Director of Education Crowned Protour World Champion

Kath Oldfield, Director of Education at King’s Leadership Academy Liverpool, has recently been crowned World Champion of 4X Protour – a world series for four cross mountain biking. This competitive and challenging sport is a type of downhill mountain bike racing in which four people race on a track simultaneously.

The series is four races long, with points for each race allocated per position. Kath competed in Italy and the Czech Republic this summer, before heading to Poland in September for the final day of racing. It was after this final race she discovered that she had achieved the highest points throughout the series and had landed the sought-after top spot. She participated in an awards ceremony that evening and took to the podium to receive her first-place trophy.

Kath was overjoyed to be crowned World Champion, describing it as a ‘surreal” feeling. Most of the riders Kath competes against are professionals or work within the field of cycling, while Kath balances her career in education with her passion for her sport. Kath loves telling her students about her competitions, saying: “It is really great to talk to the students about the race, and many are quite invested in how I do when I go to both national and international races.”

Kath has always enjoyed cycling, and initially got into downhill riding in 2018 when she worked as a Maths Teacher in New York. She describes discovering the sport as a “lightbulb” moment, and immediately fell in love with downhill mountain biking at high speeds. Upon her return to England, Kath began racing in 4X competitions and came second in the National Championships. She then entered one round of the Pro Tour last year at Jablonec, finishing in first place, before committing to the full series this year.

Next year Kath intends to retain her world title, win the national title for the first time, and possibly enter some enduro and downhill races.

King’s Leadership Academy Liverpool and the Great Schools Trust are incredibly proud of Kath’s impressive achievement, and commend the dedication she has shown for her sport as well as maintaining her commitment to her significant role at the academy.