Keeping tabs on where Durango’s Payson McElveen went in the offseason wasn’t easy, but it won’t be hard to find the off-road cyclist in the Life Time Grand Prix this season.
McElveen, 33, is one of the premier gravel racers in the Life Time Grand Prix, the premier off-road racing series in the United States, and is one of the better known personalities with his popular podcast and signature look with his mustache. After spending time in New Zealand, Morocco, Italy and Spain in the offseason, McElveen is ready to compete at the top of the Grand Prix in his fifth year as part of the series.
“It’s great to be back,” McElveen said. “Knowing what I’m getting into at this point makes it feel like you’re starting something big. You’re on the precipice of another long season. Every year is different because the athlete lineup changes a good amount, especially this year, but all the races are familiar. I’m trying to do all the last preparations before hopefully getting off to a good start at Sea Otter.”
The 2025 Life Time Grand Prix season ended in October, and the 2026 season begins on April 16 with the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California. During that time, McElveen continued to race and train all over the world, satisfying the adventurous side of him.
This season is a great chance for McElveen to bounce back after a 2025 season marred by injury. McElveen crashed in the feed zone at Sea Otter last season, breaking his hip and missing Unbound Gravel because of it. The crash halted all the progress he’d seen from switching coaches in 2023. After not feeling fit in 2023, he felt great in 2024 and 2025 thanks to a change in training; going harder at times and easier at others compared to medium all the time.
McElveen’s change in training, plus the changes in the sport with fueling with how many carbohydrates people are eating, McElveen has upped his level again going into 2026.
“I've seen the best power numbers I've ever seen in basically every category,” McElveen said. “So I've got a good few years left, and I'm definitely still enjoying it. One of the other things that's changed is kind of this pursuit of marginal gains by everyone. So even though I'm getting better every year, so is everyone else. Everyone’s doing heat training, tracking their macronutrients and doing strength training.”
McElveen was located in Girona, Spain, in the winter for the unparalleled road riding access. From there, he competed in the Sahara Gravel Race in Morocco from Feb. 24-27. McElveen finished the four-stage, 276-mile race in ninth as the top American.
The longtime Durango resident wasn’t happy with his finish after starting the race under the weather, but he enjoyed the adventure of the barren landscape of Morocco. It was the perfect way for McElveen to mentally ease into the racing mode he needs to be in for the upcoming season. Sahara Gravel also gave him the fitness and confidence boost he needed for his training.
Next on the schedule was The Hills Gravel Race in Borgoluce, Susegana, Italy, on March 28. McElveen finished 16th in the 77-mile one-day race in northeast Italy. McElveen did it because he wants to continue to work on European style of racing, which is a lot more about positioning than in the U.S. because of the narrow roads. There are lots of traffic islands, bike paths and random curves that make positioning much more important. Because of this, riders are much more aggressive over there.
While McElveen was in Italy, he visited the Pirelli factory in Milan. Pirelli is his new tire sponsor, which he announced in a humorous video on Instagram.
“It was definitely a decision I agonized over long and hard because I don't love switching sponsors, but they've got some really amazing stuff going on,” McElveen said. “They're such a legendary brand, especially in racing, that I just had a lot of excitement and trust about the direction they're headed in the bike space, which is a very new category for them.”
Heading into Year 5 competing in the Grand Prix, McElveen has an impressive resume, finishing tied-second in the series in 2024. He has plenty of top-five and top-10 finishes in the biggest races in the series, but even with a new prize-purse dispersion where the top 10 riders take home the money, McElveen doesn’t have a certain position goal for the overall standings. He’s looking forward to racing Leadville and hopes to be up at the front again.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
