Griffin and Cullen Easter on returning to racing with OpiCure

Griffin and Cullen Easter have been racing with and against each other since college. The brothers graduated from separate universities but went on to ride for UCI Continental team Airgas-Safeway together. Their paths diverged when Griffin went to race overseas and Cullen pursued a nursing degree, but their careers have merged again in unexpected ways in recent years. While Griffin was winning a stage at the Vuelta a Colombia and pulling off impressive results in Europe, Cullen was working in Utah at a detox unit at a psychiatric hospital where many of his patients were recovering from opioid addiction. This experience, combined with a related family tragedy, led the brothers to found OpiCure, a non-profit organization focused on relieving opioid addiction. Part of their foundation is a cycling team that helps people recovering from addiction find fulfillment on the bike.
In this interview, Griffin and Cullen tell Payson about the inspiration behind OpiCure, when they knew that their Rider in Recovery Program was working, and how they plan to expand the foundation in the coming year. Griffin also talks about how Cullen convinced him to start riding again after he contemplated retirement, and his decision to join the Grand Prix this year. Cullen talks about the time he went from Cat 3 road racer to former WorldTour pro Chris Horner’s hand-picked domestique at the Tour of Utah within the span of a few months.

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