When Iz King got pregnant six months ago, she wasn’t sure how it would affect her career as a gravel racer. Like many female athletes who want to start a family someday, she was all too aware that pregnancy, like being an elite-level competitor, is contingent on a finite biological window. She knew right away that she wanted to continue racing, but she also knew that her career was going to change significantly. This year, she’s continued to race, but she has no intention of being at the front of the pack. In fact, she found out pretty quickly that a new instinct had taken control of her brain that put her baby’s safety above her competitiveness. 

Payson sat down with Iz at her house in Los Angeles to talk about how her Garmin knew she was pregnant a full two weeks before a pregnancy test did, what her first race of the season was like, and how she broke the news of her pregnancy to her sponsors. She also talks about wanting to help other gravel racers navigate starting a family while maintaining their careers and where she’s hoping to take her career after her daughter arrives.

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