here. I think cyclocross is the ideal sport for us because it’s about having fun and bashing about outside in challenging conditions. And if anyone would like some advice or help on racing in the US or over here [in Europe] definitely give me a shout and I’d love to share what I know.
Katie shoulders the bike in Queenstown in 2013, helping to put on some skills clinics for local racers.
Photo courtesy of Mark Legg.