With Pace

Veronica Ewers didn’t start riding a bike seriously until a few years ago when she joined a local cycling club. In 2019, she participated in her first race, and just over two years later, she came in 3rd at Nationals while still technically a Cat 2. Veronica’s rapid rise through the ranks of professional cycling has led her to the very top: a contract with the WorldTour team EF and a top 10 finish at the inaugural Tour de France Femmes. Earlier this month, she renewed her contract through 2025.

Payson sits down with Veronica to talk about how her life has changed in such a short space of time. Not long ago, she was working 7-4 at Seattle Children’s Hospital fighting denied insurance claims. The work was mentally and emotionally draining, and her discovery of cycling and the cycling community gave her a necessary respite. She talks about her early athletic experience as a soccer player, runner, and weightlifter, how WorldTour cycling has actually made her more flexible than she used to be, and what it was like racing her idols at Road Nationals. 

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In our final Grand Prix recap of the season, Payson sits down with the winners of Big Sugar Gravel, Paige Onweller and Russell Finsterwald. Paige was the dark horse of the women's race, having picked up cycling only last year. Despite her newness to the sport and a rocky season, she finished six minutes ahead of second place. She tells Payson about her college running career, balancing racing with her full-time job as an ER physician assistant, and the mid-season knee surgery that dashed her high hopes for this year's Grand Prix. 

Russell has been a heavy-hitter in the US off-road scene for years, but had a disappointing run at the inaugural gravel series. He talks to Payson about his motivation to win Big Sugar, and the calculation that went into his victory. 

We also hear some of the highlights from our favorite stories from the Grand Prix. 

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This weekend, 18 of the world's best freeride mountain bikers will compete at Red Bull Rampage, the legendary event held in the Utah desert. Each rider has four days to build the perfect line to showcase their skills and send it on the big day. In this episode, we hear from the riders taking on the event this year, from first-timers to 20-year Rampage veterans. We also hear from the behind-the-scenes people who make the event possible, including diggers, photographers, and the mechanic who makes sure four-time winner Brandon Semenuk's bike is up to the task. Payson also sits down for longer chats with two Rampage riders, Dylan Stark and Tyler McCaul.

Click here for the Path of Logic annual auction.

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Sarah Sturm returns to the show to talk about the inaugural UCI Gravel Worlds which took place in Italy last weekend. The event sparked controversy when it was announced, with fears that the UCI would tarnish the spirit of gravel. This, along with the fact that it wasn’t being held in the US where the discipline took root, and the fact that the women’s course was significantly shorter than the men’s, prompted many top racers to skip the race altogether. Sarah explains why she chose to go despite having similar reservations. From buying her own USA kit to riding in an all-female peloton, she gives a rundown of the good, the bad, and the ugly of this first attempt at a gravel world championship. In the end, she came away with more optimism for the future of the UCI’s involvement than she expected. 

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Keegan Swenson returns to the show to talk about his experience racing the UCI Road World Championship in Australia at the end of September. Though he spent years racing on the mountain bike World Cup circuit, this was his first experience competing in a WorldTour level road race, and it came just a week after securing his win for the overall Lifetime Grand Prix title at Chequamegon. He talks about his whirlwind preparation, the white-knuckle tactics that the rest of the racers were throwing down, the mistakes he made early on, and why he thinks gravel racing is harder. 

He also reveals where he’s taking his career in 2023. After a commanding performance throughout the gravel Grand Prix, he received multiple offers from WorldTour teams to switch to the road. He tells Payson what his decision is and how he finally reached it after months of deliberation. 

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Earlier this month, WorldTour racer turned “alternative” cycling adventure seeker Lachlan Morton returned to the Colorado Trail for the second time. His first experience in 2019 was harrowing mentally and physically and left him determined to go back someday to rewrite his relationship with the infamous 530-mile route. After the death of professional cyclist Sule Kangangi this summer, Lachlan returned to the CT in memory of his friend. This time, he completed it in three days and 10 hours, smashing the official record by over nine hours.

He joins Payson to talk about why the Colorado Trail is the hardest thing he’s ever done, including his commanding win  at the 1,200-mile GBDuro in 2021 and the Alt Tour in which he rode every stage of the Tour De France (plus transfers) unsupported. He talks about why he won’t be going back to race the CT, the high and low points of his solitary three days on the trail, and his thoughts on not making it into the “official” record books. They also talk about his return to competitive racing, the Lifetime Grand Prix, and how the gravel series might develop in the coming years to become an alternative to World Cup and WorldTour racing.

Click here to contribute to the Sule Kangangi Memorial Fund

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Payson sits down with the winners of Chequamegon, Savilia Blunk and Bradyn Lange. Savilia talks about her breakout World Cup season and navigating the unexpectedly muddy conditions of last weekend's race. Bradyn talks about his childhood motocross career, van life, and being caught off guard when he found himself in the lead at Chequamegon. 
Payson also answers listener questions about the race, including power numbers, the surprise rain storm, and how he feels about the race culture in the Midwest.

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When Meg Fisher went to college, she was a walk-on for the University of Montana's Division 1 tennis team, but was taken out of the sport and the life she knew when a catastrophic car accident left her in a coma. When her leg was amputated, it was the least of her doctors' worries. Most of them assumed that she would never be able to live independently, let alone walk, but Meg proved them (and herself) wrong, earning a Doctorate in Physical Therapy and becoming a 3x triathlon world champion and a multi-medal winning Paralympian at the 2012 and 2016 Games. More recently, she's been focused on bringing paracycling categories to gravel races and expanding resources for physically impaired people in under-served countries. 
In this conversation, Meg tells Payson about marking the 20th anniversary of the crash, accidentally melting one of her prosthetic legs at Rebecca's Private Idaho, and why she attributes "everything in her life" to a cattle dog named Betsy. She also talks about how meaningful it has been to be recognized within the cycling community, and being overcome with emotion when her teammates from the 2012 Paralympic Games came to cheer her on at Steamboat this year. 

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When Kiel Reijnen’s five-year-old daughter EmmyLou told him that she wanted to ride to Idaho (a 700+ mile trip), he suggested they compete in the 102-mile gravel stage of Rebecca’s Private Idaho instead. Kiel joins Payson to talk about how he brought this idea to fruition and got to witness Emmy’s grit, endurance, and competitiveness. With only one low point around mile 85, they won the tandem category on a 240-pound rig and raised thousands of dollars for World Bicycle Relief in the process. Kiel talks about the unique stresses of ensuring a five-year-old’s safety throughout a 102-mile gravel ride at elevation and how surprised he was that they completed the whole course. He also talks about raising a child who shares his hunger for adventure, and how seeing himself in his daughter is both a blessing and a curse. EmmyLou joins the conversation as well to answer a few questions about snacks, sailing, and why she likes riding bikes with her dad.

Kiel and EmmyLou's World Bicycle Relief fundraising page

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Bjorn Riley is part of the wave of young US cross country mountain bike racers that’s been making a splash on the World Cup circuit over the past few years. Placing 5th at Worlds this year, 2nd at the Snowshoe World Cup in West Virginia, and landing at the top of the podium at Nationals, Bjorn is already making a name for himself on the international stage. After spending three years on the Bear Development Team, he recently joined European-based Trek Vaude and moved to Austria full-time.

In this conversation, Bjorn explains why this big life change has made him more relaxed about racing than ever and has so far come with only minor growing pains. They discuss his off-the-bike hobbies which include sewing, drawing, and writing poetry, and why his team has helped him maintain these pursuits alongside training. They also talk about the style that Bjorn brings to XC (he’s been known to throw no-handers in the middle of World Cups), and which trick he’s hoping he’ll get to throw down on course someday. On top of cycling and art, Bjorn also has some pretty big plans for the off-season. He talks to Payson about why he’s so interested in finding his limits, and the goals he's planning to tackle this winter. 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]