The MOMENTS

Not all stories are told at the finish line

Question's we couldn’t wait to ask. Now, we’re bringing you the answers.

Every pro rider has that one defining experience—the race, the crash, the breakthrough—that shaped who they are today. The Moments is all about capturing those stories. Raw, personal, and straight from the riders themselves, this series takes you inside the highs, lows, and turning points that make a cycling career.

We’re kicking things off with our first feature: Sam Boardman. His moment? You’ll have to read to find out.

And trust us—this is just the beginning.

So grab a coffee, sit back, and enjoy the read.

Sam Boardman 2024 Challenge Mallorca

What’s the one moment in your cycling career that changed you forever?

"A moment in my cycling career that changed me forever was probably the last stage at the Tour of California in 2019. I had the privilege to have been selected to race as part of the USA national team in (unbeknownst to us at the time) what would be the last edition of the race. I remember not making it to the circuits around the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and having to call time on the race on the last day without actually feeling like had finished the event. I was feeling dejected and disappointed in my performance, but waiting for me in the parking lot in the finishing paddock was the woman who would become my wife, Jess, who has been my biggest supporter in this entire cycling journey, and a bunch of cyclists from the UCLA cycling team, my alma mater and the program that introduced me to the sport when I was 19. It felt surreal because I remember in 2015, I had ridden out to Pasadena with my collegiate teammates to watch the finishing stage on the same circuit, and I was so awe-struck to see these cyclists whiz by, and I wondered what it would be like to compete at that level, and 4 years later, I was able to do it. While the results were nowhere near where I wanted them to be, the "full circle" moment was so humbling and reminded me that the bicycle has taken me to so many places and allowed me to meet so many incredible people, and it all started as a hobby that grew into an obsession that slowly became my life. It has been an incredibly journey and continues to bring me to places I didn't think I would ever be able to go to."

Dan Bigham UCI hour Record attempt

Beyond the Answers: For Those Who Know, Do, and Keep Searching

Our Question to Dan - Having held the world hour record, you’ve pushed the limits of human endurance and efficiency on the bike. Now, as a specialist in performance enhancement, how has your perspective on the physiological and psychological demands of elite cycling evolved? What are the key breakthroughs—whether in training, nutrition, aerodynamics, or mindset—that you believe will define the next era of record-breaking performances?

Dan Bigham Answers

I feel that my perspective on physiology has evolved in a few ways. Predominately my understanding and experience of how malleable human physiology is has changed, and that the belief that we have certain characteristics that innate or untrainable is flawed. The human body adapts incredibly quickly to a stimulus, and the game of high performance is simply finding the right stimuli and applying it in the right dose at the right time. I also believe this is where the human - technology spectrum blends, because there are always trade offs to be made to achieve optimal performance but that trade off is never a constant because of how much and how quickly the body adapts. That being said, it is still a long term game where making good decisions compounds. Always moving to the direction of the global optimal and not believing that you are there right now when you're likely just at a local optimal.