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Guests: Axel Merckx, director sportif Team Axeon; Hal Walter, 6-time world champion pack burro racer (yep!)
Hey there… it’s our January 14th show and, it’s a good one!
First, I talk with Axel Merckx – director sportif of team Axeon Hagens Berman. Yes, yes, Axel is the son of the “Cannibal” – the great Eddy Merckx – and he’s super proud to have such a talented and famous father.
In his own right however, Axel himself is a great cycling legend – he has an Olympic medal, many podiums, and has taken all that talent and focused it on his winning team of young riders.
For example, in the 2016 race season, team Axeon garnered 35 victories, 13 jersey classifications, eight national titles, three team titles and sent three riders to the WorldTour ranks.
We’ll hear how Axel has been able to shape and grow his team into a formidable “cycling machine” and hear just a bit about his Dad.
In the second half of the show, we meet up with a most interesting guy! Hal Walter is a journalist, author, Dad, and a 6-time world champion Pack Burro Racer!
Not planning on having children, at the age of 44 Hal and his wife welcomed Harrison into the world only to have that world turned upside down when, at the age of three, Harrison was diagnosed at “neuro diverse” – or as most of us know, autistic.
Unlike many children who are “on the spectrum”, Harrison can run, swim, bike, and has a pack burro for a best friend.
Hal has written a book of essays titled Endurance that tells us a few of the stories that have unfolded for Hal, wife Mary, Harrison, and all those who are part of their lives.
Hal and I talk about Harrison, the school in which he was mainstreamed since he was 3, how the pack burros fit into their lives, and how Harrison taught himself to ride a bike.
It’s a great conversation!