Todd Wells is one of the most decorated mountain bikers in U.S. history. Across his more than 25 year career, he's won three Cyclocross National Championships, three consecutive Mountain Bike National Championships, and represented the USA at three Olympic games. In addition to UCI racing, he's won multiple stage races, including La Ruta de los Conquistadores, Breck Epic, and the Leadville 100 three times. Although he retired in 2017, he continues to race occasionally, and has won the Telluride 100 the last two years. In this conversation, Payson and Todd discuss his prolific career, why he continues to race after retirement, why his 25-year relationship with his wife has been crucial to his success, and his least favorite part of racing. 

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YouTube: Payson McElveen

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For our final show of 2019, we’re bringing you a much requested Q&A episode. Payson sits down to answer some of your questions about training, motivation, diet, the kindness of strangers, off the bike hobbies, and much, much more. 

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YouTube: Payson McElveen

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Sepp Kuss is a World Tour road cyclist currently riding for Team Jumbo-Visma. He's raced the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, and was just named to his teams's 2020 Tour de France lineup. His major wins include stage 17 of the 2019 Vuelta a España, and three stages and the overall in the 2018 Tour of Utah. Sepp and Payson recorded this interview in front of a live audience at the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic registration event in Durango, Colorado, Sepp's home town. They talk about his transition from mountain biking to road cycling, the pressures of being singled out as one of the most promising up-and-comers of the World Tour circuit, staying grounded in a new world of fame and success, and why he's not interested in being a leader at Grand Tours at this point. In the second half of the interview, the floor is opened up to audience questions. Some Durango's cycling icons such as Todd Wells and Ned Overend were in attendance and had questions for Sepp.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

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Phil Gaimon is a former World Tour road cyclist who rode for Garmin-Sharp and Cannondale-Drapac among others. While racing, he blogged for VeloNews, Bicycling, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and wrote the popular book Pro Cycling on $10 a Day (2014).  He retired at age 30, expecting to hang up his race bike and put on some cookie-weight. He continued writing (Draft Animals (2017)), but through a series of unexpected twists, launched his wildly successful YouTube show “Worst Retirement Ever,” which follows his pursuit of breaking hill climb records all over the world. In this conversation, Phil and Payson discuss his decision to quit pro cycling early, how he got his start on YouTube after a marketing job fell through, stealing STRAVA KOM’s from dopers, racing Fabian Cancellara for charity after an internet spat, and how he became the final authority on cookie ratings on Instagram.  

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

Christian Williams and Payson have been working together for over a decade, ever since Payson was a junior racing in local and state races in Texas. Over 20 years of coaching, Christian has led over a hundred riders to national podiums, and been the director of the Garmin development team and the USA Pan American Games team. In addition to his coaching, he's raced for over 35 years as well. In this conversation, he and Payson discuss why their relationship has lasted for so many years when most coach/athlete relationships last only months, the training methods Christian uses for pros and non-professional cyclists, doping, and why former pros don’t always make the best coaches. 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

Tiffany Cromwell is an Australian road cyclist who rides for Canyon-SRAM. Her many accomplishments include stage wins at the Gira d’Italia and victory in the Belgium Spring Classic Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. She and Payson caught up this summer at Steamboat Gravel (SBT GRVL) to talk about her early introduction to the world of professional cycling, starting her own fashion line, how she’s hoping to turn her passion for travel into a post-cycling career, and what she wants to see change in women’s road cycling. 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

Carson Storch is a freeride and slopestyle mountain biker, best known for his participation in the Mountain Bike Freeride World Tour and Red Bull Rampage. He and Payson caught up in L.A. only a few days after this year's Rampage to talk about the event and its challenges. They discuss the behind-the-scenes build process that can make or break a good run, and the alliances and politics involved with it. They talk about techniques Carson uses to keep his cool during such a high stakes competition, and why he keeps his gym regimen to a minimum. They also do a deep dive into Carson's experiences filming the 2018 film North of Nightfall in which he and three other big mountain freeriders were taken on a month-long filming expedition to Axel Heiberg, an uninhabited island in the High Arctic that is home to one of the world's largest glaciers and is experiencing some of the most rapid repercussions of climate change. 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

Ted King is a former professional road cyclist and current gravel racer. Ted's diverse interests off the bike are nearly too numerous to count, but include hosting his own podcast (King of the Ride), co-owning a maple syrup based nutrition company, Untapped,  and founding the acclaimed gravel event Rooted Vermont. Before his gravel racing career, Ted was a professional World Tour road racer with Liquigas, during which time he raced the Tour de France and was a key domestique to Peter Sagan. Payson caught up with Ted at the media launch of Big Sugar, a new gravel race in Bentonville, Arkansas. Short on time, they decided to interview each other during the discussion and upload the conversation to each of their shows. They discuss their favorite podcasts, their love of the off the bike hustle, why Ted retired from world tour racing at the tender age of 32, and how he feels about the professionalization of gravel racing. 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

Ned Overend and John Tomac dominated professional mountain biking during its hay day of the late 80’s and 90’s in a rivalry that is permanently etched in off-road racing history. Their battles defined the sport for nearly a decade, and were made even more memorable by the diverse and dynamic technological advancements of the time. One year ago, Payson got Ned and John together for a rare one-on-one conversation, which they recorded at Tomac's 800 acre ranch in Cortez, CO. They talk about what it was like to see the sport change due to drug use, and ultimately be forced in to retirement because of it. They reminisce about unique bike set-ups and the limitations of early race bikes, what their relationship was like when they were at the peak of their careers, and how mountain biking has changed in the decades since. They also discuss Tomac’s current work with his son, Eli, one of the best motocross racers in the world, and Ned’s continued age-defying career on the bike that is still giving some of the best racers a run for their money. Payson also reached out to some of the biggest names inspired by Ned and John, to see what they wanted to ask their heroes. As such, questions from Geoff Kabush, Todd Wells, Travis Brown, Alison Dunlap, and Carl Decker are featured throughout the conversation. 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

Ellen Noble is a four-time cyclocross national champion and world champion silver medalist. In this interview, she and Payson go deep on gender equality and the #MeToo movement, talk about their favorite books, and lighten the mood with a few breakfast recipes. Ellen has been an outspoken advocate of gender parity within cycling and in the broader world, and is the founder of #bunnyhopthepatriarchy, a movement intended to highlight and reduce gender inequities in the cycling world.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]