Life As A Gravel Pro With Sarah Sturm

Kristen Bonkoski: Okay, Sarah, first of all, thank you so much for being here. For anybody who doesn’t already know who you are, could you just take a moment to introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about you?

Sarah Sturm: Yeah, totally. Um, I am a professional off-road cyclist, which I guess these days sort of just means a gravel cyclist who sometimes does mountain bike races as well. Um, and yeah, let’s see, I’ve been racing professionally since… 2017? 2018? Oh my god, it feels like a really long time ago now. Um, and I live here in Durango, Colorado. Well, some of the year I live here, most of the time we… we leave to, you know, get out to train, and then during the race season, I’m not here as often as I would like to be. Um, but it’s been such a nice warm winter, um, that I stayed for a good chunk of time this year. Um, and yeah, let’s see, I’ve… I don’t know, I’ve raced all over the world, um, I’ve gone to do a lot of the Gravel Earth series, the Lifetime Grand Prix, and yeah, just… Oh, and I started a podcast last year with my sister.

Kristen Bonkoski: Yeah, so let’s start there. Why did you start that podcast?

Sarah Sturm: That’s a good question. Well, um, I… because I train for endurance, um, I spend a lot of time in Zone 2, just kind of toodling around, and I… While I do love, like, audiobooks and, like, learning stuff through podcasts, um… When you’re on, like, hour 5 or 6 of your ride, and you’re just, like, so done. I would turn on these, like, I would call them, like, junk food podcasts, they’re just, like, talk podcasts that were, like, about, like, pop culture and, like, fashion and things that, like, have nothing to do with cycling, and I really, over the years, like, started, like, regularly listening to these, and, like, felt like these people weren’t my friends, because I would, like, listen so often. And then I was like, God, I really, like, I feel like there’s a space for this type of podcast in cycling and in sports, um, and then I knew that I wanted my sister to be my co-host, because she doesn’t give a about cycling at all, and she’s kind of a good balance of all of that, and so it just took a little bit of convincing, um, for her to join me, and, you know, if there’s one thing I’m really confident in, it’s my ability to just talk, so… Um, and yeah, I don’t know, I just… it’s kind of fun to, like, have a different outlet, um, in cycling media, not just, like, Instagram and going to the races. So, yeah, it’s been actually pretty fun. There’s been a couple mornings where I’m like, I really don’t feel like talking to my sister this morning. But for the most part, it’s been pretty good.

Kristen Bonkoski: I do really like the dynamic of having her on there, though, because… because she’s not a cyclist, and because so often, like, we get so bogged down into this jargon and this world that, like, the average person listening might not have any idea what the you’re talking about.

Sarah Sturm: Yeah. Yeah, I think… I think a lot of people relate, because, like, you know, when cyclists or any type of athlete goes home for Christmas, or, like, you know, stays with, like, family or, like, you know, their coworkers or friend groups and you sort of, like, have these moments of, like, oh my god, I am, like, the weirdo, like, who knows about, like, watts and carbs and all of these, like, silly things that we get, like, so, like, into, and then, you know, you assimilate with normal people, and you’re like, oh my god, this is not a normal thing to know about. So I think people, like, really relate to that, and I… I feel like a lot of people who are close with their siblings also like listening, because there’s a lot of, like that sibling tension that we bring to the podcast unintentionally.

Kristen Bonkoski: Right. You mentioned that it was a nice alternative to Instagram, for instance, and I’ve had a lot of other pro cyclists come on this podcast and talk about how they don’t really enjoy that pressure that comes from social media and from having to feel like performing for your sponsors. Have you ever kind of experienced that?

Sarah Sturm: Yeah. Oh my god, every single moment of the day. Like… you know, I’ve… I think we’ve all had a journey, if we have Instagram, we’ve all gone on a journey with our own social media. And, you know, what started out as being a wit… because, like, I’ve always really been a creative person, and I, you know, long before I signed my pro, you know, contracts, I really just liked going on these adventure rides with my friends, and I bought a nice camera, and I really loved, like, sharing and documenting, like through words and photos, like these things, and that’s when Instagram used to be so innocent and pure. I mean, it was still sort of performative and, like, the best version of your life, but even then, it was, like, it just kind of was, like, simple. And now, as an athlete, there’s definitely, like, a formula. Um, that is successful for social media, um, and I guess it kind of, like, differs between different athletes, but it just gets monotonous and, like, a little bit daunting, because you don’t, you know, it’s so easy to say the wrong thing, or, like, be, you know, put yourself out there and then be judged by people, or for me, it’s usually just having the constant pressure of, like, feeling like I have to put stuff out there, and, like, there’s a lot that I want to talk about, um, but I just get really, like… I get weighed down by, like, choosing the perfect photo and, like, saying things in an eloquent way. And then you should see my drafts folder. It’s… it’s insane. Like, I just… there’s so many posts that I, like, have never put out into the world, because I just overthink it, and then, you know, I haven’t posted since December this year, so I’m just, like… I don’t know, I go hot and cold with it, because sometimes it’s really nice to be able to share, like, this is actually what happened during this bike race for me, and I think people… I really like reading that about other racers that I follow, um, and so I’m sort of just kind of sticking to that these days, but… It used to be, like, more of an online diary for me. But these days, it’s not.

Kristen Bonkoski: And you don’t worry about that with the podcast, about, like, overthinking what you say?

Sarah Sturm: No, I am not… whatever, like, the filter is, I don’t have that, it seems, uh, before I speak. I mean, we do have a producer, and she’s… so helpful in that, um, she makes sure we don’t get canceled. So, like, I don’t think she’s actually had to edit anything out yet, but she is, like, listening and making sure, like, we’re not saying something too controversial or just wrong.

Kristen Bonkoski: Got it. Yeah, I love that. Why gravel? Why is that the discipline you’ve decided to focus primarily on?

Sarah Sturm: Yeah, that’s a good… that’s a good question. I mean, obviously, like, um, I mean, your listeners probably all participate mostly in gravel? I mean, it seems like…

Kristen Bonkoski: It’s a mixed bag, actually, but yeah.

Sarah Sturm: Okay. Yeah, I… I mean, I started, like most people who race gravel professionally. We’ve all, like, started in a different… actually, that’s sort of changing these days, I shouldn’t say that. Um, but… a lot of us have started in other disciplines, if you’ve raced before, you know, 2021. And I was racing mountain bikes and cyclocross professionally. And, um, then, you know, my team manager signed me up for Belgian waffle ride, and I thought it was, like, a chill, like, kind of group race ride where you got waffles, and I was like, sure, they gave me a road bike, and they’re like, it’s a gravel race, but here’s a road bike. And, uh, and, um, that was honestly, like, how I got into gravel, and it was really, like, it was the furthest I’d ever ridden, I think it was like I don’t even know, like, 140 miles or something, which is a lot, like, I had never… I had barely ridden over 100 miles. Like, I think I did a 100-mile mountain bike race a couple years earlier, just to see if I could do it in this area, and I was just, like, really intrigued with, like I thought it was really fun to go into something having never ridden that far, and I was, like, kind of getting, like… I’d done Cyclocross for so many years, and mountain bikes for so many years, and it was just this, like this new frontier for me to kind of explore, and I really, at the time, it was really different, but, like, I really liked starting, like, all with, like, men and women, and all the age groups started together, and it was kind of a cluster, you know, going into… but terrifying, too, so it was just, like so new and different, um, and I just, like, ended up having the right skill set for it. Like, I had really good technical skills from racing mountain bikes and cyclocross. I was used to the, you know, cyclocross bike setup, so, like, the gravel bike wasn’t a big stretch for me. Um, and I just was pretty stoked to, like, go really far distances, like, that was really… um, exciting to me, um, and so I just kind of… did what I normally do, and I’m just, like, a dive headfirst into stuff kind of person, and so I was, like, really unprepared, like, didn’t show… I didn’t start showing up to races with nutrition until, like, 3 years in, and I was like, pro contracts. Like, before Leadville, I was, like, hitting up my friend Yuri, who works for Goo, and I’m like, yo, can you send… can you give me some gels? So, it’s just been a lot… it’s been a big learning curve, and now, you know, I’m fighting for, like, this half a percentage difference in the top of the pro peloton, so it’s pretty wild to think back to, like you know, my first… the BWR, the one that I just randomly ended up winning, I had, like, pockets full of, you know, peanut butter, jelly, potato chip sandwiches was my only feel for it. So, you gotta start somewhere.

Kristen Bonkoski: What’s your… what’s your fueling look like now? What do you like?

Sarah Sturm: Honestly, not… no, I was gonna say not so different. Um, during training rides, I like to eat, like, normal food. Like, I’ll do PBJs all day, like, I can eat those things all the time. Um, but for… for races, I’m, like, super dialed now, um, which I never thought I would be. That’s only, like, the last 2 or 3 years. Um, but yeah, like, I’m aiming for, like, 90 grams of carbs an hour. Um, I… I use Tailwind high-carb fuel, so, um, yeah, it’s like a high carb 90… luckily, like, a pouch of it is 90 grams of carbs, so… just easy in the bottles, um, and then I supplement that with gels. So, I’m pretty much just gels and tailwind, um, for these races. And then I’ll throw in, like, a couple of, like palate refresher things, if I’m just, like… like, for Traca, which is 360K, I, like, always make sure, like, there’s a bag of potato chips, there’s, like, stuff with salt, like. Um, it’s… I have not found pizza bagel bites in Europe yet, but I’m sure they exist, but, like in… in the US, like, I’ll… I’ll throw pizza bagel bites at an aid station in case I want something just… different. I mean, the year I got third at Unbound, I had, like, a bag of bagel bites, like, stuffed into my jersey, so… Sometimes real food is, you know, what you need, even though it’s kind of, like, harder on your system to process it, you know? One bagel bite can really do wonders for you.

Kristen Bonkoski: Yes. I definitely find the longer the event, the more important to me, like, real food becomes.

Sarah Sturm: I… I agree. I mean, I think some people can… you have to do this thing called gut tra… you don’t have to, but… If you want to do these longer events with, you know, gels and drink mix. It’s a lot of sugar, um, for your system, and so you have to, like, work up to that, so you have to eat a lot more maltodextrin to train to eat a lot in one sitting. Um, but, I mean, honestly, like, it… it has been fun, sort of, kind of learning that. A lot of it has been, you know, trial by error, and… you know, there’s been a couple races that I’ve sacrificed the win because I’ve made, you know, nutrition errors. So, um, I hired a nutritionist, because I was like, this is not something I’m inherently interested in, and I would like to learn about it. So, yeah, I do, I do, like, a mix of of high-carb bottles, and then… I also really, like, I know Spring Energy, there’s this company called Spring. Um, they sort of got into some hot water a few years ago because they had, like, some false claims as to how many carbs were in these gels. But their gels are really good, they’re just, like, they’re basically just, like, slightly more caloric applesauce, is what they turned out to be, but, like, I found them, like, really refreshing amidst, like, you know, pure, like, maltodextrin gels, and then you’re drinking, like, high-carb mix, um… There’s one called Awesome Sauce that they make that tastes like apple pie, um, but…

Kristen Bonkoski: Oh. I haven’t tried these.

Sarah Sturm: Yeah, it was great. Yeah, they’re… they’re awesome. Here I am, like, an ambassador. I don’t work with them at all, but they did sort of get canceled a few years ago, because they were claiming to have, like, 30 or 40 grams of carbs per, like, gel. And I think someone, like, sent it to a lab and found out that it was only, like, 15 grams of carbs, and people were, like, bonking at, like… I mean, they had, like, a full roster of pros, and, like, a lot of ultra runners used it, because it’s, like, basmati rice and maple syrup and, like, apples and lemon, and, like, a lot of… Like, whole food ingredients, so it was pretty appealing, but they’re still great, they just don’t have that many arms.

Kristen Bonkoski: Yeah. Got it. Uh, what is your training personality like? It seems, from things you’ve said, that you’re not particularly data-driven. Is that true?

Sarah Sturm: Hmm. Then I’m sorry, I missed what you said.

Kristen Bonkoski: Not terribly data driven.

Sarah Sturm: No, I’m not, but I am, like, a big, like… like, if there’s training on my schedule, and my coach is really smart in how he works with athletes that are crazy, like I am, which is, I think, most of us, um… if something’s on my schedule, I’m going to do it. Like, come or high water, so, like especially, like, we call them key workouts. Um, and I work with, uh, Dennis through the Orange Seal Academy, and he… he has a ton of gravel athletes. And he’s really smart, because he doesn’t give us programming, like, beyond a couple days, so we, like, check in… I pretty much check in with him almost every single day, and he’s like because he was like, I’m not gonna give you a 6-hour ride on Friday when you’re like smoked on Tuesday and can barely get through your intervals on Wednesday and he was like, and I know that if you see that I take that ride off, you’re gonna still, like, you’re gonna have so much more stress because I’ve removed it and you knew that I wanted you to, like, that should have been in the plan and I was like, oh my god, that eliminates so much stress for me that I’ve had it with other coaches in my life, because I’m like, I’m just like that annoying high achiever kind of, like, I like-to-check-the-box kind of person. and I like to do it well, but I’m not, like… I’m not, like, analyzing, you know, oh, I averaged this many watts for this interval, but, you know, he gives me a range, and I try to, like hit it, and I know when I fail at things, and um… and then we work through it, but… from my perspective, and same thing with, like, nutrition goes for coaching, it’s like, we all have strengths and weaknesses, and we all have things that we’re interested in, and the things that cause us stress. And, like, the stuff that I’m not interested in are… they’re really important, you know, pieces of data and, like, information that I do need to be paying attention to, but I’m not inherently into that kind of stuff, so I would rather just pay someone, you know, who I trust, who works with me. Like, Dennis looks at all of that, and he knows, like, okay, these numbers are not looking good, or like, oh my god, she’s, like, crushing it, and then we’ll, like, kind of adjust from there, which is really nice.

Kristen Bonkoski: Yeah. It’s winter right now. What does your training in the winter look like?

Sarah Sturm: That’s a good question. Well, I’m currently sitting on my lacrosse ball right now, because I overdid it skiing the other day. Um, on a normal, I’ll say I’m in Colorado, and we’re having the worst snow season on record of all time, which is really depressing. Um, normally, I like to supplement, you know some interval training, a lot of Zone 2, and then with that Zone 2, I’ll do a lot of Nordic skiing, and I’ve been hitting the gym, like, 3 times a week, which I really, really love. Um, and that’s kind of a newer thing in the last few years that I wish I had been doing sooner, is the gym. Um, but yeah, it looks like… I’ll do some, like, bigger weeks, like 20… I mean, I used to do these, like, huge training blocks where I would hit, like, 25 to 30 hours a week. Um, but that actually just mostly, like, mentally fried me. Um, and I actually find it better to be doing some VO2 work and some intervals and some cadence work. Um, especially because I think all of us will have probably had some form of small or large injury if you’ve been doing endurance for long enough. And, um, my coach and I really believe in, like, cadence drills to help combat some injuries. Like, I have, um, psoas… like, deep psoas and glute injury stuff going on from a few years ago, so we… we spice in a lot of cadence drills, which are frustrating, like, they’re my least favorite. Um, usually we do them on the rollers. Um, one-legged roller, uh, cadence drills are actually, like, really hard to do. Um, but they’re good for you, so…

Kristen Bonkoski: What about mobility? Do you do any mobility work?

Sarah Sturm: God, I knew you were gonna ask that. I am so… I just did my first ever, like, gentle yoga. I’m a big class person, like, I… A class I can take, because otherwise, I’m, like, my friend Sophia, her and Keegan, like, they are so… Um, if you’ve ever spent time with those two, like, they have this nightly routine where, like, they do this, like, stretching regimen together. I mean, they’ve been doing it for, like, ever, for years, and they have, like, this little timer that goes off, and they each do their little stretches, and it’s like… And I think it’s what keeps them injury-free and strong and I am just… there’s something wrong with my brain and I just cannot make myself do it unless it’s PT. Um, yeah, I just, like, I don’t know what it is. Even when I played soccer, I’m just, like, not… But it feels so good. I, like, I need to do it. But I will, because I’ve had some injuries, probably because I’m not doing mobility. Um, I’ve done… I do a lot of PT and a lot of PT-based activations before I train. Mm-hmm, and race. So, I will do that.

Kristen Bonkoski: I was the same way until I turned 40 and suddenly when I turned 40 I was like, this is the number 1 thing my body needs.

Sarah Sturm: Yeah, yeah. I know, the older I get, the more I’m like, okay, maybe I need to do more. I think it’s just that, like, here’s my excuse. Ready? This is not, like, this is 100% an excuse we have a really furry dog, and like, I’m always in black, and I’m like, I just don’t want to get, like, covered in dog furry. It’s not an excuse at all, but I will go to a yoga class. And I even did my first ever gentle yoga, which was sort of my nightmare, but it was everything that I needed to do.

Kristen Bonkoski: So I knew who you were before this, but the time that, like, I really paid attention was like, oh, I really like this lady, is when you wrote an article for Cycling Weekly about racing on your period. And that, I mean, that actually caused a lot of controversy amongst men that you would even write such an article, right?

Sarah Sturm: Totally. Yeah, men are like, they have periods? What? We don’t want to know about it. Um, oh, how do you now, like, have… since then, have you… that was new for you at that point. You had gone off an IUD and started getting your period. Um, have you… How have you dealt with it since then?

Kristen Bonkoski: Yeah.

Sarah Sturm: That’s… I love talking about this, um, because I didn’t always love talking about it, but it’s such a huge part of women’s health and, you know, your health as an athlete. Um, I was really… and I think I wrote about this in the article, but I was pretty… Um, inspired by my friend Magalie Rochette, um, who’s a Canadian, uh, cyclocrosser and mountain biker, and then, um, another woman, Haley Batten, who’s a U.S. Olympic, um not champion, but she got second, whatever you call, like, Olympic medalist. Um, and she worked with her coach to get her period back. So, like, a lot of women suffer from losing their period. I think it’s called amenorrhea or something like that. Um, yeah, wow. Um, which is… it used to be, like, that was an indicator as a female that you were nice and fit and lean. Like, if you were lean enough to lose your period, then you were doing something right. And I’m not gonna, like, throw shade to, like, coaches and doctors, because, like, well, maybe the doctors, but, like, the coaches, it’s like, okay, like, this was just, like, a fad back then. It was, like, you know, when people, like, I think racers were eating, like 20 grams of carbs per hour back then, too. So, like, things just change and we learn and, like, adapt. Um, but now, it’s really well known that, like, as a woman, if you don’t… if you’re not getting your period, especially as a young woman who’s training you are going to suffer the consequences down the line, if not immediately, and, like There’s a lot more information about red S, um, but, like uh, relative energy deficiency syndrome, I think it’s called, um, which oftentimes goes hand-in-hand with under-fueling and overtraining for women. And, I mean, I know two pro road cyclists who have had to retire from, like the top of the sport, like, racing the women’s tour, like, to retiring from the sport, because they, you know, their bodies never recover from the stress and load that they put on it, and I think a lot of that has to do with under-fueling, overtraining, losing your period, pushing through things, because as athletes, we’re really good at just pushing through and, like, just suffering, especially as women, like, we’re excellent at that, which is why we’re so good at endurance, but… you know, having your period and using it as an indicator of health is actually, like, the secret tool that we get that men don’t. Um, and I’m not gonna lie, like, it sucks to have to deal with a period. Like, I deal, like, my cramps came back, I mean, I had happily had an IUD for I mean, multiple different IUDs for like over 10 years, like, and it was really nice, like, I didn’t get my period, I didn’t have to worry about an unwanted pregnancy, like it just alleviates a lot of stress, but at the same time, I got to the point where I was like, actually, I don’t… like, I feel like I’m still getting these, like, hormone cycles, you know, but it’s not… like, I would basically just track mood, and, like, sometimes I would get, like, some PMS symptoms, and then sometimes, you know, it was just, like, really hard to track, and so I decided to, like, get it removed and, like, use, um, like, a period tracking app to, um, as my birth control, which it, like, that works for certain people, and, like, you know, Dylan was a little bit nervous about that. He was like, do you think you can actually, like, keep track of this with, like, everything you have going on? So I will say, like, it works for certain people. Um, but yeah, I think it, like, for me, it was such an important indicator of, like, okay, if my body’s able to, like, have a menstrual cycle, like, fairly regularly then I’m on the right track with my nutrition, I’m not overtrained. Um, and then, you know, I think Demi Vollering has also spoken, and a lot of women in, like, the Women’s Tour and other gravel athletes you just have to race with your period sometimes. Like, you know, I think I wrote in the article, well, ironically, I’ve gotten my period for my long… the chaka, my longest race of the season, two years in a row, which was insane. But the first year, I was like, oh my god, what, like, what do I do? I can’t, like… I don’t know, like, if I can wear a tampon. I hadn’t yet discovered, like, the menstrual discs which I think are amazing for athletes. Um, there’s a lot of different brands out there that you can try, but you can leave those things in for over 12 hours and be safe and fine. Um, or you can just freeble, which is, you know, kind of gnarly, but it’s… it’s honestly not as gross as, you know, everything else going on. Um, but I think, like, people are just… like, absolutely disgusted by talking about their periods, and like… I don’t know, it’s just, like, a natural thing have to, like… if you’ve ever done a bike race, a running race, and you’re, like, not pooping or peeing normally, you know, like, that is an indicator, and the same thing with, like, women for, like, their menstrual cycle. I think it’s… I think it’s an underused tool, um, and I actually got a lot of emails and DMs from a lot of male coaches that were like, thank you so much for this information. Like, I coach a lot of young women, and like, this is really awesome to know for myself and for them, because I think, you know, when you’re young, and I was one of those people, like, I did not want to talk about tampons and pads and, like, all these things as a soccer player and swimmer, like, I was like, I don’t want to deal with any of it. So, I also have come full circle with all of it. But, yeah, now it’s like… I don’t know, it’s not, like, a comfortable thing, but I just know, you know, I’ve had to race with my doll in, like, a couple tabs with my doll in my, like, pocket, because I’m like, okay, I’m gonna take… Chew before the race starts, um, because I get such bad cramps on the first day of my period. Um, but I find, actually, with, like, interval work or races, my cramps aren’t as bad, because I think my, like, muscles are just a little more warmed up. But I’ve also had to stop interval sessions, because my cramps are so gnarly.

Kristen Bonkoski: Yeah. Are there any other topics like that that you wish that we collectively talked more about that we don’t?

Sarah Sturm: I mean, I’m always on, like, a women’s health kick. Like, I had my friend Iz on the podcast, um, who just had her first child, and, you know, I think going through something as life-changing as pregnancy as a professional athlete is something that, like you know, we’re all, like, sort of, like, pushing towards, like, having more support as, you know, female professional athletes. Um, there’s been a lot of work that’s been done on the world tour with that, like, I think they get maternity leave which is really cool, um, and having something similar to that in the gravel space, especially as privateers, um, would be awesome, so… but that’s… that’s sort of, like, business and women’s health. Um, but I’m also, like, part of me is, like, where do you think all these athletes come from? Like, you should… the women that, like, bring them into the world. But yeah, I think, like, I think menstrual health and, like, awareness of, like, red S and disordered eating, for women specifically is huge, and, like, you have a lot of people that are talking about this stuff. Um, Veronica Ewers is the woman who I mentioned earlier, who had to retire. Um, she used to be on EF, but she’s a really, really great person to follow, um, just with her, like, redesse journey. Um, I know I learned a ton from her and, like, what she posted about, so… I think there’s just, like, a lot of change happening in the realm of, like, what’s healthy for women, which is cool.

Kristen Bonkoski: It is, it’s wonderful to see. Who are some other women that you look up to and that you look to for advice or for mentorship?

Sarah Sturm: Mmm, that’s a good question. Um, I mean, I really… I really lean on a lot of the women I race with, honestly. Like, I… I think there’s… a pretty extensive network of, like, how we all communicate with each other, you know? Like, I… because they’re kind of the only ones that, like, go through the same thing that we’re all going… or that you’re going through, so, like, even though we’re, like, battling them to the line you’re also, like, asking them about, like, you know, contract stuff, and, like, you know, training things, and just general life things, and I’m… I’m a big… Um, I’m… I’m big on friendship, and, like, I think… I think at the end of the day, like, yeah, like, sure, winning races is important, um… because it’s our job, but at the same time, like, I don’t know, those results fade quickly into the rearview mirror after a few years, and, like, it’s the, like, relationships and mentorship that you really… that you really start to value. Um, I have a lot of… People that I, like, watch and, like, follow from afar, like, I really look up to a lot of the athletes, um, in road and mountain biking, um, and gravel as well, I just happen to, like, be friends with all of the ones in gravel, so it’s like… it’s more of an intimate mentorship, I guess. Um, but yeah, I’m really close with a lot of the women I race with, but then… yeah, I love… I love just seeing, like, how women approach the sport differently. Like, I love the battle between, like, Demi Vollering and Pauline Feron-Pravaux last year for the tour, and just, like, they’re really different people, and just watching their approaches to cycling and reading their interviews and their stories, you know, it’s really inspiring, and… Um, not necessarily direct mentorship, of course, but I think that there’s a lot of value in that, and that’s my one thing with social media that is kind of cool, that you can have, like you know, when I started racing was when Instagram, like, Instagram was sort of, like becoming what it is, and I thought it was just, like, really special to be able to, like, sort of get this, like, glimpse at these athletes that, like, I was really stoked on, you know, following their career and, like, what they thought. Um, and so I have a lot of… I think I draw a lot of inspiration from the way that other women do the sport.

Kristen Bonkoski: Yeah. So, speaking of…

Sarah Sturm: I mean, I can… I can list some if you want, but…

Kristen Bonkoski: Sure, go ahead.

Sarah Sturm: Yeah, um, I mean, I think I already mentioned, like, Haley Batten and how she… how dedicated she is on the mountain bike side of things. Um, I think Pauline, obviously, like, greatest of all time, like bike racers. I also follow, like, a lot of, like, you know, kind of mid-pack, um, domestique type of athletes. Like, there’s this woman, Brody Chapman, who has also dabbled… I’ve raced with her in gravel, and she’s super cool, but it’s been… really fun to watch her, like, domestique her way through, like, the women’s tour, and, like, I think she’s been, like, Australian road champion a few years. Um, she’s an incredible athlete, um, and I just… I think her approach is kind of fun, because she’s… pretty chill about things. Um, I’m trying to… I’m, like, gonna have to scroll through my Instagram to think, um, there’s a women’s civilia Blunk, who’s from the US who went to the same school I went to, and she’s competing on the World Cup mountain bike circuit, um, and she’s really a hard worker, and it’s kind of, like, I think this is the year that she’s gonna get a World Cup win, so it’s been really fun to, like, follow her career and see like her dedication pay off cause like, man the World Cup mountain bike racing is a scene that you couldn’t pay me enough to do. It’s so… it’s so brutal, like… and then my friend, like, Christopher Blevins, you know, obviously not a female, but, like I just really admire the way that he, like, you know, has approached the sport, and, you know, clearly he’s, like, very talented naturally, but he works his ass off in, like, a very unique way, and he’s also interested in other stuff, so… Those are… those are a few.

Kristen Bonkoski: You’ve done a really good job of turning around and doing mentorship the other way, too, working with younger writers. Why is that important to you? And also, like, what is the primary message that you’re trying to get across when you’re working with those younger writers?

Sarah Sturm: Yeah. Yeah, totally. Um, I mean, I just like working with other people. Um, I came from a background of, like, team sports with, like, soccer and swim team and track, um, and you know, cultivating that same idea in the cycling space is really important to me. Um, and I don’t know, like, I just… I’ve… there’s a lot of different ways that you can support the sport of cycling. You know, we’re trying to, like, get more people in it, keep younger women, you know, through the ranks, like, there’s this strong drop-off after, like, the college age, um, and support, especially with women, and I guess I was just motivated to bring more girls into the gravel scene. Um, in… where I live in Durango, like, there’s a crazy pool of talent here, um, and historically, most Most younger people just go into mountain bike racing, just because we’re in the mountains. Mountain biking is, like, the thing that everyone does. Um, and I just saw that there’s an opportunity to bring some of these women into gravel. Um, you know, Michaela and Ellen were two that they… to me, they, like, displayed something, like, they’re both really different people and really different racers with really different talents, but each of them have their own, you know, purpose within the sport. Like, Ellen is really talented at bringing… like, she runs these, like, um, free, like, mountain biking gravel clinics in Durango. Like, they’re amazing. So, like, for women who have never, like, touched dirt before, like, they get to go learn how to, like, lube their chain, and change a tire and learn skills. Um, and then Michaela is just this young, very tall, so people don’t realize how young she is. Um, just incredibly talented athlete, um, who was sort of, like, in that funny space of, like she could have gone the World Cup direction with mountain biking, but she was, like, kind of losing motivation and support in that realm, because, like, God, it’s so brutal, like, unless you’re the right age at the right time, and you get… you do or don’t get selected by U.S.A. Cycling to go to these camps and these races. It’s such a hard path in life, and she was sort of just in between all of this, and I was like That girl has some power in her legs, she needs to do some endurance, and she had sort of proven herself with, um, a local mountain bike, 100-mile mountain bike race, um… And she had won it, and it’s this, like, really hard technical trail, and I was like, I think she’ll do really well in gravel. I think she would have found gravel anyway, but I was like, let me just, like, bring you to a couple of these races. And I think, like, sure, those are only two people, and, like, there’s a lot of other ways to support, like, larger groups of younger people into the sport, but, like You know, there needs to be a younger generation that replaces all of us when we, like, age out of the sport, and I think Um, cultivating that, like, development side is, like, the ticket into keeping the sport fresh and, like, really vibrant and You know, keeping the industry a little bit healthier.

Kristen Bonkoski: Um, I’ve got 3 final questions for you, but first, is there anything that I haven’t asked you that you would just like folks to know?

Sarah Sturm: Sweet! Um… I know, I’m such a good rambler, I just, like, blah blah blah. Um, I don’t know. I think… I think any time, like… Also, development doesn’t just need to happen at, like, on the younger side of sport, too, like… I have coached a lot of, like, women’s camps, and, like, you know, I’ve worked with, like, women who are in their 50s, 60s, and 70s who are, like You know, going from riding road bikes casually, like, with their husbands, like, on the weekends, to, like you know, we get them set up on, like, a demo gravel bike, and they, like, get to, like, ride a bike onto dirt the first time, which is terrifying as, like, a coach. Like, you’re just like, oh my god, this is actually, like, kind of an insane thing. But it’s super cool to see, like, there are certain people that it just, like, really, really clicks with, and they find, like, it’s really special to see, like the… that, like, thing light up, and they’re like, oh, I’m actually, like, pretty into this. And then I’ll see them, like, years later. They own a gravel bike, they’ve done races, or, like, they’ve done these, like, really big challenges, and, you know, they pump their own tires up now, and they know their tire pressure, not just their husbands putting, like, 80 PSI in their tires. Which is always the hardest part of coaching those camps. You’re like, don’t let your husband touch this! Like, they don’t know your tire pressure. You do. So I don’t know, I think, like, bringing as many people into the sport as possible is… I don’t know, I think that that’s… that’s what’s cool about gravel, like, I, you know… As the sport gets professionalized, like, um… at the end of the day, it’s still a participatory sport, which is why I’ve really loved it. Like, I go back to, you know, the same thing that I really loved about those early years of racing even though, like, as a professional woman, like, it really did affect our races, like, the outcome with… when we raced with men, but I really… I really loved that, like I’m racing next to people that have, like, full-time jobs and families, and, like, racing unbound is, like, their vacation, which blows my mind, but it’s really… um, a special thing to, like, be in that environment, and I think that that is what keeps it, um, a lot more different than, like, road and, and, like, the professional side of road and biking. Um, because we’re, like, you know, we’ll… we’ll be racing the same course as, like, 4,000 amateur racers, which is cool, like, at the end of the day, like, we all put our chamies on the same way, you know?

Kristen Bonkoski: Yeah. It’s really cool for the amateurs, too, right? To get that experience of… yeah, yeah.

Sarah Sturm: It’s… yeah. Yeah, totally. Yeah, and I love, I mean, I really like connecting with people just like normal people in the sport, you know? I always tell them, like The biggest difference between pros and amateurs is that, like, we just have the time to, like, the priorities. Our, like, priorities, like, focus on bike racing, and then everything comes down after that, so… It’s almost easier for us.

Kristen Bonkoski: Oh, I think it is a lot of times, especially in terms of, like, recovery and, right, like, you can prioritize recovery. Our average person is like, well, I can’t do that, I have to take care of the kids and do the dishes and work and yeah.

Sarah Sturm: Yeah. The recovery piece… Oh my god, totally! Totally, and like, I mean, we get to these races, like, 3 or 4 days ahead of time, we’ve ridden all the The sections, we know, like, when to attack, like, you know, you just have, like, so much more time and energy available just to optimize riding your bike. So…

Kristen Bonkoski: Yeah. Three final questions for you. The first is, what bike or bikes do you ride?

Sarah Sturm: Um, well, I race for Specialized, so all of my bikes are Specialized, um, and I primarily race the Crux, which is the gravel bike. It’s our… I think it’s, like, one of the lightest gravel bikes on the market. Um, and they are incredibly light. Um, and then for certain races, I’ll race the Specialized Diverge, which, um, is also a gravel bike, but has more clearance, um, and it has, uh, some suspension on the front end, so, like, there’s a little suspension under the stem, between the stem and the fork. Um, but yeah, those are, like, the two that I, like, race for gravel, um, and then I race, uh, the Epic 8 is my mountain bike, um, like, cross-country, full suspension mountain bike. Um, so I’ll race that for, like, more technical mountain biking, like Little Sugar, and then I’ll race the World Cup, which I think is changing for this year. Um, but the World Cup is sort of like a soft tail mountain bike, so that’s, like, the Leadville setup. Um, yeah, it has, like, I can’t remember, like, 20 mil travel in the back. Like, not very much travel in the rear, but it’s sort of, like, a more comfortable hardtail. Um… And then I also train on a trail bike as well, so, like, we’ll go to Moab a bunch, um, in the winter. Uh, we live pretty close to Moab, so I’ll take the trail bike there and work on the technical skills. And remember how much nicer it is to pedal uphill on a cross-country mount bike. And then I also train on, you know, I’ll do some training on the road, on my road bike. Um, as well, so I race the tarmac for… there’s one road race, um, in the season that I do called Levi’s Grand Fondo, which is mostly climbing, so… The tarmac is pretty sweet for that.

Kristen Bonkoski: Second question is, where is your favorite place you’ve ever ridden your bike?

Sarah Sturm: Hmm. Mountain bikes, New Zealand. Um… gravel bike? I mean, it’s really hard to beat Kenya, um, like, the actual, like, roads and stuff were so gnarly, but, like, there were these insanely fun single-track sections that were, like, really surprising, but they were all made by, like, their motorbikes that they used to get around, um, on these, like, safari roads, because the roads would be, like horrendous, like, especially if they have, like, a big rainy season. Um, but yeah, Kenya was pretty… a pretty unbeatable place, like, the actual riding there And then the scenery of Kenya was beautiful, but then also Iceland, like, the scenery of Iceland was so… cool, but the actual, like, riding there was not as fun for me. It was just, like, really windy, or, like, these cr… like… the craziest, like, speed, um, what are those called? I just forgot. Like, brake bumps.

Kristen Bonkoski: Right. Washboard.

Sarah Sturm: Yeah, that you could, like… yeah, Washboard, there it is. Oh my god, for, like… I don’t know, 50, 60 miles? Like, it was nuts. I, like, saw grown men crying on the side of the road. No women, but… Yeah, but as, like, a destination to, like, see the scenery, like, Iceland was pretty spectacular.

Kristen Bonkoski: I like Kenya, though. I don’t think anyone’s ever given that answer before.

Sarah Sturm: Yeah, Kenya was cool! I was really… I mean, obviously, like, you know, just… Just being somewhere so different is special to me, but, like, the actual trails were, like, when you were on, like, the trail trails, it was sick. And then sometimes it was like, why am I doing this? This is the hardest I’ve ever done in my life.

Kristen Bonkoski: Uh, final question is, what is your favorite thing about riding your bike?

Sarah Sturm: Oh… I think… I’ve thought about this a lot, because, you know, it’s sort of been there for me through my… I started riding in, like when I was 18, actually, when I moved to Colorado, but, um, I think just how versatile it is, like… you can use the bike to go to the grocery store, or, like, ride down to the bars, you know, in Durango, like, there’s always, like, the fun, like… Booze cruise kind of, like, parade ride. Um, you can use it to, like, be a mode of transportation, you can use it to, like clear your head and, like, be alone for, you know, days on end. You can use it for bikepacking and seeing new places really slowly, or you can use it to, like, try to make your watts the strongest watts you’ve ever seen, or the highest watts you’ve ever seen. Like, it’s just… it’s… the bike is, like, such a crazy versatile piece of equipment that, like can bring you all over the world, or just, like, really… I mean, there’s a guy who rides the same route here in Durango we call him chain lube guy, because I don’t think he’s ever put chain lube on his bike. He has, like, some bike from, like, the 80s, but he rides the same strip of road up and down every week, and I’m like… and that… he is experiencing, you know, cycling in his own way, and he loves it, like, he just likes that routine. And I just, like, I really think there’s something like so beautiful and simple about that, even though, like, the sport itself can get so complex and complicated. I also love how simple it can be at the same time.