In early February, Kate McCarthy rode to a third-place finish at New Zealand's Road National Championships in Timaru, beaten only by European-based pros Kim Cadzow (EF Education-Oatly) and Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek). McCarthy had finished ahead of many more-fancied riders, including WorldTour pros Ella Wyllie (Liv AlUla Jayco) and Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez). It was a big result for the reigning cycling esports world champion.
When Escape Collective caught up with McCarthy, she was in the terminal of the Richard Pearse Airport near Timaru, waiting to board the one-hour flight back home to Hamilton, where she lives with her fiancé and works the beat as a law enforcement officer. She sounded disappointed.
"Yeah, not what I was after, but happy to be right in the mix with our best roadies," said McCarthy. It was a long three-hour-plus effort for the solo rider contending with WorldTour pros and team tactics. But she might have had every reason to be dissatisfied.
McCarthy outpaced Cadzow on the final climb and recently claimed the long-standing and hotly contested Santanorium Hill QOM from Fisher-Black. She became the first woman to break the 10-minute barrier on the steep 3.6 km climb segment, finishing over a minute faster than Fisher-Black and former pro Ella Harris.
She was also one of the two reigning world champions in the field (Wollaston holds the elimination and omnium world titles on the track). But McCarthy's cycling esports rainbow jersey likely didn't come up in many pre-race tactics talks.
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