Latest / Zone2Speak Podcast / Peter Stetina: From WorldTour to Gravel’s First Pro – Racing, Freedom & Grit

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Peter Stetina: From WorldTour to Gravel’s First Pro – Racing, Freedom & Grit · Zone2Speak Podcast

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Now, let's get into the episode.
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Welcome to Zone to Speak. Today, I'm honored to sit down with Peter Stettina,
2:34
former World Tour Pro turned gravel racing icon.
2:38
From competing in cycling major stages, including the Tour de France,
2:43
to carving out his own path in the fast-evolving world of gravel,
2:48
Stettina's journey is one of resilience, reinvention, and passion for adventure.
2:52
In this episode, I will dive into his transition from the high-stakes world
2:57
of road racing to the freedom and grit of gravel,
3:01
his thoughts on the growing influence of the UCI in the discipline,
3:05
and how he is redefining what it means to be a modern-day cyclist,
3:10
get ready for a conversation packed with insight,
3:13
and the kind of determination that makes Peter Stetna a true pioneer in the sport.
3:19
Pete, welcome to Zone to Speak. week. Thanks for having me.
3:23
Yeah, that's a very nice intro. Thank you for those kind words.
3:27
Thank you for making the time to be here. It feels surreal to chat with you,
3:32
being a fan, watched your career.
3:36
Very excited to have you. So let's start at the beginning.
3:40
What inspired you to transition from world tour racing to gravel racing?
3:46
I mean it's it's a
3:50
very complicated answer with a lot of shades
3:52
of gray you know there's no black and white decision moment
3:56
and it's it was
3:58
it was a long it was brought about by a long evolution
4:01
of my journey through cycling I
4:04
think and that you know you're as a junior it is and growing up especially in
4:10
the early aughts when it was you know the Lance Armstrong and Jan Ulrich eras
4:15
and road cycling was the pinnacle and you learn that the Tour de France is where
4:20
you want to end up and that is the dream.
4:23
But being in that top tier long enough, I think with many cyclists,
4:28
especially those abroad who have to move to another country to pursue that,
4:33
it does slowly start to wear on you.
4:37
You miss weddings and graduations and
4:41
family reunions and all these things and
4:44
and the selfish nature of the the sport and the dedication I think it starts
4:50
to break you down over time and I think that's just exacerbated by having to
4:55
live abroad to do it and then there's you know there's a few poignant moments
5:00
throughout my career where I'm,
5:02
I think I just found myself searching for something more beyond only pro sport.
5:07
You know, it was my crash in 2015 and realizing that, you know,
5:13
there's people in your corner who are only in your corner when times are good
5:16
versus true friends who are with you in the good and the bad.
5:20
I think it was creating my own grand fondo to give back to the community in early days.
5:27
And it started as road and then almost being
5:31
told by team managers that that's a project for
5:33
retired riders and then
5:36
and and being almost shunned for you know doing like
5:39
a big ride for for everyone else and
5:42
then I think it was also just this
5:45
this growth of gravel and that I had
5:48
always ridden off-road I had started on the mountain bike as
5:51
a junior growing up in in the Colorado
5:54
mountains a lot of the roads are dirt anyway you know
5:57
so you'd even ride a road bike on just big dirt roads just because
6:00
they're not paved out there and and all of a sudden these
6:03
races that I'd always kind of just done for fun and
6:06
training in the off season or whatever are getting more people
6:10
are talking about them and you know
6:13
then there's this and it's been pretty documented
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of course we can talk about it but it's the the aha
6:19
moment in 2019 where I actually did one of
6:23
the bigger races and and it was it was
6:26
astounding like how much it resonated on
6:30
a national scale and it was that aha moment where like i said this combination
6:36
of a little bit of disillusionment with the world tour life and this aha moment
6:43
of like gravel's growing and this is going to be a thing and that kind of.
6:48
Was the impetus I needed to jump ship.
6:51
Yeah, you were one of the first pros to leave world tour gravel,
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like Ian Boswell, the Australian, Nathan Haas.
7:02
Yeah, Haas, he came a bit after. Yeah.
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How do you see nowadays even that there's even more pros coming into the scene as well?
7:10
I mean, I think there was always layers, right? I think it's,
7:13
you know, Ted King was the first guy with a racing pedigree to do gravel,
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but he had actually just retired and was doing these gravel events before they
7:23
were competitive as an ambassadorship and for fun for his sponsors.
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And you know i did it i was you
7:32
know the first to to be a gravel pro you
7:35
know that's like this my my thing that
7:38
i really stamped my foot on is these races are hard
7:42
enough and prestigious enough they're not a quote-unquote
7:45
alternative calendar anymore like they deserve
7:49
to have riders focused solely on them because they are this cool so
7:52
i think i was the first gravel pro that's
7:55
like the proudest thing i've done in my career and that
7:58
created a shift within the sport
8:02
i think as a whole you know and ian
8:05
boswell and lawrence tendam you know
8:07
they fell into it again out of
8:11
just this decision to want something
8:15
different from the sport i think all these early adopters it was it was wanting
8:18
something different and then nathan came a year or two after and he was really
8:24
the guy that really decided to do that in Europe because the American scene
8:30
was a couple years ahead at that point.
8:33
And so Haas kind of experienced some of that U.S. stuff and he's a good friend
8:38
and he's smart and he was able to understand what made sense,
8:44
what was happening in the U.S. and really bring that with.
8:49
The European culture mindset, which is, you know, it's always different,
8:51
different cultures, different things click, you know, and I'm sure,
8:54
like you said, we'll talk about that with, you know, UCI and the US mindset
8:59
versus the European mindset on that.
9:01
But yeah, I think it's more and people are coming into it.
9:05
But it's overall, I think that bones remain that it's a, it's,
9:10
it's an escape and a fresh start, a new adventure.
9:15
And is there anything looking back that you miss from the world tour oh i mean for sure i wouldn't,
9:22
trade those days for anything i mean when you're when you're in the tour de
9:25
france that's the pinnacle of the sport you know and i the camaraderie the team
9:31
aspect of it and it's with mixed emotion that i say the simplicity of it in
9:37
that you know it's really nice when your only job is to race your bike,
9:42
you know, and you have these guys that, you know, I was talking with Mateo Jorgensen
9:45
on a training ride this winter when he was visiting California.
9:48
And just everything is planned for you, like how much you eat the bikes,
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the tire pressure you ride, you know, it's your job is just to pedal.
9:57
And it was in my in my years, too, but even more so now with with the nutrition aspect.
10:02
And while that's really nice.
10:06
I don't know if I miss it, because I it's Because the hard days here when you're,
10:12
you know, what we call a privateer and you're basically a small business owner,
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you're managing every angle,
10:17
every contract, every media shoot, social media obligations.
10:22
You kind of wish that, oh, I wish I could just pedal my bike.
10:25
But then I take 30 seconds to think about it.
10:28
I'm like, no, this is, I like owning my own story and my own destiny completely.
10:36
Yeah there's something to that being in the oral tour like you said in the beginning it's,
10:42
i think commitment is an understatement because you're eating breathing living that,
10:48
almost 24 7 i mean you barely have a break to go see your family i guess unless
10:53
your family is on the road with you exactly yeah and i think that's something
10:57
that probably for myself i'm.
11:02
Quicken that shift and just that you know my wife is a career woman she has
11:06
a good job here and she was always
11:08
going to follow her her own destiny too and never be on tour with me,
11:14
and so I'm sure my life would have looked very different
11:17
had I you know met a catalog girl in
11:20
Girona and you know we had just done bike
11:23
racing in Europe but the fact that I was always coming back and forth I think
11:25
it quickened that that shift for you
11:29
know racing in a different way yeah you
11:34
briefly mentioned your accident in 2015 while
11:38
you were at the tour the Basque country has that changed your approach to racing
11:42
and training or even your outlook in life a hundred percent I mean I can't that
11:49
was the one of the biggest life shifts ever I mean it's when you have a life-threatening
11:53
crash and a career-threatening crash.
11:59
Some doctors were pessimistic I would ever walk normally again.
12:03
So you really take stock and you have to be pretty introspective on what you're
12:12
doing and what you want for the rest of your life, right?
12:15
I mean, my career was so up in the air.
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I literally had a business plan for what I was going to do next in 2015.
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If I didn't save my career and, and get a new team and return to racing,
12:27
like I, I literally still have papers that I've stashed away of like my next thing, you know?
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So it brings, it makes you realize that it's, you know, racing isn't everything.
12:39
There's a lot outside of that. It made me desire community and appreciate the
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bike even more and not take what I have for granted.
12:48
It I definitely would say I was the
12:51
I was just a very cut and dry pure monk
12:55
racer in 2014 it was it was
12:58
about weight and watts and making the tour team and racing and only racing and
13:05
after that it was yeah it was different I appreciate different angles in life
13:10
and then also the risk factor I think once any rider and you look at and I don't
13:15
think this is just me I think you look at.
13:18
Many of the riders, the big riders who've had a notable crush,
13:22
whether it's Froomey or Egon Bernal or Chris Froomey, and I mean,
13:26
they're much bigger champions than I ever was on the road, but.
13:31
It's harder to take the stupid
13:34
risks once you know what's on the other side of
13:38
a bad crash it's you know it's i in
13:41
after that crash in races i could i could
13:44
risk it when it truly mattered right if
13:47
it was you had to be the first five wheels into this climb
13:51
to try and win the stage or have a
13:53
podium i could take that risk but then
13:57
there's a lot of young riders who have never experienced
14:00
that and they just have that sense of invincibility and
14:04
you know there's riders that were risking it in the
14:07
downhill with 200k to go just because just to
14:10
gain a few spots you know and that's where i think
14:13
you start to be like you know what this fight's not worth it you
14:16
have to pick and choose your battles you know
14:19
yeah yeah 100 i can
14:22
see the mindset shift you know because
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it's just too dangerous and like you said you know
14:28
if you have never had that experience you might still be fearless
14:32
and it's not that you are not fearless and you're still taking risks but there
14:37
is that consciousness oh my god now my dog is howling on the background great
14:42
he's uh well he's doing his job he's supposed to he's guarding you the cat is
14:49
meowing for something and then she.
14:52
Sympathizes okay hopefully it
14:56
stopped yeah okay so
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that so the crash and
15:03
then you had your road to recovery and that took a
15:05
while and and then just take
15:08
me a little bit about how did you go about the recovery and how long it took
15:12
you to get back on the bike it was it was actually very quick in that I was
15:20
in my second year of my contract at BMC and I was a free coming into free agency,
15:26
you know, and I had had a very good spring and discussions were already starting
15:32
to begin around renewal.
15:34
And then the crash happened and obviously, and I don't fault them at all,
15:39
but you know, all of a sudden Pete might never ride the same again.
15:43
So those conversations stopped And they still did everything correctly by the contract Again,
15:51
I'm not faulting BMC They paid me the whole year They gave me all the support
15:57
to return to recovery I was still on their roster But naturally,
16:01
they weren't ready to re-sign me.
16:04
So I did everything I could Because I had my back against the wall to save my career And I...
16:11
Decided that I still want a working leg for the rest of my life,
16:18
whether or not I'm a bike racer, right?
16:19
Like I want to hike or run with my kids someday. I want to go skiing.
16:24
Like I need a working body and I'm still a professional athlete.
16:29
It's just that my training is recovery and rehab right now.
16:34
It's not training to try and win a bike race. So I use the same dedication and
16:39
training that I did for recovery.
16:42
So it was five days a week, Monday to Friday, physical therapy here,
16:47
like maximizing all the insurance benefits and overpaying.
16:52
It was having a few doctors that really cared about sport that were always keeping their eye on me.
16:59
And it was one of the more aggressive pushes on a timeline that any physical
17:05
therapist had seen really just literally pushing,
17:09
the bone to the point of almost re-breaking in an effort to get the movement
17:15
back as fast as possible and break down the scar tissue.
17:19
And after three months, I had weight bearing.
17:24
I got the okay to have weight bearing again. So I was able to start putting
17:27
pressure. You know, my leg had not touched the ground for three months. It was stiff as a board.
17:32
And so that time, all the physical therapy was just laying on a bed with someone
17:36
like basically like moving my knee for me.
17:39
So at three months in one day, I got on the bike for a first time.
17:44
And I was able to train for three months with a short crank,
17:49
a 90 millimeter crank, and then they were adjustable.
17:51
So every time I got a little bit more bend in my knee, I would,
17:55
up the crank to like 100 mils,
17:58
110 mils, you know, and eventually I got to 175 millimeter or 172.5,
18:03
whatever the normal is crank and I could do a full normal bike so at three months in one day I,
18:11
went outside for the first time and I was able to train for three weeks,
18:15
and start the tour Utah while I was still walking with a cane so on the on the
18:21
sign-in stage I you know I was in a cane at a pro race you know but a 2.1 but
18:27
I but I was in the peloton and And I finished the tour of Utah.
18:33
I made time cut every day.
18:37
And because of that trek at the time, we're looking for a couple Americans to slot on their roster.
18:45
And they said, if you can already finish the tour of Utah, we believe that you
18:49
can make a full recovery.
18:51
So they gave me a one-year deal at the minimum salary for the UCI and let me prove myself.
18:59
It must have felt good. Yeah, yeah, for sure.
19:02
I mean, it was still a long ways from where I was. And, you know,
19:06
it's such a weird game, especially in pro sport of it's all small percentages.
19:11
It's half a percentage, you know, from being dropped to winning a race even.
19:15
So it's even though you think you're back and then you go a few more months
19:20
and you get through a race and it's like, oh, my gosh, this is another level
19:24
of I didn't realize like I was still this bad.
19:27
And then that happens again, you know. So in 2016, I actually,
19:32
on that minimum salary, I made the Tour de France team for Trek.
19:35
And I did my second tour. And they signed me again for multiple seasons,
19:40
which was really that stamp that I was back.
19:44
And I remember it was in that Tour de France that I actually got my stretching.
19:48
I got my knee to touch my butt again for the first time during the middle of
19:52
the tour. It was like, whoa, that was big.
19:55
I remember Luca Guercilena, the general manager of Trek at the time,
19:59
he was on the bus pre-stage.
20:01
And I was, you know, doing a little stretch and I did that. And I was like,
20:06
oh, my God, I touched my butt.
20:07
And you saw him kind of be like, what the hell? I have a rider that couldn't do this.
20:14
He was like, that's what you're happy about? The tour is about to start,
20:17
Pete. But so that was pretty funny.
20:19
That is funny. It's all about the small wins. That's hilarious.
20:23
Yeah. Well, I'm glad you made a food recovery. And I guess you never needed
20:28
a knee replacement. I know you talked a little bit about my needing a knee replacement. It's coming.
20:34
Basically, it's damaged enough in there. The doctor said, if I don't do a bunch
20:40
of other sports, because cycling is non-weight bearing and your knee is locked
20:44
in and you just pedal straight up and down.
20:46
It's not a dynamic move like playing football or running or something.
20:51
So as long as I don't do a bunch of other sports, I have a very good chance
20:55
of finishing a full pro career before needing a knee replacement.
20:59
It's just that it's wearing out like twice as fast as a normal person per se
21:04
okay so it's i will have a knee replacement but i'm hopeful i can retire first
21:10
good good yeah hopefully you can keep writing strong and,
21:17
you know achieve all your goals and then get that new replacement exactly yeah,
21:25
So if we can talk a little bit about gravel and touch on UCI,
21:30
you have been very vocal about UCI getting into gravel.
21:35
Yeah. Pete always has an opinion. I hear that. I hear that the critics.
21:40
And I like it. I appreciate it. You know, it's a little bit disappointing when
21:45
people are afraid to speak up and losing sponsors or not being invited to central
21:50
races. I think it's good. It's refreshing to have an opinion. So thank you.
21:55
Well, I will say I always there's reason behind every opinion and I'm always
21:59
open for the discussion on the pros and cons.
22:01
And I've come around to see other side, especially more of the newer adopters,
22:05
such as, you know, your Petr Vakotches, who is a good, good friend.
22:09
But, you know, he does all the UCI stuff.
22:11
So it's interesting to see both sides. But, yeah, I'm definitely happy to share
22:16
my point of view being one of the earlier adopters.
22:19
Yeah. So since UCI started getting to gravel and where we are now,
22:26
do you think the UCI involvement will help grow the sport or does it risk losing
22:31
what makes gravel unique?
22:35
I mean, I think that's a very loaded question.
22:39
And just that that answer has changed over many years.
22:43
And it really is geographical, the answer, you know, I think,
22:48
I will say, and I think it's pretty clear the UCI came in, because gravel was
22:54
the fastest growing discipline in the sport.
22:56
And they realized, to make money, they need to be here. And they never came
23:01
to any of the big races in the US. They never looked at the magic recipe of
23:06
why is gravel growing faster than road? Why is it booming?
23:09
They just said, Oh, this is gravel. We're going to do gravel now.
23:13
And we're going to do it our way.
23:15
And for me and many others that doesn't feel right because I always am very conscious of like.
23:24
Understanding why I was able to make this career switch and what is that magic
23:30
recipe that made gravel so fresh like what was why was it so why did it grow
23:37
so fast why was there a reason that everybody was,
23:41
even if they didn't know it, they were looking for something new and different.
23:47
And the UCI came in and they used their template from XC Mountain Biking and Road.
23:53
And they just said, this is how we're going to do it. It's going to look and
23:56
feel totally different.
23:58
It's about the racing only and not about the journey. We're not looking at Unbound.
24:02
We're not looking at any of these other races.
24:05
We're just going to do it UCI style. And it's.
24:10
I still am adamant that if gravel just becomes road racing on dirt surfaces
24:17
and a landing place for people who are retired,
24:24
which I know a lot of people see me as like, oh, Pete was never the big,
24:27
big champion on the world tour or Pete, you know, is a retired road pro.
24:33
It's yeah, if gravel becomes a landing place for that, then it's just a secondary discipline.
24:40
It's not on its own. Like we need to remember why gravel sets itself apart.
24:44
And I think people need to realize, like, I came here to continue to be a professional
24:49
racer because that's where gravel was coming in 2019 and 2020.
24:53
And I think people, you know, need to realize that it is these other angles
24:58
that I and many of these other riders have embraced.
25:02
If it is just about the result only and the bike race and the exclusive categories
25:09
and going home, then the adventure and the communal journey that made it so
25:15
important in the first place will be lost.
25:18
That said, I realized that...
25:22
First of all, in Europe, I want to say, I think, you know, in the American West,
25:29
in the vastness, in the Midwest, you know, we just have hundreds of kilometers of open roads, right?
25:34
And they're big, wide spaces and no populations.
25:38
And you can't have this big journey for 200, 300 kilometers across Kansas, you know.
25:45
And I think in Europe, it's such a denser country.
25:50
You don't have those spaces. You will run into populations.
25:54
So you naturally have to have more of a circuit feel, more of a tighter technical
25:58
course, more of a hybrid road and trail together using roads to link trails.
26:05
Like that's just you ride on the on the terrain you live in. Right.
26:09
Yeah. So that does fit that UCI format of a circuit better.
26:13
You know, one of the few differences is like the Trocca in Girona.
26:16
And that's why it's like the biggest race in Europe, because it is a big journey and an adventure.
26:22
And then beyond that, I mean, I think it's even changing a little bit in the U.S.
26:26
With the new guard is that like there's there's the younger generation of gravel pro,
26:32
you know, you have your Sofia Gomez and Keegan Swenson's and
26:35
they they just want to race and they are advocating very heavily for stricter
26:40
rules and and harder closed courses and safety measures and professional only
26:47
racing versus some of the earlier riders like myself or Lauren's.
26:52
You know we want more
26:55
of like the communal all together experience and the big adventure so i do think
27:00
there's just a bit of a mindset shift but again i'm i do worry that at what
27:06
cost i mean is the race really more important than the gravel ride and there's no wrong answer and i.
27:18
I'm sorry, this is such a long answer. I'm working through this in my head as we talk.
27:21
But I think it's really just at the end of the day, my friend Sarah Sturm said
27:27
this. It's like you vote with your registration.
27:29
There are so many gravel races right now in Europe. You guys have the UCI.
27:34
You have the gravel earth, which is more of like the original American style, right? The adventure.
27:41
And then you have a bunch of other independent races. And like,
27:45
there's enough to just do what you want.
27:48
Like you can find the ride that makes sense for you.
27:51
And, and you vote with your registration. And it doesn't need to be political.
27:56
And I've learned that the hard way in that.
27:58
I mean, I will happy to share my opinion here and when anyone asks in an interview,
28:03
but at the end of the day, like it's, I don't, I'm not the commissioner or the
28:07
rulemaker for anything. Like I'm going to do it my way.
28:10
And there's other riders to do it their way. And it's all great.
28:14
Yeah no i agree with you and i'm on your side on this i am part of the gravel
28:20
community so obviously i want to continue to race and have adventures in the
28:24
community i mean it's great to see pros and but it's great to race with them
28:28
and be inspired by them and not have this division.
28:32
Luckily here in spain there are so many independent races and the gravel or
28:36
series so let's see what happens it's been really impressive watching spain,
28:42
grow in the gravel culture because I saw that little graphic from, is it Povlu?
28:50
But they had the dots of every gravel race in Spain.
28:54
It's like, oh my gosh, this is what was happening in 2021 and 2019 in the US.
29:01
Spain is a very open country, so you do have more of those adventurous routes at your fingertips.
29:09
So it's been very cool to see the the
29:12
growth happening yeah yeah and
29:15
what do you think should be you
29:18
know gravel should evolve to in terms of format of races and prize money yeah
29:27
i mean i it's really cool that there is proper prize money and we can make a
29:32
living right now racing gravel again that's gonna just like road you know,
29:37
it's going to pull riders into who come at it more from a business only angle, right?
29:42
They're not there for the lifestyle of it. They want to make their,
29:47
their money and go home and win their races.
29:49
And, uh, you know, and, and that's fine though, because I realized too,
29:54
when I was 28, you know, trying to make the Tour de France team,
29:57
that's all I cared about.
29:58
Like, and, and I have a lot more perspective after a longer career.
30:02
Right. And I.
30:05
I don't blame anyone for trying to make money racing their bike while they're at their physical peak.
30:11
I mean, as an athlete, you only have a short timeline as a professional while your body can do this.
30:17
So you should make as much money as you can. This is your career, right?
30:22
And that's pro sport. And it's any sport, right?
30:26
Whether it's Formula One or football or tennis, this is how pro sport is.
30:32
You make as much money and you do the best you can. And competition is competition
30:36
and that's universal and that's never going to change, no matter what the discipline is.
30:41
I do see, because of the professionalization of it, it is widening that gap.
30:47
It is less of the full adventure together.
30:53
And I think it was a natural evolution.
30:57
I think it's a challenge right now for organizers
31:01
to find the balance you know catering to the pros but also you know i have my
31:06
own event and i and understanding again the the magic recipe of gravel is like
31:11
the pros bring the media it's important if you want to get written about if
31:15
you want to have future registrations but they're only,
31:19
10 maybe 15 of your registrations like the primary focus of any gravel organizer
31:25
is still going to be the other 85-90% of riders,
31:28
the ones that are paying, the ones that are taking their vacation days from
31:31
their normal job to come and do this event.
31:33
And that's who you have to really focus on.
31:37
And so there has to be a blend.
31:40
And a juggling act. And it's not easy. Yeah, no.
31:44
I bet it's not for the organizers. I mean, like I said, you know, I love the mix.
31:50
I was, for example, at the migration gravel race.
31:53
Oh gosh, that looks hard. Oh yeah, it's tough.
31:56
I did the second edition and it was so cool because you have four days,
32:01
you know, because it's four stages and we had Lael Wilcox, Lachlan Morton, Tia DeMarquet.
32:08
You're just hanging out, everybody together, so much fun. I hope this format continues.
32:14
Well, and I will say those three riders are some of the original riders that
32:18
understand that formula.
32:21
So it was very cool that you got to do a race with all three of them.
32:25
And, you know, Lockie and Matia are good friends and colleagues.
32:29
I don't know Leo very well, but yeah, that was...
32:33
I do think, too, that that stage race format is actually the healthiest for
32:39
what you speak of, because it forces you to hang out for a longer time.
32:46
A one day race, you know, there are pros who only want the result or the podium
32:51
to come in, do the race, go home to their hotel, sit in their space legs,
32:57
try to get a massage and not experience.
32:59
But when you're on a safari tour or for us in the U.S., the Oregon Trail,
33:04
you're forced to hang out at camp, which is it's a good thing in the long run.
33:11
Yeah, yeah. It's a very cool format. But I was also talking here on the podcast
33:16
with Jessera that founded The Last Best Ride. Yeah.
33:19
And it's a one day race, but she also she was able to transform this one day
33:23
race in a big community weekend. So that's amazing as well. Mm hmm.
33:28
And tell me about your race. You have the dirty... Paydirt. Paydirt.
33:33
Yeah, paydirt. Sorry, not dirty.
33:35
Yeah, paydirt. For those in Europe, it's a mining term, right?
33:39
Because we're in Nevada, the silver state with the big opens, the mines, the spaces.
33:44
So when you hit paydirt or you strike it rich, that's when you find silver or
33:48
gold in the dirt, right? You struck it rich.
33:51
It's like the best dirt you can think of. So that's paydirt.
33:55
It is my effort to give back to the cycling community and create the best day
34:04
on two wheels and also use it for positive change.
34:06
It's very much a passion project in that...
34:11
It's all about everybody else. And to do that and kind of in Jess's vein or maybe the camping vein,
34:20
it's trying to force people to have a better experience together and have a
34:26
great day on the bike still.
34:28
And I think there's a way to do that while having professional competition,
34:30
but also not take it so seriously.
34:36
So we do that by having very long time segments, Kind of like an enduro mountain
34:42
bike, but actually uphills, downhills, you know, 15 to 30 K sections.
34:48
So that's how you you ride. You know, if you and I were going to go out for
34:52
a ride together, you know, we're going to get to a climb or a section of trail
34:56
and we're just going to rip it and go as hard as we can and have fun.
34:59
Or maybe I'm going to be doing an interval on a climb.
35:02
But then at the top, you stop, you wait, you have a snack, you hang out for
35:07
a minute and then you ride together until like the next fun downhill.
35:10
And so I was like, let's let's do that for paydirt. So you have a long time
35:15
section and you're on the clock and you are racing or whether you're racing
35:19
the professionals or whether you're racing your friend that you traveled with
35:23
to buy the beers that night or whatever.
35:25
You know, you want to be competitive. You have a number. You signed up for an event.
35:30
But then you cross the timing mat and there's an aid station and you can talk
35:35
and you can regroup with your friend and you can roll to the next part and then
35:40
go again. Um, and yeah, so, and that also makes the aid stations a lot more fun.
35:45
You know, we have hot dogs and full grilling picnic during the middle of the
35:49
race. And like, if you want to eat a hot dog and digest it and then race in
35:53
one hour, you can like, as long as you're back by podium time, it doesn't matter.
35:59
And we, we actually went too far in that. We even had time bonuses for silly
36:04
games the first two years and we,
36:07
But when you're trying to actually have a professional race and then the results
36:10
change because someone can throw a tire further on a field, it takes away from
36:16
the professional angle.
36:18
So I realized that I went too far and we scaled it back. So now we still have
36:21
games at the festival where you can win tires or GPS computers from Wahoo and
36:28
you don't even have to be a good bike racer.
36:30
That's really cool. Yeah. it's and we
36:33
have the format you know that you can wait for
36:36
your friends or whoever and then kill or
36:39
not and then race again i i really would like to try that that sounds really
36:43
really cool well i i yeah if you if you have any desire to come out it's may
36:48
17th in carson city nevada which is right near lake tahoe okay must be beautiful
36:54
it's it's really fun and yeah and then we you know,
36:57
I'm able to use it for affecting change in the sport too.
37:01
So women, the pro women have a big prize purse and the men don't.
37:07
It's just, you know, my whole career. And because I'm a male pro, I, unfortunately,
37:14
I, you know, I benefited from it just being a male pro, but the,
37:17
the men's race was always the main show and the women's race was shorter and
37:22
no television and earlier in the morning.
37:25
And so at Patriot, I said, I, because of, I am a male pro, I can literally just change it.
37:31
Like you can't get mad at me for hurting my own profession.
37:35
So, so we have a $10,000 women's purse for the pro women only,
37:43
and they are the focus of the professional race.
37:46
There's the media, the, all the, the focus, the favorites, the talking of the
37:52
favorites before the race, Because I believe when you create more media attention and more focus.
38:00
Like the endorsements, the bigger sponsorships come the next year, it grows from that.
38:06
So this is my small effort to create true equality in cycling.
38:12
And the men are just great. There's a really nice podium still.
38:16
There's a bunch of beer at the race.
38:18
There's still the results sheet. It's a good race. But the women,
38:22
the pro women are the focus for the competitive part.
38:25
And we have some really fast women, you know, we have Sarah Sturm coming back,
38:29
we have Heather Jackson coming back, and a bunch of the former podiums.
38:34
And then my other big thing is that juniors race free, always.
38:38
So we have our own junior race. And when I was growing up in Colorado,
38:42
the local racing scene, this was road racing, you know, in 2003, 2005.
38:49
As long as you raced in the juniors, you race for free because you should be in school.
38:53
You shouldn't be having to have a job or having to ask your parents to do bike racing.
38:58
Like that's just that's how organizers make money in an incorrect way.
39:04
Like we need to foster the future of the sport and make it healthier.
39:07
So juniors race free. If you're a very fast junior and you want to race in the
39:12
pros, you have to pay the pro entry fee.
39:14
If you want to compete for the money or the biggest prizes and you want to take
39:19
it very, very seriously.
39:20
But if you want to race in the junior category against other juniors,
39:24
your registration is zero dollars and there's a podium afterwards.
39:28
And yeah, we're trying to get more kids racing bikes.
39:32
Amazing. I love that initiative. both with the juniors and the female pros.
39:37
Kudos to you. I'll be sharing on the episode description everything about paydirt.
39:42
Oh, thank you very much. We're trying. It's a lot of fun.
39:45
I want to ask you about TRACA because I was here and part of it I was watching,
39:52
I think it was live on YouTube, and I was really ruling for you.
39:57
It was so cool to see you win. And I don't know if you know this but as i was
40:04
watching a little bit on youtube as well it was funny because they were.
40:09
The narrators i don't remember who was but they were like oh my god the americans
40:13
are coming here now and starting to win yeah but anyways jokes aside how did
40:21
it feel to to win track and i know you're coming back for 2025.
40:25
Yeah. Defend your title.
40:27
I will say easily that this is the most special win of my career.
40:33
And I didn't realize that.
40:34
I didn't know it was this big. You know, I had heard about it.
40:38
I had heard like, you know, okay, there's a race in Girona.
40:42
It's the unbound of Europe. That's what everyone in the US was saying.
40:45
It's the unbound of Europe. it's big and I
40:48
was like yeah you know I know Girona the terrain is
40:51
very cool I know it's going to be a very fun course and
40:56
you know if I'm gonna if I'm flying all the way to Spain I'm going to ride the
41:00
360 like I don't want to go to Spain for five hours I want to go to Spain for
41:03
11 hours yeah like it's a long travel and I saw some of that before you know
41:10
I heard like Paul Voss who's a good friend because he races American gravel
41:14
stuff, you know, saying like, okay,
41:16
finally, you know, Pete and some Americans are coming here to race on in our country, you know.
41:22
Which I would give them shit because my whole career, I had to go to Europe
41:25
to race roads. So don't feel bad that you have to come to America, Paul.
41:29
It's just, we're only getting even a little bit now.
41:33
But I did the race and the story of the win is why it is so special.
41:40
It's all these little bits that I know fairy tales like this do not happen in
41:45
cycling, or if they ever did, they never happened to me in my whole career.
41:48
And so it's, I was almost like, maybe I should just retire because I know a
41:54
win like this and these circumstances, it doesn't, it will not happen again, ever, I don't think.
42:00
But then after that, it was just the, it was huge.
42:04
The media around it, the, it was for all my sponsors.
42:08
I mean, the metrics are like winning a stage of the Tour de France in terms
42:12
of the impressions, the story, the, the attention. It was, it was absolutely crazy.
42:19
And I mean, yeah, it was just, it was mind blowing. So yeah,
42:23
a hundred percent I'm back.
42:24
It was very cool that Canyon was there, like the, the CEO, the CFO,
42:28
the big bosses, they were interested.
42:30
And then, you know, we had a good week with myself and Carolyn Schiff and Peter
42:35
Vakocch all doing really well.
42:36
And so they're going to be the title sponsor and go even bigger with Chaka for
42:40
2025, which is, is very cool to see.
42:43
But yeah, I mean, it was, it was a very, very special week.
42:49
Very cool i'll be here so maybe we
42:53
can catch some coffee but i'll be cheering for you oh
42:56
thank you and so do you think this will be your most rewarding personal experience
43:02
you have had off the beaten path the chaka you mean yeah i mean i would say
43:09
that i've always i've come to understand that.
43:14
The race result doesn't actually matter that much in that I,
43:19
for my job and to validate my sponsors and my career, I'm a bike racer and results
43:26
matter. You have to do some good results.
43:28
I mean, that's just, that's the basics of it.
43:31
But I am realizing that the most rewarding thing I ever did was to be the first
43:39
rider to say gravel professional,
43:42
like that term was never used before and that I am
43:46
so happy that that started something and gave a new discipline I mean a lot
43:52
of others I'm not taking the credit but it was it was an important part of making
43:57
a shift in cycling and that there is now another discipline for other riders
44:02
to make a living and to race bikes,
44:06
and I know that that is the most rewarding and a little bit my legacy of the sport was being,
44:12
the gravel pro you know the guy that left the world
44:15
tour and and i don't take that for granted and so that is someone's
44:18
going to win troca this year and i hope it's me and someone's
44:21
going to win unbound this year and troca next year and it you know the race
44:26
wins will change the times will get faster but i know right now that this my
44:31
move to gravel is the most important and rewarding thing i ever did because
44:34
i bet on myself when other people laughed at me and it's proven to be the best thing I ever did.
44:42
But in terms of actual a race story and a win, yes, the Traka is the most important personal victory.
44:51
And it's equally up there in terms of, you know, having a big part of the 2012
44:57
Giro d'Italia when Ryder Hezgetal won that.
44:59
But obviously, selfishly, the personal victory is always a little more special. Of course.
45:06
Yeah, absolutely. you did start a
45:08
movement when you became the first pro gravel
45:12
rider and like i said watching you
45:15
win the track was a highlight even for me
45:18
thank you i i felt the love from around the
45:21
world and the amount of messages that came in and and it
45:25
was it was still the most beautiful day just because of
45:28
all the little things that the
45:31
unexpected circumstances more than just crossing
45:34
the line you know so yeah no
45:37
my husband was also racing the 360 and i was i knew
45:40
he wouldn't get the message but i i you know it's one
45:43
of those things that you want to share with you know we of course
45:45
we both love cycling so i'm like is that no
45:48
one thank you yeah
45:51
yeah and i
45:54
just want to touch on a little personal note because it's something
45:57
that you shared publicly about your
46:01
twins i think we've been through that tough road
46:04
with you a little bit oh i'm just so happy that
46:07
oh no no no hard yeah just
46:10
watching your your journey not me personally oh but sorry my english getting
46:16
in the way yeah no just happy that the twins are well but just want to check
46:21
in how is family life how is everything and how you balance because you have
46:25
a you're not on world tour but your own tour Yeah.
46:29
No, it's yeah. For those who didn't quite understand my comment,
46:33
then I guess we had a very hard journey to become parents, multiple years of
46:39
trying and fertility treatment.
46:40
And we're open about it because it's a struggle that many people feel like they
46:46
have to suffer with quietly.
46:48
And we said, screw that. Like, we're still proud. And we have our twins,
46:52
one boy and one girl, and they're the best thing ever.
46:56
It's they're two and a half and they're healthy
46:59
and they are spicy and the personalities are coming out very differently in
47:05
the best and the worst of ways and it's it's so hard but it's so much fun and
47:12
it's yeah for sure I think every parent can relate but it's been a journey yeah Yeah,
47:18
it changes the race calendar and the job in that I know when I have to leave
47:25
for a race now, it's more important to make it count.
47:29
I can't just leave to screw around.
47:33
You know, like if you sometimes you want to quit, I think it gives me an extra
47:37
reason to stay in the fight.
47:39
And to do it right. And even training, you know, it's less coffee stops and
47:45
more like, okay, I got to get back because the nanny is off at four o'clock.
47:50
And, you know, but and it's also making the race calendar much more dedicated.
47:58
It's, you know, I can't.
48:00
Unfortunately, I would love to stay in Girona for three days after Trocca and
48:03
do the sponsor requests and the photo shoots and the meetings because I'm finally
48:08
in Europe with European sponsors.
48:10
And I just I have to say I can't like my wife has been alone with the twins,
48:15
even though we have a nanny for work hours, like she's been alone with the twins
48:18
now on weekends for two weeks.
48:21
And I, you know, I have to go home like it's because then she will break.
48:26
So the The race calendar is very much dedicated on on looking at the blocks
48:32
of knowing when I can travel.
48:34
And then there's this much time after for family recovery, not not my physical
48:39
recovery as a bike racer, but family recovery at home for everybody else and
48:44
spend time with those little kids.
48:46
So it changes everything I do around it because I do want to be a present parent
48:50
and be there for a lot of things.
48:53
Yeah i bet it takes a lot to balance can't imagine
48:56
a pro schedule and being
49:01
home so i see how you have to run quote-unquote after races to get back home
49:07
and now you can can't stick around yeah i just had the first race of the year
49:11
this weekend the grass it's a local race but you know it's always important
49:15
to start and support your local races and have a little test and you know i
49:19
I won the grasshopper race,
49:20
which is great to start the season off with a win in the best way.
49:23
But then literally Sunday night, like my daughter woke up at three thirty the
49:28
night after a race and I had to get up with her and just get her to calm down.
49:32
And she went back to bed, but data did not.
49:35
So data got a good hard race and then five hours of sleep.
49:40
But that's that's life.
49:42
Yeah. Yeah, it's part of life. But they grow, and then we miss those moments,
49:47
you know? It's good memories.
49:49
Okay. I'll take your word for it.
49:53
And so what's next for you in
49:56
2025? Any big events besides track-out or projects you are excited about?
50:02
Yeah, I've released my calendar a few weeks ago.
50:05
It's been a big work in progress because I like to connect with every organizer
50:09
that I'm going to and speak with them and, you know, understand if this is worth
50:15
it, you know, for me to come there,
50:18
and to create a calendar that's very much a blend of, I think going all the
50:23
way back to the beginning of our conversation, I can't just follow only the
50:27
biggest races every time because it's only this day in gravel.
50:32
It's only about the race and the result a little too much. So I know if I have
50:36
a good balance of adventurous races and maybe smaller races,
50:42
that's how I fill my gravel community cup.
50:46
Because then I can show up to the biggest races, such as Unbound or the Chaka, and be like...
50:53
This is, it's time to only race, you know, and, and I can be okay with that.
50:57
So that's how I feel kind of both sides of, of my cup of my boat.
51:03
And yeah, but I mean, it's, I'm also for the first time, I'm not going to do
51:08
the lifetime Grand Prix in just that I've done it for three years and,
51:13
and I want gravel has always been about exploration and a new adventure.
51:17
You know, I think it's clear from this conversation. I had the most success
51:21
doing it my way and following my heart.
51:24
And for me, that means new experiences. There's so many races that I hear people talk about.
51:29
And to do well in the Grand Prix here in the US, it meant really only focusing
51:35
on six races and everything else was extra.
51:38
And I can't do that for my internal piece.
51:42
So I will still do some of the lifetime gravel races.
51:46
But this year is very much about races that are new to me that I want or that actually suit me.
51:55
Again, if I'm going to leave my family, I'm not going to go to a mountain bike
51:59
race that I'm not going to do very well at, that my wife is just going to be
52:04
like, why did you leave our family so you could go get 15th in a mountain bike race that you suck at?
52:11
Because I am also a realist and I have to be very blunt and I hope you don't
52:16
take this egotistically, but just where I am in my career at this point is,
52:21
my sponsors expect a winner, a podium, and I expect that from myself,
52:24
so I need to go to races where I can do that.
52:29
You have to make a count. I don't see it as egotistic, and I also love that
52:35
you are following your heart as well while doing that and showing up at local races.
52:42
A lot of people are doing just what's trendy and.
52:46
I mean, you are pro, you have that bug. You want to be in the podium.
52:50
Yeah. It's a given. Yeah.
52:53
Yeah. Yeah. So it's about finding that balance.
52:56
But yeah, the big races I attend, they're only races that I do think I can podium or win.
53:02
And where can listeners follow your journey and upcoming races?
53:06
Is Instagram the best spot? Yeah.
53:09
Instagram is the main focus, along with Strava. That's a really good one for
53:13
me. It's popular where I live.
53:16
And I make a bigger effort with, you know, photos and titles.
53:20
And then I do have the website with the schedule and any media projects that
53:26
I'm taking on and stuff. It's just peterstetna.com.
53:29
So those three are my focus.
53:31
Awesome. I'll share everything on the episode description. I know we're on the
53:34
top of the hour, so I want to be honest with what we agree.
53:40
And really thank you for sharing your journey with me and the listeners.
53:45
And I wish you all the best for 2025 and hopefully I get to see you in Girona
53:51
and even better on top of the podium at Traca.
53:55
Oh, thank you. Yeah, I'm excited to come back for that.
53:59
Thank you so much.
54:02
And that's all for today's episode. I want to thank the listeners for tuning in.
54:07
Your support means everything. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider
54:11
following, leaving a review and sharing it with your friends. Thank you.
54:15
Music.