With Pace
Professional mountain biker Payson McElveen sits down with some of the biggest names in sports and adventure to get an inside look at what sets them apart. With no script, the casual conversations are as diverse as the guests, with topics ranging from harrowing tales of survival, to debates on current events, to everyday tips and tricks and everything in between. As Payson travels the world for his two-wheeled day job, listen in as he rubs shoulders with and learns from some of the most inspiring athletes, entrepreneurs, academics, and others as they chase and inspire greatness.
Episodes
383 episodes
Samuele Bressan, Head of Global Marketing for Pirelli's cycling division
During Payson’s trip to Italy last week to race The Hills, he stopped by the headquarters of his new tire sponsor, Pirelli, for a tour of the factory floor. Afterward, he sat down with Samuele Bressan, the company’s Head of Global Marketing for...
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Season 1
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Episode 381
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1:01:26
George Hincapie on Modern Adventure Pro Cycling and his storied racing career
After more than three decades in the sport, George Hincapie has started a new venture this year as the founder of the UCI Pro Road Team Modern Adventure Pro Cycling. It’s already gaining steam much faster than he expected — so fast, in fact, th...
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Season 1
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Episode 380
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1:01:19
Alex Miller on growing up in rural Namibia and joining Swatt Club
Alex Miller is a two-time Olympic XC racer from Namibia with multiple road and XC marathon national titles. These days, he lives in Girona and races for Swatt Club, splitting his schedule between gravel, road, and mountain bike races. He joins ...
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Season 1
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Episode 379
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1:16:27
Luke Lamperti on opening weekend of the Belgian Classics and chasing marginal gains
The last time we spoke to Luke Lamperti was two years ago, when he was just starting out as a WorldTour neo-pro with Quick-Step. This year, he’s switched to EF and has already racked up some impressive finishes. In fact, Payson ran into him jus...
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Season 1
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Episode 378
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54:40
Sahara Gravel stage 4 recap with Leoni Kolberg
To close out our Sahara Gravel coverage, Payson sat down with race volunteer Leoni Kolberg, who has spent the past four years riding around the world, often solo and sleeping in a tent. Last year, she rode across South America. Before that, she...
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Season 1
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Episode 377
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30:50
Sahara Gravel stage 3 recap with Eddy Le Huitouze
Stage 3 of Sahara Gravel took the riders away from the Atlas Mountains and towards the Sahara Desert, with 95 kilometers ending in a tailwind. Payson is joined by stage winner Eddy Le Huitouze to discuss how the race played out, but first, they...
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Season 1
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Episode 376
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18:03
Sahara Gravel stage 2 recap with Nicolas Roche and Marta Torà
Stage 2 of Sahara Gravel comprised 105km and 1800 meters of climbing. To recap the day, Payson is joined by former WorldTour pro Nicolas Roche and mountain biker Marta Torà, who are taking on the race together in the pairs category. They talk a...
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Season 1
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Episode 375
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25:41
Sahara Gravel stage 1 recap with Lizzie Hermolle
Stage 1 of Sahara Gravel was 99 kilometers in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. Payson is joined to recap the day by UK Gravel National Champ and today's stage winner, Lizzlie Hermolle. They discuss the profile of the route, an unexpected c...
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Season 1
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Episode 374
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17:53
Caleb Swartz on transitioning from cyclocross to the Grand Prix
Caleb Swartz started racing cyclocross when he was eight years old, but the discipline has been dwindling in the US since the 2010s, and the writing has been on the wall for any American racers wanting to make a sustainable career from it. Last...
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Season 1
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Episode 373
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1:48:03
Allied FITZ is here: CEO Drew Medlock and Director of Product and Engineering Sam Pickman on the new trail bike
You might have heard that Allied just released a new feather-light trail bike this week. The FITZ is new territory for the brand, so it seemed like a good opportunity to bring in Allied’s CEO Drew Medlock and Director of Product and Engineering...
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Season 1
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Episode 372
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47:54
Riley Amos on his first year as an Elite and his love of product development
Most riders spend their first year in the Elite ranks just trying to find their feet, but Riley Amos was determined to be different. He had good reason for it. Not only did he have a dominant final season as a U23 in 2024, but he also finished ...
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Season 1
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Episode 371
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1:34:23
Haley Smith on becoming a privateer in 2026 while doing her PhD
Haley Smith has been on one factory team or another since she was in her teens. In that time, she spent a decade as a World Cup XC racer, went to the 2021 Olympics, and won the inaugural round of the Life Time Grand Prix. But this year, she’s e...
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Season 1
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Episode 370
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1:17:20
Mads Würtz Schmidt on his transition from WorldTour to gravel
Mads Würtz Schmidt might be a newcomer to gravel, but he’s already established himself as one of the best in the world. The 31-year-old Danish rider went all in on the sport last year with little financial support and ended up winning the Traka...
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Season 1
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Episode 369
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1:13:03
2025 in review (with Nichole Baker)
We're back from our holiday break, and Payson and Nichole are here to recap a packed 2025. They offer a peek behind the curtain at their year, from the emotional toll of Payson's broken hip last spring to finally offloading one of the worst inv...
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Season 1
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Episode 368
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1:57:26
Staying fit in the off season and Privateer Parts with Sarah Sturm
Sarah Sturm is back for another monthly catch-up, and this time, she and Payson are talking gym routines. How much lifting is too much? Should you be lifting heavy or doing high reps? And how bad is it for Sarah’s cycling career that she can’t ...
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Season 1
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Episode 367
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56:34
Kevin Vermaak on founding the Cape Epic and Gravel Burn
When Kevin Vermaak left his job in IT to found a brand-new type of bike race, he had no idea how much money he’d lose up front or how successful the resulting event would become. 20 years in, and the Cape Epic is one of the most famous bike rac...
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Season 1
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Episode 366
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1:22:29
Scott Bowden on his Crossing Tasmania FKT attempt
Scott Bowden set out two weeks ago to tackle a 580km route across Tasmania. His goal was to beat Payson’s FKT from 2021, but most importantly, he just wanted to finish. With 11,000 meters of elevation, multiple river crossings, all types of wea...
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Season 1
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Episode 365
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2:00:11
Ride With Pace: HolySpiritOfGravel
Leni Carrillo, a self-proclaimed "gravel normie" from San Antonio, Texas is the genius behind the HolySpiritofGravel meme account on Instagram. With her lighthearted and extremely specific takes on the world of gravel racing, she brings some mu...
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Season 1
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Episode 364
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24:49
The 2026 Grand Prix roster with Sarah Sturm
This week on the show, Payson sits down with Sarah Sturm to talk about the roster for 2026’s Life Time Grand Prix, which was released last week and contained more surprises than all the previous years combined. Payson and Sarah chat about the l...
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Season 1
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Episode 363
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2:03:00
Gravel Burn recap with Bradyn Lange and Dan Craven
With the inaugural edition of Gravel Burn in the rearview mirror, Payson sits down with Bradyn Lange for an overall recap. Due to illness, Bradyn wasn’t able to compete in the pro field and instead dropped in partway through the seven-day event...
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Season 1
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Episode 362
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1:01:16
Gravel Burn stage 6 recap with Hayley Preen
Stage 6 of Gravel Burn did not go according to plan. Strong winds led to treacherous conditions, and after Swiss rider Andri Frischknecht suffered a crash due to high crosswinds, the 144-kilometre stage was neutralised. To recap the day, Payson...
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Season 1
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Episode 361
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17:37
Gravel Burn stage 5 recap with Tom Pidcock
Stage 5 of Gravel Burn was slow despite being more than 50% paved, and it finished on a 2500-foot climb. Tom Pidcock took the stage win and joins Payson to recap the day. They also discuss the logistics of his Il Lombardia / UCI Gravel Worlds d...
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Season 1
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Episode 360
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18:26
Gravel Burn stage 4 recap with Lukas Baum and Georg Egger
Stage 4 of Gravel Burn was 111 kilometres of near-constant headwind. Payson is joined by Speed Company duo Lukas Baum and Georg Eggers to get the lowdown on their moves that shook up the race early and how Lukas’s flat impacted his third-place ...
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Season 1
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Episode 359
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41:29
Gravel Burn stage 3 recap with Simon Pellaud
Stage 3 of Gravel Burn was rough and tactical. Simon Pellaud, who has raced in just about every corner of the world this season and is hot off his second-place finish in the Life Time Grand Prix, took the stage win over Matt Beers and is curren...
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Season 1
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Episode 358
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29:36
Gravel Burn stage 2 recap with Haley Smith
Stage two of Gravel Burn was 108 kilometres from Avontuur to Willowmore and it was much drier than yesterday. Both Matt Beers and Axelle Dubau-Prévot managed to hold on to their leads, but there were shakeups in the rest of the field. Payson is...
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Season 1
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Episode 357
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20:24