What do Sepp Kuss, Christopher Blevins, Howard Grotts, and Asa Vermette have in common? They all grew up in the small town of Durango, Colorado. The list of cycling pros that now live there is formidable, and includes our guest, 3x Olympian and 15x XC and CX National Champion Todd Wells. Last week, it was announced that Durango would host the 2030 mountain bike World Championships, 40 years after hosting the very first edition in 1990. Todd sat down with Payson to talk about how he and a grou...
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What do Sepp Kuss, Christopher Blevins, Howard Grotts, and Asa Vermette have in common? They all grew up in the small town of Durango, Colorado. The list of cycling pros that now live there is formidable, and includes our guest, 3x Olympian and 15x XC and CX National Champion Todd Wells. Last week, it was announced that Durango would host the 2030 mountain bike World Championships, 40 years after hosting the very first edition in 1990. Todd sat down with Payson to talk about how he and a grou...
What do Sepp Kuss, Christopher Blevins, Howard Grotts, and Asa Vermette have in common? They all grew up in the small town of Durango, Colorado. The list of cycling pros that now live there is formidable, and includes our guest, 3x Olympian and 15x XC and CX National Champion Todd Wells. Last week, it was announced that Durango would host the 2030 mountain bike World Championships, 40 years after hosting the very first edition in 1990. Todd sat down with Payson to talk about how he and a grou...
In this bonus episode, we’re bringing you Payson’s ride-along chat with Ellen Campbell the day before Chequamegon. They talk about how her Grand Prix season is going so far, what it’s like to be sitting just outside the top 10 going into the final two rounds of the series, and her gear choices for the race. They also talk about her Ride Dirt program, a series of workshops in which she teaches women bike maintenance and handling skills. Keep up with Ellen at @ellen.m.campbell Use code PAYSON15...
Just a few hours after winning Gravel Nationals, Bradyn Lange sat down with Payson at the house they were sharing in the lead-up to the race for a wide-ranging conversation about the event and all the things that had to fall into place to get him there. Bradyn has always identified more as a mountain biker than a gravel racer, but after struggling to find sponsors and snagging a rogue 4th place at Big Sugar in 2021, he managed to secure a sponsorship from Pinarello and a place in the 2022 Gra...
In our latest Grand Prix recap, Payson takes a recovery spin with Melisa Rollins, who won the women’s race solo and made the competition for the top spot in this year’s standings even tighter. Then, he chats with Charlie and Steve, two friends who work for the Forest Service who were the last people to cross the finish line before the cutoff. But first, Payson crunches some numbers to see where things stand with the Grand Prix points and how he thinks the final two rounds in Bentonville might...
When Payson hobbled his way into the Red Bull Athlete Performance Center in May with a broken hip, he wasn’t expecting to be off crutches anytime soon, but thanks to the work of coaches like Will Gilmore, he not only managed to leave the facility without crutches, but also to jump back into racing a full month and a half before he’d planned. Will started his career in baseball, playing professionally before becoming a strength and conditioning coach for the Kansas City Royals and Cincin...
Mountain bike racing is hard. Ultrarunning is hard. So why did Maude Farrell decide to make things extra brutal for herself this season by combining them? Earlier this month, she won the Lead Challenge, a multi-month series comprised of five trail running and mountain bike races at over 10,000 feet. The final week of the series involved racing the Leadville 100 mountain bike race, running the Leadville 10k the next day, and running the Leadville Trail 100 race six days later. Maude sat ...
The day after placing top 10 at the Leadville 100, Zach Calton joined Payson on a ride to talk about returning to form after the toughest season of his career. They discuss how it all started a year ago at the Breck Epic, his disastrous experience at the Cape Epic, and how he’s slowly found his footing again this season. Use code PACE20 for 20% your first order of LTH supplements and take the quiz to get a plan tailored to your needs. Watch: Ride With Pace - Ep 4 Leadville Watch this ep...
Barely half an hour after crossing the finish line at the Leadville 100, Bradyn Lange joined Payson for a painful cooldown ride at 10,000 ft. They debrief about the race, talk about Bradyn’s last-minute set-up change, and debate whether Leadville is harder than Unbound. Use code PACE20 for 20% off your first order of LTH supplements and take the quiz to get a plan tailored to your goals and needs. Watch: Ride With Pace - Ep 4 Leadville Watch this episode on YouTube here: Bradyn Lange Po...
In this packed Leadville 100 recap, Payson chats with 4th-place finisher Torbjørn Røed about his journey to the Grand Prix and their sprint finish last weekend. Then, he talks to Cecily Decker (aka Diesel Decker), who saw her months-long preparation for the race pay off when she took third place on the day and the top spot in the Grand Prix standings. Later, he chats with Emily Fagan, a middle school math and English teacher from North Carolina who took home the “Last Ass Over the Pass” troph...
Cam Jones has had a pretty memorable 2025 season, rocketing from Grand Prix wild card to winner of Unbound. And yet, that dramatic turn of events pales in comparison to his 2022 season. For his final year as a U23, Cam planned to race every World Cup in the hope that it might secure him a team for the start of his Elite career. After a promising start to the season, things went downhill fast. Kidney failure, Covid, and a five-day stint in a Belgian detention center followed, and somehow, that...
Robin Gemperle defied all previous Tour Divide records earlier this year when he finished the notorious 2,700-mile race in less than 12 days, more than 300 miles ahead of second place. Formerly a junior member of the Scott-SRAM cross country team, he felt that there was untapped potential in maximising how fast the route could be ridden, not just how efficiently riders could sleep and refuel. Bringing all of his racing skills to the table, he set a blistering new standard that got people deba...
Kate Courtney returns to the show the day after completing the Leadville Stage Race. Just a few months ago, it was barely on her radar, but after a broken wrist took her out of the World Cup circuit, she decided to look for a new way to challenge herself before the season starts up again at the end of August. In a couple of weeks, she’ll be lining up for her first Leadville 100. Kate sat down with Payson to talk about how the reality of the stage race diverged sharply from her expectati...
Cécile Lejeune started racing triathlons in her native France at 12 years old and quickly began picking up national titles. After gaining the attention of international recruiters, she moved to the US to race track in college. Soon, however, a chronic series of stress fractures took her out of competition and forced her into early retirement. Now, after just one year racing gravel, she’s become a top contender in the Grand Prix, even nabbing fifth at her first Unbound earlier this year. ...
With six mountain bike world championships, a Leadville win, six World Cups, and six Cape Epic victories under her belt, Annika Langvad is one of the most decorated off road cyclists of all time. But shortly after yet another career triumph in 2019 when she pivoted to road racing and placed second at the Strade Bianche, she decided it was time to retire from racing. She began working as a dentist, but after the birth of her daughter 10 months ago, she realised that she was ready to jump back ...
Payson and Sarah made it back to Bend. They may be a bit more haggard than they were at the beginning of the race, but that hasn’t dampened their enthusiasm. They sit down to talk about how the final stage played out, including all the tactics that went into the series overall standings. Then, they bring in Sarah’s husband Dylan to talk about his week, which involved a lot of mountain biking and car maintenance. Lastly, Nichole hops on the mic to talk about winning the women’s open category, ...
Payson and Sarah had two very different experiences on day four of the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder. They recap their respective miseries and triumphs on this second-to-last day, discuss how things are shaping up in the overall standings, and talk about the literal run-in with wildlife that left the racers shaken. They also talk about Dylan’s victory at the hot dog eating contest, the greatest gift Sarah ever received (an ice skating costume), liquified shower curtains, and, just in case you t...
Stage 3 saw the riders heading out for an enduro day that turned out to be very heavy on the climbing. Skyler Taylor, who won the men’s stage, joins Payson and Sarah to talk about how he managed to reel in Cam Jones who has so far dominated the race with his power and descending skills. He also talks about deciding to leave his full-time job to focus on gravel this year, which he quickly followed through on by winning a wild card spot in the Grand Prix. Plus, Sarah talks about why time has ne...
After the punishing 94.7 miles of stage two, Payson and Sarah sit down with Cécile Lejeune, who is currently duking it out for first place in the overall despite having raced fewer than 10 gravel races in her entire career. They recap the day, which included multiple crashes, plenty of interpersonal drama, and a few good samaritans. They also talk about Sarah’s issue with Cécile’s snack choices, the multiple jobs Cécile holds down when she’s not racing, and whether running (her first sport) f...
As the dust settles on stage one of the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder, Payson and Sarah sit down to talk about the punishing 80 miles from Bend to Gilchrist. They discuss how things played out in the men’s and women’s fields, how Sarah’s new haircut might have taken her out of contention, Evel Knievel’s leap across the Snake River, and her husband Dylan’s run-in with a skunk that has followed them to the race. Today’s episode is presented by SILCA. Use code: withpaceoregontrail to get 15%...
In this final episode on this year’s Unbound, we’re bringing you two interviews that Payson recorded while on the ground in Emporia. The first took place with Sarah Sturm the night before the race in which she discusses the limitations of team tactics in the women’s field. Her husband Dylan Stucki and mechanic Anna Greetis also chime in to talk about what it’s like doing the aid stations at such a big and important event. Next, Payson talks to Taylor Lideen, who he caught up with the da...
What do Sepp Kuss, Christopher Blevins, Howard Grotts, and Asa Vermette have in common? They all grew up in the small town of Durango, Colorado. The list of cycling pros that now live there is formidable, and includes our guest, 3x Olympian and 15x XC and CX National Champion Todd Wells. Last week, it was announced that Durango would host the 2030 mountain bike World Championships, 40 years after hosting the very first edition in 1990. Todd sat down with Payson to talk about how he and a grou...
