Ashton Lambie is just two weeks away from competing with the Jukebox Cycling team in the Fuego MTB 80K at Sea Otter, the opening round of the Lifetime Grand Prix Series.

The Lincoln, Nebraska native started his career in gravel and endurance riding, but has recently made a big presence on the track. 31 years old, he set a world record last August in Aguascalientes, Mexico, as the first cyclist to ride 4000 meters in under 4 minutes. He set a world record. It came as no surprise then that two months later he won the world title at the same distance.

Since October, his mind has been racing at supersonic speeds, perhaps faster than his legs, to adapt to the new environment and challenges associated with "gravel notes" and the astronaut lifestyle. While he returns to "Gravel Notebook" as one of the elite 30 selected for the Lifetime Grand Prix Series, his partner Christina Burch, an 11-time national champion motorcyclist, is focused on her new career in space. She was invited to train with NASA at the Johnson Space Center in October, so she packed her bags and moved to Houston, Texas.

"I love riding around Houston, and I really enjoy learning about the great trails in the area," Lambie told Cycling News. Lambie told Cycling News. 'I plan to mountain bike some of the flowing trails south of Houston. I'm going to do a tempo ride there and back, then a lap or two on the gravel bike, and then stop for a burrito on the way back."

Last year, Lambie achieved the 4-minute mark in two months, earning him the rainbow jersey and the knowledge that Birch had been selected to train astronauts. Earlier this year, he wrote on his Instagram, "I still have to pinch myself sometimes for getting sub 4:00 and the rainbow in the same year. What better way to end the season than in our new hometown of Houston while Chris prepares for astronaut training and I return to the gravel road."

This season, Lambie plans to focus more on gravel racing with his new team while giving his track bike a break; in 2016, he finished second overall at the Gravel Worlds in Nebraska; in 2019, a 100-mile race in Emporia, Kan. (now known as Unbound Gravel); in 2021, he won The Rift Race's Iceland 100km adventure.

This season, Lambie will focus on gravel, including the Lifetime Grand Prix Series and other events like Gravel Worlds. He started his gravel groove last month at the Rock Cobbler in Bakersfield, CA.

A total of four Jukebox Cycling riders will participate in the six-race Lifetime Series, which offers $250,000 in prize money; the Fuego MTB 80K on April 9 in Monterey, CA, will feature mountain bikers along with Lambie Dylan Johnson, and former roadies Adam Roberge and Alexey Vermeulen, who have become gravel specialists.

"I couldn't be more thrilled to be alongside Ashton. Ashton is the best in the world and I can't wait to learn from him.

Lovage, the defending Big Sugar Gravel champion in the final round of the series, said of his new jukebox teammate.

Lambie has not ruled out other types of racing, but his main focus at the moment is on his mountain biking skills.

His game plan for the Fuego MTB 80K is.

"Other than meeting the rest of the crew, I don't have any specific plans. I know Phil [Guymon] a little bit, but I haven't met everyone else yet. Just looking forward to meeting others who are excited about the project. We all have diverse backgrounds and goals, and we're all into cycling, so it's going to be a good season," Lambie told Cycling News.

"I think the structure that Jukebox Cycling has, where it's a team and the riders feel connected, but also has its own sponsors and its own calendar, is a great model for cycling today," he added in a team statement.

"We are raising the standard. As disciplines like gravel grow, the team structure in cycling in general will change. Maybe we won't get everything right the first time, but I like that we are at the forefront of this change and I like being a part of it."