Riders at the 2024 Tour Divide endured all kinds of weather as they made their way south from Banff to Antelope Wells. Our guest this week, Meaghan Hackinen, found a way to prevail despite the less than ideal conditions, winning the women’s race and also setting the fastest Grand Depart time. Meaghan got her start in cycling commuting to school, eventually finding her way to long bikepacking trips to fulfill her sense of adventure. Inspired by Lael Wilcox’s win at the 2016 Trans Am Bike race, Meaghan decided to dip her toe into competitive ultra distance cycling. Since then she has raced ultras all across the world, proving time and again to herself that she is stronger than she thinks. 

Follow Meaghan on Instagram @meaghanhackinen 

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Feisty Girona Gravel Camp: Join us in Girona for an immersive week of exploring on bikes, reflecting, connecting, and setting intentions. Learn more at https://www.thomsonbiketours.com/trips/feisty-girona-gravel-camp/

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Feisty’s Lift Heavy Guide: Get your guide to lifting heavy plus a 4-week training plan at https://www.womensperformance.com/lift-heavy

This week we have another special episode for you with two Life Time Grand Prix athletes, who, off the bike, are experts in sports nutrition. Sarah Lange is a registered dietician, and Anna Hicks is a certified nutritionist. The pair discuss how mindset and diet culture can play into our fueling decisions as athletes, and why it is important for us to challenge those thoughts when they come up. They give us some concrete tips on how to build better nutrition practices around our training and racing, so that we can perform our best both on and off the bike, and also help break down some nutrition basics to help build a foundation of fueling for performance and success.

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Feisty’s Lift Heavy Guide: Get your guide to lifting heavy plus a 4-week training plan at https://www.womensperformance.com/lift-heavy

Like many of our guests, Justine Barrow found her way to cycling after an injury sidelined her from running. What make’s Justine’s story so unique was that it was at age 35, and almost 10 years later she still feels like a relative “newbie” in the gravel racing scene. Her results however would suggest that she is far from that; as the 2023 Australian National Gravel Champion, Justine has also grabbed wins this year at a UCI Gravel Series event as well as Gravel Locos. She started her racing career on the road, but found that she was drawn more toward the adventure and thrill of gravel racing. Justine is a physiotherapist back home in Australia, and runs a clinic that employs over 20 people. She talks about how she manages racing, travel, and running a business; and also gives a few tips on how to sharpen up your climbing chops if hills aren’t your thing just yet. 

Follow Justine on Instagram @justinelbarrow  

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Feisty Girona Gravel Camp: Join us in Girona for an immersive week of exploring on bikes, reflecting, connecting, and setting intentions. Learn more at https://www.thomsonbiketours.com/trips/feisty-girona-gravel-camp/

buycycle: Head to https://buycycle.com/ggg to SAVE 30% when you sell a bike on the leading marketplace for pre-owned bikes and components.

Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code GIRLSGONEGRAVEL at https://www.previnex.com/

Feisty’s Lift Heavy Guide: Get your guide to lifting heavy plus a 4-week training plan at https://www.womensperformance.com/lift-heavy

If you’ve been lucky enough to cross paths with Peta Mullens, you will undoubtedly notice her positive energy and enthusiasm for cycling. With over 20 years in the sport, Peta has raced almost every discipline, from criterium to mountain biking, and also has more than 20 national titles in her home country of Australia. This year, Peta has made the trip to America from down under to compete in the Life Time Grand Prix. She tells Kathryn and Kristi what excited her most about participating in the series, and also gives her perspective on women’s cycling overall and the changes that she has seen in her storied career. 

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Feisty Girona Gravel Camp: Join us in Girona for an immersive week of exploring on bikes, reflecting, connecting, and setting intentions. Learn more at https://www.thomsonbiketours.com/trips/feisty-girona-gravel-camp/

buycycle: Head to https://buycycle.com/ggg to SAVE 30% when you sell a bike on the leading marketplace for pre-owned bikes and components.

Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code GIRLSGONEGRAVEL at https://www.previnex.com/

Feisty’s Lift Heavy Guide: Get your guide to lifting heavy plus a 4-week training plan at https://www.womensperformance.com/lift-heavy

Paige Onweller recently finished 3rd place at Unbound Gravel in that iconic nine woman sprint finish in the 200 mile race. This impressive finish gained her some key points in the Life Time Grand Prix. What makes this finish even more impressive, is that it was just 12 weeks after Paige underwent surgery on her right ankle to repair a torn ligament. In this episode, Kathryn and Kristi are chatting with Paige a couple of weeks before Unbound. She goes into detail about the ankle injury that she sustained while out on a mountain bike training ride, and also gives us an in-depth look at all of the hard work and intentionality that went into her recovery process. This is Paige’s second season as a full-time pro, and she talks through her decision to leave the #vanlife behind this year, and set up a home base for herself in Bentonville. Paige is also launching a new business this fall, called Rosie Up, aimed at helping to propel women into pursuing off-road racing full time in the US and she tells us about her inspiration for starting the business, and why she was propelled to get it off the ground as soon as possible.  

Follow Paige on Instagram @paigepowered

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Feisty Girona Gravel Camp: Join us in Girona for an immersive week of exploring on bikes, reflecting, connecting, and setting intentions. Learn more at https://www.thomsonbiketours.com/trips/feisty-girona-gravel-camp/

buycycle: Head to https://buycycle.com/ggg to SAVE 30% when you sell a bike on the leading marketplace for pre-owned bikes and components.

Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code GIRLSGONEGRAVEL at https://www.previnex.com/

Feisty’s Lift Heavy Guide: Get your guide to lifting heavy plus a 4-week training plan at https://www.womensperformance.com/lift-heavy

Geerike “Gee” Schruers was a soigneur on the women’s pro tour for over 10 years, taking care of some of the best riders in the world to help them perform at their best. However, last year she was tempted by the growing gravel scene, and made the jump to professional racing herself. Gee joined up with Specialized and is the only Specialized/SD Worx rider that focuses solely on gravel. She tells us about joining up with the rest of the road team for her very first training camp, and what she learned from her years as a soigneur that she is now applying to her own training and racing. Gee finished second at Unbound 2024 in an historic 9 women sprint to the finish line after 200 miles of some of the best and most dynamic women’s gravel racing we have ever seen. She outlines her plans for the rest of the season, and talks about where she thinks women’s cycling is heading in the future.   

Follow Gee on Instagram @geegeertje

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Feisty Girona Gravel Camp: Join us in Girona for an immersive week of exploring on bikes, reflecting, connecting, and setting intentions. Learn more at https://www.thomsonbiketours.com/trips/feisty-girona-gravel-camp/

buycycle: Head to https://buycycle.com/ggg to SAVE 30% when you sell a bike on the leading marketplace for pre-owned bikes and components.

Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code GIRLSGONEGRAVEL at https://www.previnex.com/

Feisty’s Lift Heavy Guide: Get your guide to lifting heavy plus a 4-week training plan at https://www.womensperformance.com/lift-heavy

What a race it was at the 2024 edition of Unbound Gravel! This year the women had their very own start, and they put on an amazing show. On this week’s episode, Kathryn is on the ground in Emporia with interviews from the race expo before race day. Kathryn also linked up with women’s 200 mile winner, Rosa Klöser, after the race, as well as Geerike Schruers and Hannah Otto to get their scoop on how the day played out from the front of the women’s race.

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Girls Gone Gravel Website:

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Support our Partners:

Feisty Girona Gravel Camp: Join us in Girona for an immersive week of exploring on bikes, reflecting, connecting, and setting intentions. Learn more at https://www.thomsonbiketours.com/trips/feisty-girona-gravel-camp/

buycycle: Head to https://buycycle.com/ggg to SAVE 30% when you sell a bike on the leading marketplace for pre-owned bikes and components.

Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code GIRLSGONEGRAVEL at https://www.previnex.com/

Feisty’s Lift Heavy Guide: Get your guide to lifting heavy plus a 4-week training plan at https://www.womensperformance.com/lift-heavy

It is almost time for Unbound Gravel 2024! On this episode of the show, Kathryn and Kristi are joined by Life Time Grand Prix commentators Janel Spilker and Lauren Hall to dive into all of their race-day predictions. The course is heading north this year, and Kristi gives us her insider’s scoop on what riders can expect from the infamous North Route, as well as a few changes to the start procedures for 2024. Everyone also weighs in on their podium predictions, as well as a few “heart picks” for a few riders who could shake things up on race day.  

Follow along for all the action @unboundgravel and @lifetimegrandprix

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Girls Gone Gravel Website:

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Feisty Girona Gravel Camp: Join us in Girona for an immersive week of exploring on bikes, reflecting, connecting, and setting intentions. Learn more at https://www.thomsonbiketours.com/trips/feisty-girona-gravel-camp/

buycycle: Head to https://buycycle.com/ggg to SAVE 30% when you sell a bike on the leading marketplace for pre-owned bikes and components.

Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code GIRLSGONEGRAVEL at https://www.previnex.com/

Feisty’s Lift Heavy Guide: Get your guide to lifting heavy plus a 4-week training plan at https://www.womensperformance.com/lift-heavy

This week Kathryn and Kristi welcome back 2022 Lifetime Grand Prix Champion Haley Smith. Haley recently completed her Masters of Science in Sport Psychology, and in this episode she takes a deep dive into how we can all work towards keeping our mindset positive during races and training rides. As both an academic and an accomplished athlete Haley knows the importance of keeping her mental game strong. She talks through her own mindfulness and mindset habits and tricks for preparing for races and hard training sessions. Haley also explains why a mindfulness practice can be a key tool for athletes, and how we can all integrate that practice into our daily routines. 

Follow Haley on Instagram @haleyhuntersmith

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Girls Gone Gravel Website:

https://www.girlsgonegravel.com/

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Support our Partners:

Feisty Girona Gravel Camp: Join us in Girona for an immersive week of exploring on bikes, reflecting, connecting, and setting intentions. Learn more at https://www.thomsonbiketours.com/trips/feisty-girona-gravel-camp/

buycycle: Head to https://buycycle.com/ggg to SAVE 30% when you sell a bike on the leading marketplace for pre-owned bikes and components.

Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code GIRLSGONEGRAVEL at https://www.previnex.com/

Feisty’s Lift Heavy Guide: Get your guide to lifting heavy plus a 4-week training plan at https://www.womensperformance.com/lift-heavy

If you’ve ever thought about taking on a long gravel adventure but don’t know where to start or even if you are familiar with longer gravel events but want to sharpen up your training, this episode is for you! Kathryn and Kristi are joined this week by professional cyclist and cycling coach Scotti Moody. Scotti has taken on (and won) many ultra-endurance cycling events, which gives her the unique insight as a coach into exactly what it takes to not just finish but thrive during these events. She gives us her coach’s perspective on how to prepare for longer, and multi-day events, and breaks down an ideal training week. Scotti also highlights some essential training equipment for all cyclists, and highlights why it is important to accept recovery.

Scotti is also planning her own multi-day gravel festival in NW Arkansas this summer. It is called the Arkansas Graveler, and will take place from June 23-28. It is a fully supported event that will cover 340 miles over 6 days. Check out the event on social media @arkansas_graveler

Follow Scotti on Instagram @scotti_moody

Follow us on Instagram:

@girlsgonegravel

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Girls Gone Gravel Website:

https://www.girlsgonegravel.com/

Feisty Media Website:

https://livefeisty.com/

Support our Partners:

Feisty Girona Gravel Camp: Join us in Girona for an immersive week of exploring on bikes, reflecting, connecting, and setting intentions. Learn more at https://www.thomsonbiketours.com/trips/feisty-girona-gravel-camp/

buycycle: Head to https://buycycle.com/ggg to SAVE 30% when you sell a bike on the leading marketplace for pre-owned bikes and components.

Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code GIRLSGONEGRAVEL at https://www.previnex.com/

Feisty’s Lift Heavy Guide: Get your guide to lifting heavy plus a 4-week training plan at https://www.womensperformance.com/lift-heavy