With Pace

Payson is joined by Geoff Kabush and Kateřina Nash to talk about all things Life Time Grand Prix. The six-race gravel series kicks off this weekend with the Sea Otter Classic. Both Geoff and Kateřina have won Sea Otter multiple times, and are racing it again this year. Neither of them, however, is participating in the Grand Prix. Earlier this year, Geoff penned an article in Cycling Tips that criticized the points system and entry requirements of the race, questioning its impact on the careers of pro racers. In this conversation, he, Kateřina, and Payson discuss his concerns and how the Grand Prix might adapt in the coming years. They also pick their favorites to win the series overall and talk about how they think racers with a ProTour background will stack up against racers with a mountain biking background. 

They also discuss Geoff and Kateřina’s own careers. After decades of world titles, they are still winning races (including Moab Rocks, which they both won the weekend this interview was recorded). They discuss longevity, adapting to the social media demands of the “modern athlete,” and where they think professional racing is headed.

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Dave Hagen has been the Director of the Fort Lewis College cycling program for 18 years. In that time, he’s seen it grow from a club sport to one of the most dominant collegiate teams in the country. He’s helped guide the careers of future pros such as Sarah Sturm, Sepp Kuss, Chris Blevins, and Sofia Gomez-Villafañe, and watched the team secure 15 USA Cycling Collegiate national titles in mountain biking and cyclocross. But under his leadership, the program has focused just as much attention on amateur cycling enthusiasts as future Olympians and World Champions.

In this conversation, Dave talks to Payson about fostering an inclusive culture within the team, which welcomes about forty freshmen each year. He explains why he’s glad that cycling is not an NCAA sport, and how he’d like to see collegiate racing change. He also talks about the influence of FLC cycling colleague and former downhill champion Elke Brutsaert, and discusses his own racing career for Yeti in the early 90s.

Sponsoring this week's episode:

jojebar.com, code MUSTACHE15

dometic.com, code ADVENTURESTACHE

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YouTube: Payson McElveen

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Payson sits down with this year’s winner of The Mid South, Cole Paton to discuss his victory and unpack the race. Having spent much of his career winning collegiate XC titles and chasing the World Cup circuit, the 23-year-old was as surprised as anyone when his fitness and savvy tactics snagged him the top step at the season’s first major gravel race. Despite his decisive win, Cole says that self-doubt and low expectations followed him all the way to the finish line, even after his solo breakaway with only a few miles to go. He discusses the influence of his teammate and mentor, Dennis Van Winden during The Mid South and throughout his intensive preseason training. He also talks about graduating from college at the end of 2019 with several national titles to his name but without contract offers from any major teams. In 2020, as the pandemic shut down racing around the world, he considered quitting cycling altogether and moving back to his hometown in Washington. He credits his girlfriend and teammate Savilia Blunk with inspiring him to keep racing. He also tells Payson about how he's viewing his future now that he's pursuing a full gravel schedule, and the races outside of the Grand Prix lineup that he's most looking forward to.

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Keegan Swenson joins Payson one week after setting a course record at 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo. They talk about his pivot toward endurance racing after narrowly missing out on a spot at the Olympics for XC, and how he managed to beat out stiff competition to take the top step at 24 HOP in spite of it being his first 24-hour solo race. He talks about how his XC training informs his endurance racing mentality in good and bad ways, and the gravel rookie who he thinks is the rider to beat in the upcoming gravel Grand Prix. He also talks about whether he has plans to dip a toe into road racing now that he's jumping into the gravel scene, and his no-holds-barred racing mentality. 

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YouTube: Payson McElveen

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Ted King joins Payson to talk about The Mid South, the unofficial kickoff of the 2022 gravel season. They discuss this year’s course, the weather forecast, and where they think the race fits into the bigger picture of gravel. They discuss of the depth of both the men's and women's fields and choose their podium favorites and a few dark horses. 

They also talk about how they’re feeling as they gear up for a packed 2022 schedule and how Ted is fairing after two broken bones five months apart curtailed his 2021 season. 

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YouTube: Payson McElveen

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Remi Gauvin is a professional enduro racer from Squamish, BC who has made numerous podiums and top ten Overall Series finishes in the Enduro World Series. In this conversation, Remi talks about how riding dirt jumps in Jordie Lunn's backyard as a kid fueled his passion for cycling. He talks about finding early success as a downhill racer and working on an oil rig to support his cycling career, at one point working 56 days in a row on night shifts in temperatures around -30ºC. He talks about why he transitioned to enduro, the different skillset required for downhill, and what it’s like dating a fellow pro racer (2017 Downhill World Champion, Miranda Miller). He also talks about his tips for fast descending and the Youtube channel he created with Miller and teammate Jesse Melamed to highlight the community and skill-building of pro riding. 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

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Jesse Melamed is an enduro mountain bike racer who is currently ranked #3 in the world for that discipline. In this conversation, he talks about growing up in Whistler, BC, his love of skiing, and his relationship with his teammate and competitor, Remi Gauvin. He talks about the mixed response he received from fans and sponsors when he won the 2020 Enduro World Series which had several notable absences from riders due to the pandemic. He also talks about why big miles on the road is the best form of training, why filming and editing his own content has remained a priority in spite of a busy race schedule, and the bike touring trip he took from Texas to Louisiana this winter.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

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Lance Haidet is a professional road and cyclocross racer who currently rides for L39ion of LosAngeles. In this interview, he tells Payson about racing mountain bikes as a teenager in Bend, OR  and going on to win U23 Road Nationals for Aevolo under the leadership of Mike Creed. He talks about why he's decided to jump into the gravel racing scene for the 2022 season with the Lifetime Grand Pre, and how he juggles multiple disciplines while getting an engineering degree at CalPoly. He also tells Payson about why he decided to join L39ion in 2020, what he thinks of the backlash the team receives, and how they've changed road cycling in the US. 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

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Sam Pickman worked as an engineer for Specialized for 11 years before joining Allied Cycleworks in 2016. As one of the brand’s first employees, he has been instrumental in developing their unique designs and manufacturing process. In this interview, he tells Payson why he chose to move his family from the Bay Area to northwest Arkansas to work for an as yet unproven brand. He talks about why Allied’s “made here” ethos creates a higher performance product: by designing and manufacturing all their bikes and components under the same roof, they’re able to explore and test more innovative designs than a brand that outsources their manufacturing to other factories. He talks about his own creative process, how some of Allied’s most successful designs were developed, and goes through the steps of how a bike is made. 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

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Marley Blonsky is the co-founder of All Bodies on Bikes, an organization that seeks to make the cycling community more size inclusive. In this conversation, Marley talks about the longtime lack of inclusive sizing in cycling, from clothing options to equipment, why she recently decided to leave her job in corporate America to move to focus on growing her role in the cycling community, and why she views the word "fat" as neutral rather than derogatory. She also talks about ignoring criticism in favor of positivity, her program sponsoring non-traditional athletes to race at SBT GRVL, and her new database matching companies to plus size gear testers around the world.

Links to topics mentioned in the episode:
All Bodies on Bikes Resources
All Bodies on Bikes + SBT GRVL
All Bodies on Bikes Film
Plus Size Wear Testing Database
Marley's former career

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]