The cycling legend talks his movie script finish, working with a coach again, dedication, and fatherhood

👋 Good morning and happy Friday! Welcome to the Front Pack newsletter, your source for all things endurance. Click here for the web edition.

Hope everyone is having a great week. I know I’m feeling energized. Not only do we have some merch (t-shirts and hoodies) in the works; but our ultimate goal of launching the Front Pack online endurance community is moving along. Lots of conversations happening in the background with more to come. For now, enjoy this weeks interview with cycling pro, Peter Stetina. Dude is all class.

Stay moving…✌🏼 – Scott

Headlines

Long Earns Top Spot: American Sam Long has been dominating the triathlon world this season in what feels like an impossibly tough schedule. After 5 races in as many months, Long grabbed the win by 7 minutes and course record at IRONMAN 70.3 St. George with a final time of 3:39:17. With 2 wins, and 3 second place finishes in 2024, the self-coached 28-year-old is now the PTO’s top ranked male. In the women’s race, Paula Findlay (CAN) won with a time of 4:09:27, grabbing her first win of the season after placing 3rd at Oceanside, and 5th at the T100 Miami. Read more…

A 61% Completion Rate: Is exactly how things shook out at the Miwok 100k in California. Rainy weather made for a tough day as only 252 of 497 starters finished. In a competitive women’s race, Lindsey Dwyer came out on top (10:44:54) and finished fifth overall. In the men’s race, Robert Ressl put forth a dominant effort, winning by nearly an hour in 9:06:08. Read more…

USA vs. Everybody: It’s often wondered is the United States has the best gravel cyclists in the world. After this weekend, that question may have gotten some clarity because at The Traka 360, a Girona-based event that is a focal point for the European gravel scene, it was North American riders taking the top 3 spots. Peter Stetina who has been on a heater in 2024 lead the charge, coming from far back to take the win, followed by Canada’s Rob Britton who was close behind. On the women’s side, American Sarah Sturm claimed 3rd with Karolina Migon (POL) winning. Read more…

Meanwhile

The one time use $500 Adidas Marathon shoe [A Review]: It’s true, Adidas advertises the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 as a simple shoe and “optimized” for one marathon. An interesting choice of words, check out the full review of this super shoe and if they are indeed optimized for 26 miles only or can they reach hundreds of miles. Spoiler alert: They hold up for that whooping $500 price tag. Read more…

OMG, Daaadddddddddd: At the Orange County Marathon, Esteban Prado, a 24-year-old long-distance runner, led for almost all of marathon when he received unauthorized assistance from an individual on a bicycle. That person, his dad. Though he went on to win, he ultimately lost after he was DQ’d after the finish. Read more…

Zwift will cost you more $$$: Beginning June 6th, Zwift is raising it’s price for all members. That a 33% increase and for those in the US, you’ll go from $14.99 to $19.99 for monthly subscriptions, and from $149.99 to $199.99 for annual subscriptions. DC Rainmaker did a good job pulling together pricing for all your typical training platforms these days. Read more…

5 Questions with … Peter Stetina

This week we spoke with the legendary Peter Stetina, former WorldTour pro, early adopter of gravel, beer geek, husband, and father. Thank you for taking the time for “5 Questions …” 

Firstly, Congrats on your BWR triple crown victory and following it up with a huge win last weekend in Girona, reminding the rest of the world how good our American pros are at gravel racing. For those that don’t follow, at The Traka 360, Stetina was 8 minutes down after 100 km and superhumanly clawed his way back to win.

1) From your interviews following The Traka 360, there was so much joy and excitement behind your words, and photos. This win seemed like it felt different, that it was truly dug from the deepest parts of your soul. Would that be accurate and how much fun are you having right now? 

That is very accurate, because it was the unlikeliest of scenarios. It was a come from behind movie script complete with personal history, family in my aid instead of industry staff, and good and bad luck. Rob and I couldn’t believe we’d gone from 8 minutes down to 1-2, it wasn’t in our wildest dreams. I’ve raced over 20 years and in pro sport these fairy tales don’t often happen. It was the furthest thing from a perfect race but rather a story of never giving up and serendipity. I guess I cashed a career’s worth of karma in one day! But I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.

Yes, I am having so much fun racing gravel these days. Making this switch was the best thing I’ve done in cycling. You can always find a story or adventure, it’s not just about racing.

2) It must feel incredible to get these early results you’ve seen so far this season; how much of a confidence boost has it been and did you prepare any differently heading into 2024, or are you just hitting on your fitness and stride at the right time? 

It’s definitely a “monkey off the back” sort of feeling. No matter how the rest of the season goes, it’s already a successful one. Not that I’m mailing it in, I’m still very motivated but I don’t have a feeling of needing to prove something. The big change is I’ve been working with a coach again since spring of 2023: Dennis Van Winden of Orange Seal Academy. Something I haven’t done since leaving the World Tour. The other thing is family life is finally settling down and we’re hitting our stride a bit. It’s been a real adjustment becoming a parent and juggling all that entails. I’ve been trying to be a pro athlete but still a present and engaged parent while competing against younger racers who don’t have the same life commitments yet. It’s been a juggling act for sure.

3) At 36, the competition has never been more fierce. What are you seeing in the younger cyclists today that maybe you didn’t see or do yourself when you were coming up or in your 20s?

I see a lot of the same actually. I feel like gravel has gotten to the point where the lifestyle demands are similar to the World Tour I left. That’s awesome, gravel is a legit discipline in its own right, no longer an alternative calendar. The thing is I can’t make those same sacrifices. I came to gravel for the openness and community, for me it’s a lifestyle first and a race second. But I also don’t blame my younger colleagues for focusing exclusively on results: When I was 26 I was focused only on diet, training camps, and trying to make the TdF roster. I just have a different set of objectives nowadays because I’ve been in the sport so long.

4) You left the WorldTour behind in 2020 and it’s now 2024. With the LTGP being 2 disciplines and 7 events, would you be a proponent of the series adding some road races in the future to make things even more diverse or what other changes could they make to future years to make the series even better.

Levis Gran Fondo this year was a road race run in gravel format with a big prize purse for the pros. It was a smashing success and felt gravelesque in nature but road tactics played a deeper role. It would be very cool to have something like that in the LTGP.

I’m not sure what they need to change, they are leading the way but there’s a lot of other amazing series like Gravel Earth and BWR Triple Crown, or individual events. I can’t allow myself to focus on just one series, to give all of my effort to only the LTGP. But I love what they’re doing and want to support them.

5) Lastly. You’re a father to twins. It’s an incredible feeling (I have two kids of my own). For all of the rest of the dad’s, how has it changed your perspective in life and as a pro cyclist. Are you more focused than ever, is time management more locked in. What’s your philosophy or mantra these days for the rest of us.

It’s definitely all about time management! It’s a weird dynamic when, as a pro your body is your job, but as a parent your personal health comes second. I don’t have any good advice, because I’m a new parent, my kids are 2. I’m the amateur here looking for advice! 

The one thing I can say is that fatigue is more a mindset. I feel obliterated every night I go to bed, but the power numbers are somehow staying the same. I guess I’m just stressing different systems? Staying healthy with toddlers is something I’m still figuring out though!

Training Tips

Because training is life.

How This Swimmer Held 1:12/100m…For 4 Hours!: Marathon swimmer Andy Donaldson talks about his freestyle technique that allows him to be one of the best in the world.

I Made Three Simple Nutrition Changes (Fast at 41): At the age of 41, Cam Nicholls highlights three critical / life changing nutrition strategies. From carb intake, lunch time changes, and macronutrient focuses.

Flat Bar Gravel Bike Vs Drop Bar Mountain Bike: A fun experiment, discover the unexpected results of a flat bar gravel bike and a hardtail drop bar bike.

Rewatchables

Content for long training days inside or just everyday life.

Crit Dreams: Against the quaint backdrop of quiet suburban houses and local bike races, a story about humanity, redemption, identity, love and sacrifice unfolds. This is American Cycling.

Can Simon Survive America’s Toughest Gravel Race Series?: Invitation only, the world’s best gravel riders compete for a $300,000 prize purse in Life Time Grand Prix – the toughest gravel racing series there is. So how did Simon manage to get an invite? Thanks to Pinarello and a mega-bike influenced by Tom Pidcock, he’s going to take on some of the top pros in the Sea Otter Classic event. But can he survive this brutal course?

Head Above Water | An Ultra Documentary: Alex Staniforth is no stranger to overcoming challenges, having survived the two biggest disasters in Mount Everest history as a teenager and suffering from ill mental health, epilepsy, stammer and bullying since school. An adventurer, ultra-runner, author and charity founder, he is now the fastest person ever to climb all 100 UK county tops by human power and in 2020 he ran the National Three Peaks Challenge – covering 452 miles in just 9 days and 12 hours. This film explores Alex’s journey of identity, discovery and recovery, and his ambitious attempt at a comeback challenge – the Frog Graham Round.