Mary McConneloug and Mike Broderick; Peaceful Warriors

U.S. National Champion Mary McConneloug is a familiar name in the sport of mountain biking. For six seasons, she steadily rose through the sport's global ranks reaching UCI World Cup podiums and representing her country at multiple World Championships. More famously than that, she also earned the single U.S. women's spot at the Olympics cross-country race in Athens in 2004. McConneloug recently told Cyclingnews MTB Editor Steve Medcroft that she owes all her success to an unusual team structure.

What many people may not know about Mary McConneloug is the off-the-beaten-path way she has managed her career. Instead of signing with a factory team and having handlers and coaches take care of all the details of her day-to-day racing life, she chose the freedom of signing individual sponsorship agreements and taking responsibility for managing every aspect of her career.

That structure is only possible, McConneloug says, because she has a partner; her only teammate, on the road support crewmember and longtime boyfriend Mike Broderick.

Read the entire Mary McConneloug and Mike Broderick interview here.