A New American Town - Bentonville, Arkansas
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A New American Town - Bentonville, Arkansas
Pedaling to Gold: Team USA Mountain Bikers on Training, Triumph, and Trails
Join host Nat Ross as he welcomes USA Cycling mountain bikers Brayden Johnson, Sofia Waite, and Madigan Munro to Bentonville, Arkansas. These elite mountain bikers share their journeys from NICA leagues to winning World Championship gold, discuss balancing academics with athletics, and reveal what makes Bentonville's trails ideal for world-class training.
Whether you're a cycling enthusiast or new to the sport, this episode offers inspiration and insights into the growing mountain biking scene in Bentonville and beyond.
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Welcome to the bike edition of A New American Town. This is presented by Visit Bentonville and recorded at Haxton Road Studios right off the downtown square in Bentonville. So I'd like to do a very special welcome and pretty much a homecoming to some favorite mountain bikers that we have, and mountain biking is a sport that is blowing up in Bentonville and Northwest Arkansas in general and they ride for the US team. So this is the USA Team USA. We all know we cheer for Team USA and we're actually even talking to Olympians and the experiences that you get with the sport of mountain biking. So I want to start off and we're going to introduce you guys and I'm going to have you introduce yourselves to us, the listeners here in Bentonville. So, Brayden Johnson, tell me about your career, how you chose to become a mountain biker or how you ended up as a professional cyclist and what mountain biking means to you, and a little bit about who you are. So fill us in on Brayden.
Brayden Johnson:Yeah, hey there, good to be here. My name is Brayden Johnson. I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. I got into cycling in 2016. My dad was kind of always into cycling. Watching the Tour de France kind of grew up doing that side of things. I just had a normal childhood, grew up playing football American football that is and then was a bit sick of it. And my dad had found out about NICA in 2015 and my brother, starting to it, started doing it.
Brayden Johnson:Um, and as the little brother, you always want to do what your big brother's doing. So I started racing in 2016 and fell in love. Just, uh, something to ease my mind and take out energy and feelings and whatever. Um, but also I was. I was competitive. Um, again, being a younger brother, it was always chasing around my big brother. Um, I raced in the NICA program up until 2020 but, yeah, just slowly kind of progressed and found out about the national level stuff and then met people and just kept moving on. I got on to the Bear National Team in 2020. And then, yeah, I just kind of took off from there and started racing at the world stage.
Nat Ross:Well, we're going to come back to that because you guys have a lot of experience. So, Sofia, Waite, let's hear your story and your journey to become a professional cyclist.
Sofia Waite:Yeah, so it's somewhat similar to Brayden's. My parents were racing, bikes and all that kind of thing. I actually started as a runner first, started. Basically my whole childhood I was running and swimming actually. And then eighth grade-ish around that time, um, my parents got me into biking and uh, and then they actually made like a whole junior development team for um people in our area and then it actually grew to like the whole um America basically, yeah, and then, uh, so I was on that team actually for like four or five years and just kind of like trying to like get better and better with all the races and stuff. And then, yeah, like I got on the professional team, um, this past year with, um a Spanish team.
Nat Ross:So it's been great and just keep progressing on the world stage, so yeah we're going to come back to that junior performance piece because I know both you and Brayden hinted on it and then that's a big piece of uh uh and both of you also um talk about junior development in terms of uh, where you started and how it is, and we'll tie that all in in a minute. But we also have Madigan and let's hear Madigan's story of I first crossed paths with you in Colorado Cause I know um that the NICA and the junior piece was really big and similar story, but let's hear it from you yeah, hi everyone.
Maddie Munro:I'm Madigan and I'm from Boulder, Colorado, um kind of similar. My dad was really into cycling and my mom so they kind of introduced me first. But I actually I grew up ski racing, downhill ski racing, um with the team in boulder and then they also had a sister program that sponsored kind of mountain bike summer camps. So that's where I started really learning to mountain bike and grew a passion for it there and then joined NICA as a freshman. So that's how I really got into racing and was also super competitive and just loved being a part of this sport. And then I was riding for Boulder Junior Cycling for a little bit and then was lucky enough to sign with Trek Factory Racing my first year as a junior, so I think that was like around 2020. And then I've been racing with them ever since.
Nat Ross:So is this Eldora, one of the ski areas that was near and dear to you?
Maddie Munro:Yes, I raced for Eldora Mountain Ski Club.
Nat Ross:Okay, I think some of the common themes that we're hearing from you guys is you add other avenues to athletics and other things that you like to do. What does that mean for these folks that are right now poking around? They have a mountain bike, they're juniors, they're student- athletes. Give them some pointers or tips as to, like, if they want to try and race or find a program or participate in NICA, like what worked for you, or was it a friend group? Was it through the school? Like what are the? The parents are having a hard time a lot of these days deciphering what is the secret to success, and the three of you have nailed it. So any pointers, any tips?
Maddie Munro:I think the most important thing is, when you're young, to keep it fun I think as a kid, just enjoying what you're doing. And I think if you have a junior development program or summer camps that specialize in mountain biking or any kind of riding, I think those are great places to start. And personally I think as a high school student, racing with NICA was crucial and super fun for me. I think that's what really ignited my passion for mountain bike racing. So I'd highly recommend, if people are in high school and have a team, to just jump in that, because I think there's a great community and a lot of opportunity to build friends and skills on the bike and just take it as far as you want.
Nat Ross:That's great advice. So, Sofia, coming from your end, because I know the weight endurance and the coaching piece, it's really close to your family and you grew up in that pod. But if someone doesn't want to be serious and they don't quite want the coaching piece, how do they still enjoy it and how do they figure out what's next in cycling for them?
Sofia Waite:Yeah, I mean, I think it's really important just to like kind of choose your own path and like not compare yourself to others, because I mean, like someone could start from a different angle than you and like someone could start sooner than you, but like the goal is to reach this like the same, like high, like level at this like a certain time. But I don't think there's like a perfect path to get there and I think you just gotta kind of do what's best for you and like, um yeah, I mean, there's not like a perfect, perfect way to get there.
Nat Ross:So yeah, Brayden, I'm gonna bounce back to you on this because, uh, I think Utah is the largest NICA league out there. So when you were going through NICA, you guys were exploding and just the growth was insane. And, um, did you have junior high as an option? As a student athlete? Could you be a junior high NICA athlete in Utah?
Brayden Johnson:Yeah, so I started in the Junior Devo program, seventh grade, in 2016. So it was three races a year. Yeah, it was awesome to start that young.
Nat Ross:Wow, fill me in on athletics and then the academia part of it. So I know let's go to the university that you're studying at currently, or taking credits, Madigan, and figure out, kind of what that pathway looks like for folks. And I'm going to basically ask each of you a little bit of like how do you balance this stuff?
Maddie Munro:Definitely. Well, I actually just graduated in May, so I'm now done with university. I got a degree in biology, so it definitely it can be a tricky balance to do academics and athletics, but I think there's also multiple ways you can go about it. Just like Sofia mentioned earlier, there's lots of different schools and opportunities to be had, but I think the thing for me was going to a school.
Maddie Munro:I went to Colorado Mesa university and they had a really strong cycling team, so that allowed me to pursue cycling um on the collegiate stage and also really balance my academics, because you're missing a lot of school for these world cup races and for college races. So having people really in your corner like whether that's professors or coaches that can help guide you and also um help you when you're missing school and be there to support you when you're missing, all of that is really important, um, but it's also important to know that when you're doing school and racing, you know you can't always give a hundred percent to both, so sometimes there has to be a little bit of sacrifice, whether it's on the school side or on the academic or on the athletic side. Um, but just knowing that and being prepared for it and, you know, finding a really good group of people to help you be supported throughout that.
Nat Ross:Yeah, that's quite the process. So, Sofia, walk me through what it's like being on a Spanish team, Team BH. So your teammates are Spanish. I would imagine there's some major advantages with the World Cups that are on the soil over there. But also tell us kind of what it was like integrating into a Spanish team and then what that's like.
Sofia Waite:Yeah. So I kind of went into it super open-minded and like team camp was quite the shock to the system, I gotta say, because they all speak Spanish and like I tried my best to learn as quickly as possible but they speak so fast and like just like kind of at each other so it was pretty hard for me to pick up. So that was kind of like the hardest part was just kind of integrating with that and the whole barrier with not being able to speak spanish and everything but um, like honestly, other than that, everything's been super like um, pretty easy to get used to, like uh, the support is incredible. Like everyone just loves to be together. The staff and the athletes work really well together. So I'm going to try to learn Spanish going forward for next year. But yeah, I mean, I've been having a great time on the team, so I feel super fortunate.
Nat Ross:And plus those are romantic languages you can pick up and even in Italy you can, you know, kind of decipher some of the stuff once you start studying.
Sofia Waite:Yeah, exactly I think I just like need to learn a couple more words and then everything will start clicking and help understand what's happening.
Nat Ross:That's exciting. Well, I do note. I want everybody in the audience listening to this to know that we are talking to some national champions at this table as well. So if you were watching these folks race this year, they were on certain races, in the right discipline, they got to wear the national championship stars and stripes. So, braden, fill me in on what it was like. You're winning that event this year for cross country and basically having like the bullseye on your back. You're overseas. You come back to race in the national championships. You haven't been racing in us soil um, as much as some of the other folks. And then, um, what is that like? To have an epic day where you end up, um, coming back for a big gamble, basically like, um, how'd it work out?
Brayden Johnson:yeah, um, I'm sorry, I have to correct you a little bit.
Nat Ross:It was last year that I won.
Brayden Johnson:Thank you, but I had similar seasons.
Brayden Johnson:Last year 2023, I spent, I think, nine weeks in Europe racing a bunch of World Cups, and I raced the Val de Sol World Cup a week before the national championships flew home and I actually got food poisoning and laid in my bed for three days.
Brayden Johnson:But, yeah, I don't know, somehow I think just racing at that high of a level in Europe for so long that I was just able to, um, suffer and put the put the gas on a bit sooner. Um, I think the races in Europe, uh, they're just there's mayhem and they're they're so hard at the start and I kind of just started like that and managed to ride away from them in the first lap, um, which is a cool feeling, but also, you're just kind of anxious the whole time, um, you know, you always think you're being chased down, but yeah, that was like an incredible and a special day that I honestly didn't really expect. And yeah, I got to wear that jersey for most of this year and again, similar raced. All the World Cups came over and, unfortunately, again I was off the front early in the race, but this time I had a flat tire.
Nat Ross:So I was not able to win but came in for third tire, so I was not able to win but came in for third.
Nat Ross:Well, it's just amazing that you get to come back and have that opportunity with the schedules that you guys have. So, for those folks listening, these professional mountain bike circuits they start the early, races start in May, so they, these folks, are fully prepped and and racing overseas, or at least in the US, continental-wise, and then the schedule is insane. So, Madigan, I want to hear a little bit about what it's like being in a community like the and I can relate because I grew up in the Colorado community as well where the parents and the community really backs it. So do you see parallels that Bentonville and this area can pick up on from an area like Boulder or even anywhere in Colorado, that the history is so enriched and cycling is a passionate sport, and it's not that we're in Bentonville behind, but we're just discovering what Coloradoans and others have known for a while. So what do you see for things that we can relate to or inspire towards? Cause it feels like you guys got a good jumpstart on it.
Maddie Munro:Yeah, definitely. I think. Actually you know, being spending some time here in Bentonville it's it's very clear that cycling is growing a lot and there's a lot of people out there on the trails and even today we just saw so many kids riding with their parents. So that's very similar to Boulder, I'd say, and I think it's really inspiring to see. And I think just give it a couple more years and it will definitely continue to grow. I'd say maybe the next thing to come is having more group rides and maybe even more training rides. I think in Boulder we have a lot of group rides that can be, you know, either really fast paced or some that are more chill paced. So I'd say that's probably the next thing for Bentonville. But as far as like getting the community and families out on the trails, like all types of abilities, that's definitely very evident here and I think, yeah, we just have to keep promoting it and pushing the sport and keep continuing to make it accessible to all kinds of riders.
Nat Ross:Yeah, I love to hear that Um fill us in on um elements of the trails that Bentonville has. That helps prep you guys for what your job is. So you guys pretty much have the best job in the world. We, we all kind of look at what you do and see the specialness of it. But when you come to Bentonville, when you're training in Bentonville, like even right now I know your season's done but you're still focusing on it You're professionals, you're still working a little bit. So what do you like about the Bentonville trail system or any of the Oz trails in general, or northwest Arkansas? What hits the spot? What does it for you?
Brayden Johnson:Yeah, I think, uh, as everybody hears about that, the, uh, the tracks in Europe are really technical and challenging tracks and we don't necessarily have that in America. Um, but I think the past couple of years the world cup and the Olympics are are going towards a more spectator friendly, man-made, fast, entertaining type of racing. And so bentonville, a place where almost everything is man-made, um, you guys can replicate that and we're able to train on terrain. That's quite similar to what these tracks might become and, uh, yeah, I think that's really beneficial um to have here.
Sofia Waite:So yeah, and to like add to that um, in the world cups now we have all these big jumps and drops and big features like that, and like where we live we have that, but they're not built, obviously, like super professional. So it's really nice to come here and there's like nice um, like there's like the small ones and you can and you can like get comfortable on that and you can eventually get comfortable on the the, the really big stuff.
Nat Ross:So it's a good like way to practice that and get comfortable and get some confidence leading into the world cups well, I know, um, and you guys have bikes set up, so I so I've got the pleasure of looking at your bikes when they were sitting over there, because you guys are so well rehearsed on all the professional elements of treating your body right. I noticed that you work with Chef Bijou and eat very decent meals while you guys are training and while you were eating lunch I was looking at your bikes and you have race geometry. So can you explain what race geometry is perhaps on your Trek factory racing bike to the folks that are riding more of a trail bike or a bike on these trails? Cause it's it's very difficult to take the bikes that you guys race on and do what you do.
Maddie Munro:Yeah, I'd say in general our race bikes are just a more aggressive setup, meaning they're more slammed, so you're more over the front of your bike, you're maybe not sitting as upright as on your trail bike and it's more just to adapt to that aggressive climbing position. And then our bikes have less suspension on them so they can be a bit more rigid than a trail bike. And again, that's just also for a lighter, faster setup. That's generally better for racing.
Nat Ross:Fascinating. So, sophia, tell us a little bit about what it's like with a Spanish frame and kind of riding your bike around Bentonville, with a bike that people don't get to see very often.
Sofia Waite:Yeah, I mean, I think I might be the only one in America with this bike, especially since it just came out, so that's cool. It's actually really similar to the Trek bike in terms of geometry and setup and everything. So yeah, as Maddie said, it's just one of those things where it's really aggressive. So you have to be kind of careful. You can't take any advanced maneuvers because if you do, you're going to either crash or flat. So just learning how to control it and be aware, like uh limit in some sort of way yeah, well, you guys are pretty skilled on that.
Nat Ross:Well, brayden, you have a bike that we see a lot of you ride for santa cruz, and santa cruz has a lot of their uh riders and passion riders. Um, what do you feel that um bittenville could use next? Because every time you come to town, things change. You see new features. What do you want to see next, since you're looking towards the next world cup season and luckily you guys are off an olympic year, so you get some a couple down years here. But what do you want to see in Bentonville next?
Brayden Johnson:yeah, it's a great question. I think, like we touched on earlier, they have lots of good trails where we can kind of work on progression and stuff. But I think, um, some of the best ways to progress and specifically what we do we do races on circuits um to have something um, you know, a man-made cross-country olympic circuit with the mixture of big jumps, big, big drops, but also that raw, really steep climbing, descending, and we have a great community of, you know, professional riders that are able to come here in great support. So I think, uh, I think it's possible to make it a good training ground and we're, we're getting there, you know, step-by-step. I think that would be a cool addition to have have more of a race track here.
Nat Ross:That is great because the level that you guys have stepped up USA Cycling and the mountain biking piece with your performances. So now you guys have metals, hardware and a lot of stories to tell.
Maddie Munro:Yeah I think it might be a little cliche but I think my favorite moment is winning the team relay with Team USA. Just crossing the finish line with everyone and sharing that we got a gold medal for the first time in 10 years, anyone to beat France or Switzerland, was a really special feeling, and seeing the smile on everyone's faces was pretty heartwarming.
Nat Ross:Okay Sofia, favorite moment of the year, favorite kind of memory.
Sofia Waite:Yeah, I mean honestly that was a really, really cool moment to be at the finish line when I think it was Chris yeah, he came through first at the World Championships for the team relay and, oh man, we were all just on the sidelines just freaking out Like it was one of the craziest experiences ever, like the, the way the sun was coming over the mountain and the dust and everyone was freaking out, so that was really special man, incredible brayden.
Nat Ross:How are you ending your season this year?
Brayden Johnson:I don't know if it's boring or cool to say the same thing as them, but, like maddie said, nobody besides switzerland or fr France has won the team relay at Worlds in 10 years, and so unless you've been a part of it you don't really realize what a big deal it actually is. But it was really cool to be a part of that. I don't know how many team relays Maddie's done, but I've done three, and I know Haley and Chris have done way more than that.
Maddie Munro:Yeah.
Brayden Johnson:And they've been on the podium multiple times.
Maddie Munro:We've been off the podium that, yeah, and they've been on the podium multiple times we've been off the podium.
Brayden Johnson:We've been second, third, yeah, yeah and um you have to finally get that done was just incredible, and unless you're part of it, you don't realize how special this gets. So many things have to go so perfect, um, to win that race and you're really just leaning on your teammates. So it's cool when everybody shows up and you know, yeah, get the gold so, man, absolutely magical.
Nat Ross:Well, um, I know, madigan, you're graduated to the elites now. So for those that get to watch the racing, um, and what do we get to see out of you two next year?
Sofia Waite:some big, lofty goals yeah, that's the goal, of course. Always want more and more, so we'll see fingers crossed, I guess yeah, I had a.
Brayden Johnson:I had an up and down season, but at the world championships I was uh, 11th, um in the U23 category and I was the the third, first or third U23 rider that has another year left. So oh, wow in my head, that is really exciting and shows that I can be competitive next year and I haven't been on a world cup podium yet, and so that's definitely a goal of mine.
Nat Ross:Well, this is exciting times ahead, so we really thank you guys for your contribution to the sport and celebrating uh, all of Bentonville was cheering you guys on and we're really lucky to have you guys here, uh, uh, training in Bentonville. So if you just want to let the community know how appreciative you are of being able to come ride on our trails, we'll wrap up this podcast yeah, thank you.
Maddie Munro:It's really cool to be a part of this community and, like, there's so much love here and, yeah, I'm excited to see how it'll grow and change in the future yeah, we're definitely super thankful for all the support we get from Bentonville, and it is really encouraging to see how many cyclists there are here and how big the community is, so it's it's really cool to be here.
Brayden Johnson:Yeah, um, like we talked about earlier, I think, uh, it's all about keeping it fun and keeping community, and that's how I fell in love with this sport, and Bentonville is doing a great job of, uh, you know, bringing together a great community of riders for fun and competitively, and I think that's awesome, just as long as people are riding bikes, it's cool and it's a pleasure to be here.
Nat Ross:Well, Braden, Sophia and Madigan uh, we are truly blessed to have, uh, you guys uh, training in Bentonville. Uh, this, we're going to wrap up this podcast, so don't forget to visit Bentonville. So come hang with us and if you're not able to come, check us out online. Visit Bentonvillecom and you can watch all the stories, you can learn about mountain biking and you can ride with the national team.