This week, photographer and adventurer Chris Burkard returns to the show to talk about moving to Iceland and his experience racing the Tour Divide this summer. Having spent the last decade exploring and documenting Iceland, Chris finally made the big move with his family. He tells Payson about why he decided the time was right, what it’s been like as a parent to watch his sons assimilate so quickly into the community, and how the current seismic activity has made him ponder the morality of documenting natural disasters. 

He also talks about his grueling journey on the Tour Divide, complete with persistent mechanicals, an emotional voicemail, and an incident with a canister of bear spray that definitely isn’t what you’d think. He might've wanted to burn all his bikes by the end of it, but he's already thinking about going back. 

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For the past couple of weeks, Iceland has been shaking with earthquakes as an underground river of magma moves toward the surface. Over the weekend, more than 800 earthquakes were detected in 14 hours in the Reykjanes Peninsula in the southwest of the country, and nearly 4,000 people were evacuated from the small town of Grindavík. One of the people who has had a front-row seat to these events is Thrainn Kolbeinsson, a photographer who Payson worked with on both of his island crossing films. Thrainn got his start in photography by documenting the Reykjanes Peninsula and has even lived in Grindavík alongside many of his family members. When the Fagradalsfjall volcano began erupting in the spring of 2021, he immediately went to the site with his camera and returned nearly every day for months. But this time, it’s different. With a national emergency declared and earthquakes carving canyons through roads and houses, the possibility of a disastrous eruption is more present than it’s been in decades.

Thrainn joins Payson from Reykjavik to talk about the events of the past few days, how the people of Iceland have been defined by the volcanic activity of their island for thousands of years, and ways that the community is dealing with an impending eruption. He also talks about his past as a multi-time Jiu-Jitsu national champion and child psychologist before he found his passion for photographing the outdoors. Since then, he’s worked with endurance athletes, outdoor gear companies, and tourism boards in Iceland and abroad to produce images that capture the wildness of the natural environment. 

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If you haven’t already heard of Asa Vermette, chances are, that’s about to change in a big way this coming year. The 16-year-old Durango native has been making waves in the downhill scene since he was 14, showing up at pro races and beating some of the sport’s top riders for the podium. He won most of his races this year, including the Enduro National Championship where he beat 3x world champ Richie Rude. 2024 will be the first year that he can compete in World Cups, where he’ll be racing as a junior despite proving his ability to race at the top of the pro field. Earlier this year, he signed a multi-year deal with Frameworks, the team led by fellow downhill racer Neko Mulally. 

Asa joins Payson this week to talk about being one of the most hyped young riders the sport has seen in years. He talks about rubbing shoulders with his heroes…while standing next to them on the podium, and throwing backflips at Red Bull Rampage. He explains how Neko Mulally and the Frameworks team immediately felt like family, and how he plans to spend the $7,500 he won when he placed second at the U.S. Open this year ahead of the likes of Greg Minnaar and Jackson Goldstone. 

Payson also chats with Neko Mulally about when Asa first appeared on his radar, how his role as a mentor has been surprisingly emotional, and the moment when Asa’s course record sweep at Snowshoe sent shockwaves through the pro field. 

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It’s our final recap episode of the season, which means we’re not only looking back at the seventh and final round of the Grand Prix, but the 2023 Grand Prix as a whole. Payson first sits down with Velo Reporter Betsy Welch to talk about the dynamic race at Big Sugar. With podiums in both the men’s and women’s fields that looked significantly different from usual and plenty of on-course carnage, they break down the biggest stories of the weekend. They also look back on the series as a whole, including how the media changed this year, the riders who burst onto the scene, and how they think the field will evolve next year. 

Then Payson chats with Ellen Campbell for a first-hand look at the women’s race. Ellen talks about why she thinks separate starts for women are going to attract more talent to the women's ranks, and shares the highs and lows of her season. 

Lastly, Payson digs into the numbers to compare the power files of some of the top performers in last weekend’s race, from scrappy solo attacks to a racer who had to dig into every ounce of endurance they had to hang onto their top 10 spot in the overall standings. 

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Sofia Gomez Villafañe has many accolades to her name. Olympian, winner of the Cape Epic, winner of Unbound, and winner of Leadville are just a few of her claims to fame, and she also happens to be this year’s winner of the Life Time Grand Prix after clinching the overall victory in just five races. Payson caught up with Sofia a few days before the seventh and final round of the series in Bentonville, Arkansas for a wide-ranging and long overdue conversation. 

In this episode, Sofia talks about how approaching cycling as a career rather than a passion has shaped her life on and off the bike, and how her single-minded approach to racing has led to consistent success. She discusses whether her goals will shift next year now that she's won the Grand Prix and how she thinks the tactics in the series will evolve now that the riders know the courses so well. She talks about moving to the U.S. from Patagonia when she was 12, and how her goals as a cyclist changed after she met her partner, Keegan Swenson, and her coach. She also addresses how we handled the ice pack controversy at Unbound, and the less dramatic reality behind it. 

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The second-ever Gravel World Championships took place in Veneto, Italy earlier this month, and we’re bringing you a full episode about it. Payson chats with Keegan Swenson about his fifth-place finish in a field dominated by Europeans who were well-versed in the kind of tight, twisty terrain that the course had to offer. They discuss road versus gravel tactics, the questionable start positions, and how his sprint with Alejandro Valverde played out. Payson also answers listener questions about the event, including course cutting, how the UCI points system will affect American gravel, and the mayhem of the first hour. We also hear from members of Team USA about their Gravel Worlds experiences. 

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As a new addition to the Grand Prix series, the Rad Dirt Fest was an unknown quantity for many of the racers last weekend. Alexey Vermeulen and Lauren De Crescenzo came away with the wins, shaking up the standings and setting the stage for the final race in Bentonville at the end of the month. In this recap episode, Payson catches up with Velo reporter Betsy Welch to talk about the race. Did it resemble Steamboat as the rumors claimed? Was it techy enough? Was it strange to race without points leaders Keegan Swenson and Sofia Gomez Villafane? In addition to answering these questions, they debate whether the era of mass starts at gravel races has come to an end, and go over Payson’s front-row seat to the women’s finish.

We also hear from Ellen Campbell about her impressions of the course and how the women’s race played out. She talks about the chaotic start, her favorite part of the course, and what she hopes will change in the future.

Lastly, Payson digs into the power files of Alexey and Lauren to see just what it took to land on the top step of the podium at this event.


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Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

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Cole Paton returns to the show after a transformative year in his career. When this conversation was recorded earlier this week, he was sitting in second place in the Life Time Grand Prix and had just won the Marathon Mountain Bike National Championship the week before. 

In this conversation, Cole tells Payson about the motivation and sense of community he's gained from becoming a privateer this season, and the mixed emotions of being in second place behind a nearly unbeatable opponent in the Grand Prix. He opens up about his struggle to enjoy his national championship win due to the frustrating and chaotic circumstances of the race, and the pros and cons of a life on the road. He also talks about how he and his partner, World Cup racer and 8x National Champ Savilia Blunk, have navigated their conflicting race schedules after spending years going to all the same events, and his idyllic childhood in central Washington. 

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In our latest recap of the Life Time Grand Prix series, we’re covering Chequamegon, the punchy, 40 mile mountain bike race in Northern Wisconsin. This year’s event saw new riders at the front of the pack and drama in the sprint finishes. 

Payson talks to Velo reporter Betsy Welch to break down the men’s race and Alexy Vermeulen’s win. They discuss the 14-man sprint to the finish, the relief of a 40-mile race in the middle of a season dominated by 100+ mile events, and look at the current rider standings. They also look back at Gravel Nationals and look ahead to Gravel Worlds.

Ellen Campbell joins the show to provide a first-person account of the women’s race. She talks about the crowded course, the contentious jockeying for position, and the riders who stood out. 

Payson also digs into some of the riders' power files to provide some data analysis, and we hear from listeners who competed in the race. 

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Last week, Lachlan Morton finished the 2,670-mile Tour Divide in just 12 days, 12 hours, and 21 minutes, more than a day faster than the officially recognized record. He also did it in the midst of the Life Time Grand Prix, between Leadville and Chequamegon.

This weekend, Payson caught up with Lachlan in Wisconsin just hours after completing Chequamegon to talk about his experience. From being ready to throw in the towel to marveling at the breathtaking beauty around him, Lachlan discusses the moments that stand out the most from his 12 days on the trail. He talks about facing his greatest fear, a crucial rendezvous with a hair dryer, and a very creative--and dare we say ingenious--use of a sock.


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