With Pace

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: @withpacepodYouTube: Payson McElveen Email: howdy@withpace.cc

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: @withpacepodYouTube: Payson McElveen Email: howdy@withpace.cc

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: @withpacepodYouTube: Payson McElveen Email: howdy@withpace.cc

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: @withpacepodYouTube: Payson McElveen Email: howdy@withpace.cc

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: @withpacepodYouTube: Payson McElveen Email: howdy@withpace.cc

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: @withpacepodYouTube: Payson McElveen Email: howdy@withpace.cc

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: @withpacepodYouTube: Payson McElveen Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Over the course of a more than 30 year career, Rebecca Rusch has become one of the foremost athletes in ultra-endurance adventure sports. Whether rock climbing, white water rafting, gravel racing or bikepacking, Rebecca has demonstrated time and again that she is the undisputed “Queen of Pain.” Four time winner of the Leadville 100, 24 hour solo mountain biking world champion, Emmy Award winner, multi-time Eco Challenge competitor, author, public speaker, and philanthropist—the list of her accomplishments is extensive, and she is far from retirement. In this conversation, she and Payson talk about using success as springboard for pursuing projects outside of cycling, and why it’s important to her to keep pushing the boundaries of her sport alongside running her own charitable foundation Be Good. They talk about harnessing the surge in enthusiasm for the outdoors that the pandemic has created, and how she’s changing the business plan for her popular gravel event, Rebecca’s Private Idaho, to accommodate the changing landscape of mass participation events. They also talk about the whirlwind following her 2015 film, Blood Road, which documented her journey mountain biking the 1,200 miles of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in search of where her father had been shot down as a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War. The film won an Emmy and gained her an even wider audience, many of whom connected with the project through personal experience. Rebecca talks about the power of sharing her story, but also the moment she realized she needed to take a step back and refocus her attention on personal health and wellbeing. They also talk about what it feels like to have been inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame before retiring, her 2021 goals, and the four "navigational handrails" she lives by.Instagram: @withpacepodYouTube: Payson McElveen Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Hattie Harnden is a professional cyclist whose relatively short career has spanned multiple disciplines and garnered her both national and international titles.  In addition to being U21 enduro world champ, she also became the UK elite cyclocross national champion at the age of 18 earlier this year, and holds multiple national titles for cross country. In this episode, Hattie tells Payson about juggling so many disciplines, and whether she's planning on adding a few more to her CV. She talks about signing with Trek Factory Racing earlier this year and finding her feet as a professional racer alongside teammates who are veterans of the sport. She talks about her long term racing goals, whether or not she plans on going to college, some of the skills she picked up in lockdown, and what it's been like getting back to racing without spectators. They also talk about her relationship with one of the sport's most legendary racers, Tracey Moseley, who lent her a bike when she was just getting into mountain biking and continues to be a mentor and close friend. Instagram: @withpacepodYouTube: Payson McElveen Email: howdy@withpace.cc

Evie Richards is a cross country and cyclocross racer who rides for Trek Factory Racing. She won the U23 cyclocross World Championship in 2016 and 2018, and achieved second place in cross country at the Commonwealth Games in 2018. Earlier this fall, she gained her first elite mountain bike World Cup win in the short track race in Nové Město, Czechia. In this conversation, she and Payson talk about her rapid rise to elite international success, including the contentious sprint finish at Nové Město that left her with complicated emotions in spite of her victory. She talks about how her determination to stay fit and learn new skills during the UK’s first lockdown in the spring resulted in a severe knee injury that hindered her training, and why she chooses to keep her presence on social media as positive as possible. They also talk about how she’s carefully cultivated a healthy work/life balance in spite of her busy professional commitments, what’s it’s like living down the road from her entire extended family, her Olympic ambitions, and the inspiration she draws from athletes outside of cycling. Instagram: @withpacepodYouTube: Payson McElveen Email: howdy@withpace.cc