With Pace

It’s been more than two years since we last had Morgan Aguirre on the show, and since then, a lot has changed for her. After two strong seasons racing gravel mainly in Europe, she is headed for the Grand Prix this year for the first time. Payson caught up with Morgan in Northern California this week, where they are both preparing for Sea Otter. They discuss her suboptimal start to the season, how she’ll be blending European and American events this year for Pas Racing, and which Grand Prix race she’s most nervous about. 
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Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen
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Mike Woods' career in the WorldTour was practically a fluke. After earning a full ride to college for running, he quit the sport over a series of injuries and started riding his dad's bike on the weekends. Fast forward about a decade and he had won three stages of the Vuelta a España and one stage of the Tour de France. Last year, he announced his retirement after over 10 years in the WorldTour. 
Payson caught up with Mike last week in Andorra to talk about his Cinderella story in cycling and his decision to race some of the toughest endurance events in a wide range of disciplines during his first season of retirement. They also talk about how road racing has changed since Mike first signed a WorldTour contract, and the one race that still haunts him.

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Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen
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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 its cycling division. They discuss why Pirelli, which is primarily known for its high-performance tires for luxury sports cars and Formula 1 racing, decided to start making gravel tires back in 2018, and how their products in that area have evolved since then. They also talk about the testing process (one of their recent tires was tested in no fewer than four wind tunnels), the importance of tire compound in gravel, and Samuele’s history with freeriding and BMX. 
Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen
Email: [email protected]

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, that they’re headed to the Volta a Catalunya and Paris Roubaix this year. George sat down with Payson this week to talk about why he wanted to start a new team, what he hopes they will achieve in the coming years, and why he almost turned down that Roubaix invite. He also talks about his storied racing career, from his early days with the Postal Service to his famous lead-out for Mark Cavendish at Milan-San Remo in 2009 that sealed his dramatic victory. Plus, he reveals the one race that still gives him nightmares.

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Instagram: @withpacepodcast
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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 Payson this week to talk about growing up on a 49,000-acre farm in Namibia, his journey to becoming an XC Olympian, the time he beat Matt Beers in a sprint, and how he might have some sneaky WorldTour aspirations. 
Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen
Email: [email protected]