In 2022, Heidi Franz was approached with an enticing offer: B&B Hotels-KTM, a revamped team with a sky-high budget and some of the biggest WorldTour riders in its lineup, wanted her on its roster. But after months of unfulfilled promises and extensive press coverage, the team collapsed, leaving Heidi and dozens of other riders without a team right before the 2023 season. When a new team called Zaaf approached her and several other would-be B&B team members, there was nowhere else to go. Soon, however, it became clear that Zaaf was neither prepared for the season nor capable of handling the fallout. With unpaid riders, dangerous working conditions, and swirling media speculation, the UCI revoked Zaaf’s license mid-season, leaving its riders floundering.
Less than a year later, Heidi is back in the WorldTour with team Lifeplus-Wahoo, and joins Payson just after placing fifth in a stage of the Tour Down Under. She tells him about surviving the dramatic, high-profile collapse of two teams in 2023 and how she searched for outside motivation to keep herself going. She talks about racing Gravel Worlds, snagging her first European win in late 2023 shortly after Zaaf went bust, and how she thinks that she's just coming into her own in the pro peloton.
Chapters:
00:00:00 Living in Girona
00:04:46 First trip to Europe with Rally
00:15:03 Getting 5th at stage of this year’s Tour Down Under
00:20:49 Joining Lifeplus-Wahoo
00:26:01 B&B Hotels-KTM
00:39:50 Zaaf
00:59:28 Moving on after Zaaf
01:10:28 Dipping a toe into gravel
01:20:37 Growing up on Bainbridge Island and friendship with Kiel Reijnen
01:25:53 Her diverse athletic background and being an eternal student
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