Pro Cyclist Sarah Sturm Does it Her Way

Sarah Sturm, aka Sturmy, is an all-in, full of emotion, badass. She packs a big smile with an unconventional approach that has led her to the podium of cycling’s biggest adventures on anything with two wheels. But unlike so many data-obsessed pro athletes, Sarah does things mostly by feel. So much so that when her new bike came with a power meter, she told her coach to not show her the results.
Sarah crashes hard and races harder. While 2019 podiums at Downieville, the 153 mile Belgian Waffle Ride, @sbtgrvl, Lost and Found, and Sea Otter’s pro Criterium would tell a different story, she has healthy dose of fear. Channeling that fear, emotion and competitive drive into something that works for her is what makes Sarah uniquely ‘Sturmy.’ What’s next for Sarah? You’ll have to read and listen to find out. It likely won’t follow a playbook. But it most certainly will be an adventure. And when not adventuring, you’ll find her coaching the next generation of rippers or designing the next idea with her firm Oso Creative. We caught up before the important developments to address the problems with race in America. While we couldn’t address these topics in this conversation, Sarah is taking a passionate stand with the platform she has to elevate and share the voices “of those who have been muted.” Listen to our podcast with Sarah Sturm on The Common Threads: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify.
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The Start of a Cyclist
David Swain (@swain), Prokit: What did you have for breakfast?
Sarah Sturm: I had toast, made from bread from a local bakery. This company called Trail Butter makes amazing peanut butter with all this good stuff mixed in, so I put that on top with jelly. Then I had a smoothie and a doughnut.
Is that your typical breakfast?
Always the PBJ. It’s going to become “my thing” because I made the mistake of talking about how my ride food at the Belgian Waffle Ride was a bunch of peanut butter jelly sandwiches. That said, I truly do like it. You can’t go wrong with it. 
If there was no pandemic, what would you be doing right now?
The Lost and Found Gravel Grinder would be coming up. That race was my first ever gravel race years ago. I had just signed with Specialized for cyclocross, and they handed me a gravel bike. I remember I kind of made fun of the Future Shock. As a newly-signed athlete, I didn’t know you’re not supposed to make fun of the equipment in front of the people who gave it to you. I was just joking, but 100 miles into this race, I was like, “Thank God for the thing that I made fun of.” It’s the coolest part of the Diverge bike.