Brad Huff is remembered as one of the great American criterium racers of the 2000s — a two-time US Pro Criterium Champion, a bronze medalist at the 2007 Track World Championships, and a fixture on the North American racing scene for two decades. But as Brad would be the first to tell you, the race results were never really the whole story.

In this conversation, Brad takes us back to a farm in rural Missouri, where the work ethic was absorbed by osmosis and the bicycle became his first and most reliable escape. We trace his path from high school multi-sport athlete to junior mountain bike state champ, through his early national team experiences, an eating disorder that nearly derailed everything, and an eventual comeback that would sustain a professional career all the way to age 39.

Brad opens up about what it was actually like to be  ...