The Adventure Stache Payson McElveen

New Zealand cyclist Matt Fairbrother made a splash in the 2022 Enduro World Series when, at age 17, he bikepacked 4,000 kilometers to get to the races. The journey started when he couldn’t find transportation from the Scotland event to the next race in Slovenia. With only a few thousand dollars to cover his entire season, he decided to bikepack instead. Even as his enormous commute picked up media and sponsor attention, he decided not to accept offers for easier forms of transportation and continue bikepacking instead. His journey often required riding for 24 hours at a time with only a couple hours of sleep each night, all on a bike weighing over 70 pounds.

In this conversation, Matt talks about why he decided not to bail on the season after finding himself stranded in Scotland, and what it was like to ride that first 1,500-kilometer push to Slovenia (his first ever bikepacking trip). He talks about the night when he was stuck in sub-freezing temperatures in the Alps without enough warm clothes to get him through to the morning, and the time he was held up at a ferry for being under 18. He also discusses his decision to continue bikepacking to his events in 2023, and the new sponsors that are along for the ride.
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In our Mid South recap, Payson sits down with Kerry Werner who finished in third place behind Payson and John Borstelmann in a sprint finish. They talk about his career on the road, in cyclocross, and his decision to participate in the Grand Prix this year. Payson also answers some of your questions about the Mid South and beyond, and chats to Marley Blonsky who got the loudest cheer of the weekend when she came across the finish line in last place for the 100-mile race. She talks about her last-minute decision to switch from the 50-mile course to the 100-mile, and how she felt during the final push to the finish. We also hear from some of the riders who sent us voicemails about their experiences racing at Mid South.
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Raylyn Nuss is a cyclocross racer who currently holds the Pan American Championship title. Before cycling, she was a basketball player who got a full ride to a Division I NAIA school and later juggled a full-time job as a chemist for Pfizer with triathlon racing. When she competed in her first cyclocross race, it was love at first sight, and she never looked back. These days, Raylyn is running her own team, Steve Tilford Foundation Racing, and is expanding her calendar to include the Lifetime Grand Prix.
In this conversation, Payson and Raylyn chat about her career as a top-level basketball player, her unsuccessful attempts to adjust to triathlon, and why she was immediately drawn to cyclocross. They talk about why she wanted to start her own team despite having little managerial experience, the excitement of watching her teammate, Curtis White, win Nationals, and why she’s decided to race some gravel this year. Way back in 2019, Payson and Raylyn were teammates, and they take some time to reminisce about how her love of shoes, basketball, and good coffee rubbed off of him. They also talk about elevating women in sport, and the athletes outside of cycling that she looks up to.
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Taylor Phinney was one of the brightest stars of American road racing in the 2010s. The son of professional cycling luminaries, he was a world champion by age 17 and became the first American to win Paris-Roubaix the following year as a U23. A year later, he won the race again for good measure. During his 10-year career on the WorldTour, Taylor raced for Trek-Livestrong, BMC, and EF Education First. When he announced his retirement in 2019 at age 29, it shook the sport, but according to Taylor, it had been a long time coming. 
Earlier this week, Payson sat down with Taylor in his art studio in Spain to talk about how his life has changed since he left racing. They talk about how he became more involved with his art in the final year of his WorldTour career and how cycling was no longer bringing him fulfillment. He explains why he’s chosen to stay in the cycling mecca of Girona even though he isn’t racing anymore, and how he’s grown to prefer aspects of Europe that he used to find challenging. They discuss what it’s like to still be in the realm of WorldTour racing as he supports his partner, Kasia, who rides for Canyon–SRAM, and how professional women’s racing is so different from men's. They also talk about music, art, starting fires, and his obsession with handlebars. 
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In preparation for the upcoming season of the Enduro World Series, Payson talks to the top three men of last year, Jesse Melamed, Richie Rude, and Martin Maes. They chat about how they got into Enduro, their favorite courses, and how they’re feeling about all the changes being implemented this year. 
Martin talks about the success he’s found in both downhill and Enduro. In 2018, he won an EWS race and then followed it up two weeks later with a win at the World Cup Downhill Finals in La Bresse, France. He talks about the rivalry between downhill and Enduro racers, and the EWS goal he wants to fulfill before going back to downhill racing. Richie was the first man to win back-to-back EWS championship titles in 2015 and 2016 at 21 years old and continues to be a mainstay on the podium. He talks about his busy off-season, gravel riding, and how he’s changed as a racer since he burst onto the scene as a teenager. And we listen back to two of our interviews with Jesse, one directly after he won the 2022 overall title in which he discusses his victory, and one from February 2022 in which he talks about his love of training, camaraderie during races, and why heavy mileage is the key to his success. 
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In preparation for the upcoming season of the Enduro World Series, Payson talks to the top three women of last year, Isabeau Courdurier, Morgane Charre, and Hattie Harnden. They chat about how they got into Enduro, their favorite courses, and how they’re feeling about all the changes being implemented this year. 
Hattie discusses her switch from dominanting cyclocross and XC as a junior to becoming the youngest rider to ever win an Enduro race. Morgane talks about how a broken wrist lured her away from her illustrious downhill career to Enduro racing, and why she still chooses to ride flat pedals despite the amount of pedaling EWS races require. And Isabeau talks about her deep love of the sport, how the death of her father changed her outlook on training, and the difference between results and performance. 
Instagram: @theadventurestache