At age 32, Payson McElveen has earned a slew of titles in gravel and mountain biking, and the self-described off road endurance cyclist isn’t slowing down. A two-time USA Cycling marathon MTB national champion and five-time collegiate MTB national champion, the Texas native has podiumed four times in the last four years at the Leadville Trail 100 MTB race. Last season, Payson placed 3rd overall at Lifetime Grand Prix, a series of gravel and MTB races held across the U.S. He’s a multi-time winner of Mid-South Gravel and has podiumed three times at SBT Gravel.
“The way the gravel scene has exploded, probably 60 percent of my schedule is on the gravel bike these days,” says McElveen, who divides his time between Durango, Colorado; Girona, Spain; and USA Cycling’s MTB hub, Bentonville, Arkansas.
Though he suffered a serious hip injury early this season at Sea Otter, Payson bounced back with a win at Leadville Stage Race in July, and a podium spot – 5th place – in mid-August at Leadville 100.
Next up on his race schedule is the Chequamegon 40 MTB race and then USA Cycling’s Gravel National Championships, on September 20 in La Crescent, Minnesota.
Gravel Nationals has three courses for competitors: 31 miles, 74 miles, and 110 miles, and the online registration deadline is Saturday, September 13.
McElveen was just six years old when he did his first race, a Texas Mountain Bike Racing Association ‘Kids Kup’ in Lajitas, Texas. “We didn’t end up going to the races again for quite a while, but did some fun riding here and there with the family, and I did the normal kid stuff like build sketchy jumps out of plywood in the yard,” he says. McElveen raced next at age 14 while recovering from a basketball knee injury and has never looked back.
After graduating from Fort Lewis College in Durango with a degree in Exercise Science and a minor in English, McElveen embarked on his pro off-road career.
Though he’s a mountain biker at heart, McElveen has embraced the gravel scene. “I enjoy the attritional nature of the racing, and also that there’s so much diversity between courses,” he says. “What qualifies as a gravel race covers a massive spectrum, so there’s always a lot of fun creativity possible in terms of bike setup and tactics.”
“I’ve always been more suited to longer events, so gravel seems to be a good fit for me in that way, too.” And thanks to his success in the sport and social media presence, his growing list of sponsors includes Allied Cycle Works, Red Bull, SRAM, Orange Seal, MAAP, Maxxis, Zipp, Smith Optics, Osprey, Maurten, 1Up USA, Garmin and Fizik.
Many riders are understandably tempted to set their bike up in a way that feels the absolute fastest, but I think it's important to remember that even the smoothest gravel races are still off-road races. You want your bike to be fast, but also comfortable so that when you get tired, you can still comfortably push yourself physically.
If you're nervous on the descents or having to play it safe around other riders because you picked an extra aggressive setup, you won't be in a position to get the most out of your body.
Being the best prepared you can physically is key, but also being excited and fresh mentally is important for a championship event.
Study the course. It looks like it’s going to be a very worthy test, with lots of medium length, punchy climbs.
Find a good group or community to ride with. There’s lots to learn about gravel riding and it offers something for everyone.
The camaraderie, fun and encouragement that comes from sharing the sport with others is so key, in my opinion.
Coming back from injury is always challenging. The pain of the injury grates on you, physical therapy often hurts, and of course the grind of just rebuilding the fitness while simultaneously battling all the doubts and insecurities of being on the sidelines. But at the end of the day I love my job, and I love the process of getting better, and just taking that love of the sport and love of the process and applying that to injury rehab for me is the key.
I treat the recovery process just like the training process and that helps a lot.
For more insights on off-road riding and racing, check out Payson’s podcast, With Pace, https://open.spotify.com/show/2DJhVL3faEez1BvoaqVGRc?si=a3f117358d224e4c and his YouTube channel, Payson McElveen https://youtube.com/@paysonmcelveen?si=vPpSgBbgEFnQucY0.
