This week on the show, Payson sits down with Sarah Sturm to talk about the roster for 2026’s Life Time Grand Prix, which was released last week and contained more surprises than all the previous years combined. Payson and Sarah chat about the lengthy list of brand-new riders, the heartbreak and shock of seeing one of the most promising young racers of the past few years shut out of the series completely, and what they think about the controversial changes to the prize money. But first, they talk about why Sarah decided to return to the Grand Prix after a year away and what she’s been getting up to during the off season. 

This episode is sponsored by TrainingPeaks. Go to trainingpeaks.com/withpace and use code CYBER2025 to get 25% off TrainingPeaks Premium. 

Listen to Sarah's podcast, Talking Over You on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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With the inaugural edition of Gravel Burn in the rearview mirror, Payson sits down with Bradyn Lange for an overall recap. Due to illness, Bradyn wasn’t able to compete in the pro field and instead dropped in partway through the seven-day event to capture some media from inside the bunch. 

Then, Payson, chats with Dan Craven, a former professional road racer from Namibia who served as Gravel Burn commissaire. He talks about his long-standing involvement with the event and his unique perspective on how it unfolded. 

This episode was brought to you by TrainingPeaks.

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Stage 6 of Gravel Burn did not go according to plan. Strong winds led to treacherous conditions, and after Swiss rider Andri Frischknecht suffered a crash due to high crosswinds, the 144-kilometre stage was neutralised. To recap the day, Payson is joined by South African rider Hayley Preen, who is currently sitting in third place in the GC. They talk about the weather out on course, what it was like to slow roll the rest of the stage after the decision was made to neutralise it, and what they’re anticipating for tomorrow’s seventh and final stage. 

This episode was made possible by TrainingPeaks. Listen all the way to the end to hear some of Hayley's numbers from the race so far.

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Stage 5 of Gravel Burn was slow despite being more than 50% paved, and it finished on a 2500-foot climb. Tom Pidcock took the stage win and joins Payson to recap the day. They also discuss the logistics of his Il Lombardia / UCI Gravel Worlds double-header earlier this month, why he decided to take a break from his off season to come to South Africa, and how he chooses which events and disciplines to put on his schedule. 

This episode was made possible by TrainingPeaks.

Gravel Burn GC standings after stage 5:

Women:

 1. Ashleigh MOOLMAN-PASIO - 19:39:21 
 2.  Melisa ROLLINS  - 19:43:41 | +4:20   
3. Hayley PREEN  19:45:52 | +6:31  
4. Lauren STEPHENS - 19:46:22 | +7:01 
5. Axelle DUBAU-PREVOT - 19:48:15 | +8:54

Men:

1. Matthew BEERS - 15:46:42  
2. Simon PELLAUD - 15:47:15 | +33   
3. Hugo DRECHOU - 15:53:24 | +6:42  
4. Lukas BAUM - 15:55:10 | +8:28   
5. Tristan NORTJE - 15:56:01 | +9:19  

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Stage 4 of Gravel Burn was 111 kilometres of near-constant headwind. Payson is joined by Speed Company duo Lukas Baum and Georg Eggers to get the lowdown on their moves that shook up the race early and how Lukas’s flat impacted his third-place GC position. 

Lukas and Georg have been friends since they raced as juniors. After becoming XC Junior World Champion in 2013, however, Lucas fell out of love with the sport and quit altogether. It was Georg who convinced him to start again in 2022, this time on a two-person team and focusing on stage races. In their first attempt at the Cape Epic, they won, and it set them and their brand new, barely funded team on a new path. They tell Payson about how grassroots it all was in the beginning and why they chose to focus on marathon and stage racing. Plus, Lukas has an axe to grind with American gravel.

This episode is sponsored by TrainingPeaks.

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Stage 3 of Gravel Burn was rough and tactical. Simon Pellaud, who has raced in just about every corner of the world this season and is hot off his second-place finish in the Life Time Grand Prix, took the stage win over Matt Beers and is currently sitting in second in the GC. He joins Payson to talk about how the stage played out, his strategy for securing the win, and the crash he witnessed. 

Thank you to TrainingPeaks for making this episode possible.

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Stage two of Gravel Burn was 108 kilometres from Avontuur to Willowmore and it was much drier than yesterday. Both Matt Beers and Axelle Dubau-Prévot managed to hold on to their leads, but there were shakeups in the rest of the field. Payson is joined by Haley Smith to break down the day, including her tight finish for third, why she was so excited to compete in the event, and how she's approaching this last race of the season after a challenging year. 

Thank you to TrainingPeaks for making this episode possible.

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YouTube: Payson McElveen

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Stage 1 of Gravel Burn is done and dusted -- a cold, rainy 84 kilometers with a spicy 2,000+ meters of climbing. Payson is joined by French gravel national champions Axelle Dubau-Prévot and Hugo Drechou to break down the race. Despite viewing this trip more as a holiday than anything else, Axelle took the win today over WorldTour legend Ashleigh Moolman and her fellow South African Hayley Preen. Hugo also landed on the podium, taking third in a sprint finish with Matt Beers and Andri Frishknecht. As he explains in this conversation, third is exactly where he wants to be. 

This episode was made possible by TrainingPeaks.

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Our daily Gravel Burn recaps start tomorrow, so we're bringing you an overview of the seven-day South African stage race, including a day-by-day breakdown of the route and a rundown of the start list, which features the likes of Tom Pidcock, Lachlan Morton, Alison Jackson, and Lauren Stephens. 

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The 2025 Life Time Grand Prix finished with a bang thanks to a razor-thin margin in the men’s field and a last-minute course change due to weather. Payson is joined by Paige Onweller to break down how it all played out. Paige was sidelined from the season after she was hit by a car a couple of months ago, but as a Bentonville resident, she knows the route better than anyone, including the pros who had planned to race the 100-mile route before it was scrapped for the completely different 50-mile route at the last minute. 

They talk about the many-sided tactical battle in the women’s race and how wild card rider Cam Jones managed to outfox three-time Grand Prix champion Keegan Swenson and former WorldTour rider Simon Pellaud to take the series overall title. Spoiler alert: the fireworks started long before that bunch sprint for the finish. Plus, Paige talks about her injury and how she’s hoping to turn the trauma of the accident into advocacy for rider safety on the roads. 

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YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]