Blogs by Professional Cyclists - Professional Cycling Unplugged™

So after enough peer pressure I’m on twitter.  It’s a career move.

www.twitter.com/peterstetina

I’ll actually make an effort to keep it up and interesting.  stalk me.

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Posted under ROAD BIKE

I’ll be here:

http://www.thereef.com/reefathlon

Come check it out, could always use more people if you’re looking to escape to paradise this holiday season.

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Posted under ROAD BIKE

VIDEO!!!

Stage 4 of the 2009 Tour of Utah is its “queen” stage, including three major mountain climbs, with the stage finishing at the top of the final climb at Snowbird ski resort.

In the video, Peter talks about this stage and his near crash and strong finish–the stage was won by his teammate and close friend Alex Howes and Peter finished 8th on the stage.  Peter also discusses other stages, costly mistakes, and his “secret” recovery drink.

Peter in the final 300 meters of Stage 4.

Peter getting interviewed after Stage 4.

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Posted under ROAD BIKE

So here I am sitting in the Bend airport flying back to Colorado from cascade/nationals.  We swept nationals! Alex took out the Road Race and criterium, I repeated my TT win from a year ago!  And with this win I got to pee in a cup.

This was probably the worst experience I’ve ever had during a drug test.  The day was over 100 degrees, and every finisher was dehydrated.  I follow the USADA chaperone over to the extraordinarily sanitized porta-potties and fill out the routine paperwork. “Can you pee now?” they ask.  Not a chance, my mouth feels like I’ve been chewing on cotton for an hour.  So I start slamming propels, power-aids, water, anything and everything I can get my hands on.

I continue to be patient, contracting my abs every once in a while to see if the bladder is filling up, and nothing is happening, except my head is feeling thick.  The thick feeling slowly morphs into a searing headache (what I would later find out is the cause of pounding too much liquid when its hot and it rushes into your cells too fast instead of running thru to your kidneys right away).

So now I have given a partial sample and have a pounding headache, a tongue coated red with sugary sports drinks and have to sit next to a porta-potty until I can give another 45ml.  That’s it, only 45ml.  Well I cant. Eventually I think I can get a little more out and only squeeze out 20ml.  For those of you who don’t know me, I’m stubborn.  I made the guy stand in there and stare at me for 10 minutes while I squeezed out drop by drop to finally get 90ml exactly, none to spare.

I rode back to the hotel and sure enough barely made it home because I had to pee so badly.  I proceeded to go every 30 minutes for the rest of the day!  I remember thinking I should have lost just so I wouldn’t have to go through this, but now I am sure, it was worth it, by just a drop.

By the way, the world record for sitting in doping control is 8 hours!  I guess there is some lady from New Zeeland that regularly sits 7-8 hours due to dehydration/ stage fright.  I got it good.

On another note, check this out: Colbert on the TdF and Lance vs. Contador. Hilarious.

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/240129/july-29-2009/sport-report—tour-de-france—robotic-baseball

-Pete

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Posted under ROAD BIKE

Hokay, So… it’s been a long time since I wrote anything about anything, but a lot has happened.  Here’s the quickie, for me but also mostly for you, my American ADD-followers.  I’m not insulting, I watch the news sometimes, and I, like many others enjoy the quick informative stuff, here goes:

•    The last stage of Gila straight sucked.  I had to take an emergency pit stop on a descent and lost lots of time.  Drove back to Boulder and ate an entire bag of gourmet Aussie Licorice along the way.  Talked to some Docs, found out I have Giardia, its been hiding since Tour of Mexico, flaring up occasionally when I go really hard.
•    So I have two choices: don’t go hard or take meds.  Seeing as the former is out of the question, I hop on the antibiotics and some medical grade pro-biotics (that good stuff in yogurt).
•    Finish the meds the day I fly to Europe and go train in Luxembourg, beautiful country.  Julian makes it over here finally and we go to France.  But first I get a stomach virus and 5/6 guys for the French race have diarrhea and cramps.
•    Set up shop in the Pyrenees with great weather and lots of toilet paper.  Find a sweet church with the stairway to heaven footpath leading up the mountainside through 7 sanctuaries.  I pray to the climbing gods.

•    My prayers are answered!  First win in Europe!!!! I won a mtn top finish at the Ronde de L’Isard, a prestigious u23 race heavily scouted for climbing potential.  I must have been light from all the poopin’… To the victor go the spoils.

•    The poopin’ has left me with no reserves, get dropped on the next mtn day. Bummer.  Oh well I won something! Finally!
•    Fly home and promptly catch a cold.  I now have 2 sicknesses in 1.5 weeks.  And all form has left my body.  Crap.
•    Dyanna loves me though and makes me a huge cheesecake, I eat it all, save for a few gratuity slices.  Boy do I love cheesecake.
•    I come to Quebec for the u23 nations cup and Tour de Beauce.  10 race days (12 races) in 11 days.  My own mini grand tour.  This should get the system shocked back into racing after being under right? Not, I have no “pop,” my legs feel like gnarled tree trunks and it hurts to just sit in the field.  I have a decent ride in the TT and get 7th and come to Beauce.
•    Legs still aren’t coming around but I’m not getting worse every day, actually I’m getting ever so slightly better.  Maybe by the final stage Sunday I’ll feel like a bike racer again.
•    I suffer like a dog and got into the break of 3 on stage 2!  We worked super well together and stayed away until the end! Success!  I got third, no “pop” still and the field was nipping at our heels so I sold out and rode hard to get 3rd instead of getting caught inside the last kilometer.  I’m happy and proud considering my lack of form now.
•    Really wanted to try and win the TT this morning, however I went off course 300m in.  A car was on course right in front of me, going my speed with their lights flashing.  So naturally I thought it was a race official.  Wrong.  When the course marshal signals for the car to turn I turn with it.  Suddenly I’m in traffic and stopped.  Motivation=dead.  2 days left.  I am pretty pissed right now but will transfer that into my racing.  Eyes will bleed!

Think that’s aboot it eh?  I can’t wait to get home and take a much-needed mid-season break.  Drink some margs at the Rio, brew some brews, cruiser ride, and train smart and be flying in July.  I got 5 weeks off travel until Cascade, and I know I can find those legs I had to win in those French mtns.

Despite setbacks with sicknesses, I am optimistic!  I find strength in the fact that I’m still finishing back to back stage races even with my form on a season-low, and now believe that once this is all figured out I will be that much faster and tougher.

um… yeah… quebec. haha.

Ever seen a real life oompa-loompa?  she thought i was taking a pic kuz she was hot.  I guess I managed to keep the willy-wonka song mute til after she passed. no one should be this tan, in Belgium!

-Pete

(6 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)

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Posted under NON-BIKE, ROAD BIKE