With Pace

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Welcome to With Pace Apr 03, 2025

Show notes

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Brayden Johnson on his disastrous factory team experience in 2024 and taking the 2025 season into his own hands Mar 31, 2025

Show notes

Brayden Johnson landed his dream situation in 2024 when he signed a contract with a factory team. As a third-year U23 rider, it was a crucial opportunity on his way to the elite field. He had already shown his potential, winning National Champs and podiuming at World Cups. Soon after moving to Italy for the new team, however, Brayden started to notice some red flags. Before the end of the season, he was blacklisted from the team shortly before organization collapsed altogether.

This year is his final year as a U23 and he’s taking it on as a privateer. He has a lot on the line. The opportunities for U23s to continue racing in the elite field are few and far between, but by accepting the odds and preparing himself for any outcome, Brayden has found the freedom to go all-in. Payson sat down with him in Bentonville this week to talk about the coming season, when he realized that things had gone too far with his previous team, his long-time friendship with Riley Amos, and how he's taking things into his own hands this season.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Gwendalyn Gibson on her unlikely path to World Cup racing and bringing a fresh perspective to the 2025 season Mar 23, 2025

Show notes

Gwen Gibson is one of the best World Cup XCO racers in the world, but she almost didn’t make it into the professional ranks. In college, she juggled racing with a full class schedule and held down three jobs to make ends meet. When she graduated, she thought it was probably time to quit her dreams of being a World Cup racer and find a ‘real’ career path. But then she started showing up to races and beating some of her idols, and in 2022, she had a breakout season, winning a World Cup short track race and nabbing third place at the World Championships after breaking her kneecap midseason. Now, she races for Trek Factory Racing and has scored eight top 10 World Cup finishes since joining the team.
Gwen sat down with Payson in Girona to talk about battling her way into World Cup racing after years of determination, her continuing battles with self-doubt, what it was like winning her first World Cup race, and how she's building up her mental game after the disappointment of losing out on the Olympics last year with one heartbreaking race. She also talks about her friendship with teammates Evie Richards and Maddie Munro and how she still manages to win races despite shying away from confrontational tactics.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Rosa Klöser on joining Canyon-SRAM and the future of gravel Mar 17, 2025

Show notes

Reigning Queen of Gravel Rosa Klöser returns to the show to talk about some of the major developments in her career since we spoke with her after her surprise win at Unbound last year. That victory launched her into the spotlight as a major new player in the gravel scene, but her spur-of-the-moment decision to race German Road Nationals really brought her to the attention of the broader cycling world. After coming in 9th place in a stacked field, Rosa scored a contract with the WorldTour team and Tour de France Femmes champions Canyon-SRAM.

She sat down with Payson in Girona last week to talk about how a disorganised and last-minute stop at German Nationals set her on a new path in the sport, her first training camp with Canyon-SRAM, and how she’ll be managing a privateer program on gravel with a WorldTour team on the road.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Bjorn Riley on Scott-SRAM training camp, painting, and his near-fatal snake bite Mar 09, 2025

Show notes

Payson stops by XCO National Champion Bjorn Riley’s apartment in Girona to hear about his training camp in South Africa with his new team, the one and only Scott-SRAM. They also discuss the part of winning a race that people don’t often talk about: the terrifying moment when you decide to throw caution to the wind and just go for it. Then, Bjorn pulls out some of the artifacts he’s found in abandoned buildings on rides in the Spanish countryside and recounts his experience of getting bitten by Europe's only deadly snake species while on a training ride last year and needing to get airlifted to a hospital.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Sahara Gravel stage 4 recap with Petr Vakoč Feb 27, 2025

Show notes

The final stage of Sahara Gravel in Morocco ended in a sand pit that left some riders sprinting on foot across the line. Payson sits down on a windy sand dune to chat with stage winner Petr Vakoč about how the event went for him over the past four days -- the highs, lows, and his favorite type of tagine. He also talks about his plans for the rest of the season and his unconventional travel plans to get back to Europe from Morocco tomorrow.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Sahara Gravel stage 3 recap with Maddy Nutt and the GRL PCK Feb 26, 2025

Show notes

Stage 3 of Sahara Gravel in Morocco was harder than pretty much anyone was anticipating. Despite seeming to have hardly any climbing, it proved to be the toughest day yet and the first stage that took the riders deep into the Sahara Desert. Payson sat down with British rider Maddy Nutt, who has been battling for first place with Luise Valentin since day one. She talks about getting caught in the sand, how this race stacks up with Migration Gravel, and why she avoids events with a certain type of professional rider.

Then, we get an Adventure Stache first: five interview subjects in one conversation. The GRL PCK consists of a group of friends from Germany plus a few of their friends from around Europe and the UK who were there for the race — Laura, Sam, Sophie, Josie, and Claire, who are taking the race at their own pace and enjoying the heck out of it. They talk about how they met each other and started doing events as a group, and their highlights and lowlights of the race so far.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Sahara Gravel stage 2 recap with Oti Zolati and Janosch Wintermantel Feb 25, 2025

Show notes

It's day two of Sahara Gravel and the general consensus is that the scenery was pretty mind-blowing on this 68 mile mountain stage. Payson sits down with Oti Zolati, the only Moroccan in the race, to talk about being a tourist in his own country and his bikepacking trip across Africa that got him hooked on cycling. Then he talks to the founder of the race, Janosch Wintermantel, about how he went from living in Switzerland and working at Scott to event organising in Morocco.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Sahara Gravel stage 1 recap with Luise Valentin and Matteo Fontana Feb 24, 2025

Show notes

It's stage one of the four-day Sahara Gravel stage race in Morocco and Payson is sitting down with the stage winners Luise Valentin and Matteo Fontana. They tell us how their days unfolded, what they do when they're not training (Luise is an engineer in Zurich and Matteo is a former triathlete and bike fitter outside Milan), and how they're feeling about the race so far.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Alison Jackson on collecting stories and finding her winning attitude Feb 16, 2025

Show notes

If you’ve seen two-time Olympian Alison Jackson in the media, chances are she was either dancing, standing on top of the Paris-Roubaix podium, or both. The EF rider won Roubaix in 2023 and quickly became a fan favorite for her joyful social media presence and finish-line celebrations. She caught up with Payson in Girona this week shortly after breaking her arm at a race, and somehow seems to be as optimistic as ever. She talks about growing up on a bison farm in rural Alberta, why she goes out of her way to seek novel experiences wherever she goes, and how she’s managed to prove that power numbers don’t hold a candle to a winning attitude.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: howdy@withpace.cc

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