Last week, locals celebrated as 25-year-old mountain biker Haley Batten clinched the silver at the Olympics for the United States.
Now, her brother has been sharing with the Los Gatan about how this impressive achievement was made possible, in part, due to the training she was able to complete on terrain around the Los Gatos area.
Batten began her cycling career in Park City, Utah, where she grew up. She turned professional at 17 with LUNA, after taking first place in the National Junior Championships for cross-country racing. Batten pursued a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences degree at Quest University in Squamish, BC, even while continuing her mountain biking career. These days, when she’s not training in Europe, Batten lives in Santa Cruz.
So, where does Los Gatos come in? Batten spent the pandemic years living with her family in Los Gatos while she trained for the Tokyo Olympics. Her brother Nash told the Los Gatan about how Los Gatos has “some of the best climbing” in the area, making it optimal for training.
Montevina Ridge Trailhead is his sister’s favorite climb, followed by other local trails, including the Aquinas Trail in Monte Sereno and Mount Umunhum. Nash also noted that his sister “still rides in Los Gatos often for the terrain there.”
With so many local trails throughout Los Gatos’ mountainous terrain, perhaps it’s no wonder that a professional mountain biker might hail from the area. Early in the morning, you can catch dozens of teams and individual bikers pushing themselves to summits across town. But Haley Batten just took Los Gatos’ mountain biking legacy to a whole new level.
Her second-place finish on July 28 made national history. Silver was Team USA’s best-ever finish in the event. The only other medals won by Americans were bronze by Susan DeMattei in 1996 and Georgia Gould in 2012.
But Batten’s success came far from easy. A year ago, Batten suffered a concussion on this same course, preventing her from reaching the World Championships in 2023. While that was an important qualifier for many riders looking to represent their team in Paris, Batten had already accumulated enough World Cup points to make Team USA.
She faced even more challenges during the Olympic race. Batten punctured a tire mid-race, forcing her to stop and get it replaced by the on-deck US team of mechanics. Once fixed, Batten found herself at the back of the chase group battling for bronze. After working her way through the group, she finally swapped positions with Swedish rider Jenny Rissveds—the third-place finisher—on the final lap before pulling away and capturing second.
Prior to her performance in Paris, Batten landed on several World Cup podiums, including her first-ever World Cup win in Araxá, Brazil in April. She is coached by Kristin Armstrong, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and the most decorated US women’s cyclist of all time.
Despite the adrenaline-pumping sport’s dangerous rugged terrain and incredible technical challenges, mountain biking has struggled to draw viewers ever since its debut at the 1966 Olympic Games in Atlanta. The event is conducted on a cross-country circuit, where riders compete through steep climbs, sharp descents and natural obstacles. Batten finished the 30-kilometer Elancourt course in 1:28.59.
While the mountain cycling events have wrapped up, interested viewers can still catch track cycling through Aug. 11.
