With Pace

Latest Episodes:

Chris Cosentino on being a restaurateur in the pandemic Feb 23, 2021

Show notes

Chris Cosentino is a celebrity chef and avid cyclist, best known for his many television appearances on shows such as Top Chef Masters (which he won), and for owning restaurants across the US. Chris first made an appearance on the podcast in episode 16, and returns this week to talk about the state of the restaurant industry. Perhaps no area of the economy has been hit harder by the pandemic, and Chris has experienced this first hand. Last fall, he made the decision to close his San Francisco restaurant, Cockscomb, which had been a labor of love since it opened seven years ago. Chris tells Payson about how he finally came to the difficult decision to close the restaurant, the painful process of letting go of such a major part of his life, and how long he thinks it will take the industry to bounce back. He also talks about how he’s learning to embrace the time away from the kitchen, some his new chef-related ventures, and how cycling his helping him move through it all.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Jolanda Neff, XC World Champion Feb 16, 2021

Show notes

Jolanda Neff is one of the most decorated cross country mountain bike racers in the world. In addition to winning the XC World Championship 2017, she has won 12 XC World Cups, five Swiss XC national championships, and competed in both XC and road races at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She now has her sights set on the 2021 season and the Tokyo Olympics.
In this interview, she talks about how she got stuck in the Canary Islands following a successful winter training camp with the Swiss national team, and her misgivings about the next few months of racing. She tells Payson about her love of travel, and how she’s kept perspective during the pandemic despite suffering a career-compromising crash in early 2020. She also talks about why she decided to join Trek Factory Racing after spending much of her career moving teams every couple of years, and the pros and cons of having a partner who is also a professional cyclist. They also discuss her love of shopping, motocross, and Joe Rogan.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Ted King on bikepacking and the uncertainties of the 2021 season Feb 09, 2021

Show notes

Ted King returns to the show to talk about the uncertainties of 2021, leaning into the Vermont winter weather, and why he isn’t stressing about perfect training conditions. He also tells Payson about his first bikepacking experience at the end of October when he won the 1,017 mile Arkansas High Country Race. They compare the battle scars they each sustained from their 2020 adventures, as well as their unshakable excitement to embark on even rougher bikepacking challenges in the future. They talk about how they’re strategizing for an unpredictable 2021 racing schedule, how Ted's life has changed since becoming a dad at the beginning of last year, and the time he caught a pass from Tom Brady.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Episode 100 Special: Justin Williams on signing with Red Bull (with Colin Strickland) Feb 02, 2021

Show notes

In this very special one hundredth episode, Payson, Justin, and Colin are reunited nearly a year after their first conversation on the show. They talk about their plan to revolutionize American cycling, and, of course, the moment that Payson, Colin, and Kate Courtney got to present Justin with his Red Bull helmet (a day that featured celebrity cameos from Reggie Miller and Chris Froome). This full interview can be viewed as a film on YouTube beginning tomorrow, and includes footage from Justin's helmet presentation and more.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Pat Lemieux, athlete agent Jan 26, 2021

Show notes

Pat Lemieux may be best known as the husband of Olympic gold medalist Gwen Jorgensen, but he has recently entered into a new role as an athlete agent following a request from pro cyclist Ellen Noble. He now works for athletes such as triathlete Lionel Sanders and cyclocross racer Stephen Hyde, and as the partnership manager for the entire Rally Cycling team. Even though he hadn’t planned on being an agent, he quickly discovered that his personality and experience both of his wife’s career and his own as a former professional cyclist make the new role an obvious fit. In this conversation, he talks with Payson about learning on the job, negotiation 101, and why he sees his role as serving first and selling second. They also discuss the trends in athlete/brand partnerships that have been accelerated by the pandemic, such as diversity of content creation and the ability to evoke emotion. They discuss which athletes can benefit from having an agent, when the numbers simply don’t add up, and why his wife will never been on his roster.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Maddie Munro, cyclocross racer Jan 19, 2021

Show notes

Maddie Munro is one of the brightest up and coming stars of the cyclocross scene. Following her bronze medal at the 2020 junior World Championships, she joined Trek Factory Racing and is currently competing in the Elite category at just 18 years old. In this interview, she tells Payson about why she decided to start college just as her racing career is taking off, what her first semester has been like during the pandemic, and how she’s adjusting to the excitement of professional racing. She also talks about what her cycling goals are, why she’s already planning for life after racing, and what it’s been like having her first pro season during the pandemic. She also tells the story of her first ever trip with the Trek team, when she found herself rooming with her hero, World Champion Jolanda Neff at a World Cup in the Czech Republic.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Anton Cooper, Cross country racer Jan 12, 2021

Show notes

Anton Cooper is a fixture of the World Cup cross country scene. He won the U23 World Championships in 2015 and the 2014 Commonwealth Games, but perhaps his best known finish came in 2018, when he battled World Champion Nino Schurter for the top step of the podium in a sprint finish at Nove Mesto. In this interview, he talks about all the things that went right that day, and what he would have done differently to snag that final victory. He talks about why the pro field might be changing in the coming years, and what to expect from the other riders. He also discusses his love for bike packing adventures that take him far into the wildest parts of New Zealand and sometimes involve rock climbing and helicopter rescues. His adventures with his dad have led to some harrowing stories of survival in the wilderness and few near death experiences. In contrast, he talks about the way World Cup courses have changed over the past few years to accommodate spectators and media, and what he hopes to see in the future.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Ellen Noble, cyclocross racer Jan 05, 2021

Show notes

Ellen Noble returns to the show to talk about developments in life and training since the beginning of the pandemic. In addition to moving states, she has also started working with a new coach, the renowned Allen Lim, and begun the long, slow process of getting back into racing shape following health challenges that put her career on hold for several seasons. She talks about moving from the coach she had worked with since she was 14, to Lim, who put her fitness and determination to the test from the first day. She talks about the upside to having no races the past year, and how she’s feeling about making a comeback in 2021. They also talk about why she finally decided to get an agent, and the unconventional approach she took to finding one.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Aaron Lutze, athlete marketing manager at Red Bull Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

Aaron Lutze is an athlete marketing manager at Red Bull where he works with an illustrious roster of talent including Kate Courtney, Carson Storch, and Rebecca Rusch. In this conversation, he talks about his unique role in the careers of his athletes, and what he loves most about his job. He and Payson go back in time to learn how he got to this point in his career, from working at McDonald’s as a fourteen-year-old, to becoming a trials rider on the Warped Tour music festival circuit in the late 90s, to broadcasting the UCI World Tour for Freecaster from the back of sprinter van with a black and white tv and a limited amount of satellite time. He talks about why athletes are entertainers first and foremost, and why he's made an effort to become proficient in multiple sports in his own right. He also talks about the time he got lost in a game reserve in Botswana at night and thought he would never make it alive, and answers a few (mostly serious) questions submitted by Kate Courtney, Eric Porter, Jill Kintner, and Rebecca Rusch.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Stéphane Tempier, cross country mountain biker Dec 22, 2020

Show notes

Stéphane Tempier is a professional mountain biker who has been a fixture on the cross country World Cup circuit for over a decade. He placed second overall in the World Cup series, medaled in the World Championships, and represented France in the Olympics. He currently rides for Trek Factory Racing. In this interview, he and Payson talk about training during France's lengthy lockdown this year, how mountain biking has changed since he started racing, how his role as an athlete has changed with the rise of social media, and his plans for the 2021 racing season. They also talk about what it was like to join Trek Factory Racing earlier this after racing for Bianchi Countervail for many years, and the origins of his famously unique riding style.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: howdy@withpace.cc

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