Sarah Sturm is an all terrain cyclist who’s raced road, cross country, cyclocross, and gravel. After moving to Colorado to attend Fort Lewis College, she fell into mountain biking almost by accident. After a few years on the collegiate and development scene, however, she quit racing altogether. It wasn’t until she returned to the sport in 2018 that she found seemingly non-stop success, winning back-to-back singlespeed cyclocross national championships, the crit race at Sea Otter Classic, and placing second at the Leadville 100. Her win at 2019’s Belgian Waffle Ride shot her to stardom, and established her as one of the foremost women of gravel. 

In this conversation, she and Payson talk about being teammates on the development team Sweet Elite along with Howard Grotts, Sepp Kuss, and Stephen Davoust among others. They talk about how the experience taught them some painful but valuable life lessons, though on opposite ends of the spectrum, and why Sarah decided to step back from racing for awhile. They talk about the professional conundrum of Singlespeed Worlds, where partying is mandatory and serious racing is discouraged. Sarah describes some of her favorite moments from those races, which involve male strippers, an enormous fast food order, and falling out of a trailer in a glittery helmet and tutu. She also talks about her breakthrough win at Belgian Waffle Ride in 2019, which was her first gravel race and the longest ride she’d ever done by 40 miles. They also talk about the graphic design business she started during lockdown, why she doesn't pre-ride courses or use training data, and her youthful aspirations of becoming a professional surfer despite living in Albuquerque. 

Instagram: @withpacepod
YouTube: Payson McElveen