Pete Stetina is the winningest BWR Waffleur of all time with six victories. Here is his BWR UT recap.
By Pete Stetina — The Utah BWR has treated me well in the past, having won 2 of 3 appearances. However, in addition to the springtime calendar shift, we all see how competitive the pro gravel field has gotten. While a lot of my gravel career has been attributed to BWR successes, in 2023 I’d gotten completely shut out and it has been a while since I’d won a big time gravel race with a truly deep field. Chalk it up to bad luck, stiffer competition, starting a family, or maybe a combination of those, but the truth is I arrived in Utah hungry and if I’m honest, a bit desperate to make my mark again and set my 2024 campaign in the right direction.
I’ll gloss over the route changes and the cold weather, that’s been described at length. What I will say is that it required another level of tactical planning. The high elevation sun can feel warmer than it is but the sub-freezing start meant strategic layering would be key. Another factor was the wind, it would tend to play out like a road race and a non selective one at that for the first 90 minutes due to headwinds.
As for the route’s tactics, everyone knew I would be the climber to watch, and everyone knew the technical sectors through the jeep trails and Three Peaks singletrack would be where the MTB specialists would try and gain an advantage.
The race was negative and slow as expected until we hit the jeep trail after Rollers for Rouleurs. Adam Roberge obviously had the same idea as I did to get ahead of the MTBers, and had jumped away before. I made a big effort to sprint into that sector second and began to break the field over the rougher terrain. A few other riders were keen to contribute but Alexis Cartier was moving to the front and blocking the narrow trail to slow us. It became clear what we are now calling the “Poutine Maffia” (aka Quebec compatriots) were working together. I had to shout at the other riders to realize what he was doing and we had to spend a lot of bullets fighting for position in that trail to make any headway…
The Three Peaks trails (dries pieken) didn’t disappoint and were extremely selective. I surprised myself a bit and was able to keep a good pace. I’d been worried about having to chase all day after that sector. I’d spent some bullets, but with the race being shorter than previous years, I was confident in using more aggression.
Andrew L’Esperance put some impressive skills to the test, passed us all, and took a hefty lead exiting Three Peaks. He had 20 seconds but it quickly ballooned out as no one in the chase really wanted to collaborate. About 60% of the group was keen to roll but there were enough games going on from others that we couldn’t ever get any flow. His gap began to grow over one minute and while we slowly began our ascent up KOMbewaren it was more annoying than anything with riders skipping pulls. As the pitch steepened near the top I got a small gap and only a young Bjorn Larsen followed. “To hell with it” I murmured, knowing the guys behind would struggle to get any cohesion. We turned into the tailwind downhill and quickly bridged to Lespy.
Now this was a group I was into! We were all committed; rolling smoothly and strongly. The tailwind would make it harder for the bigger group to chase even if they did regroup. We managed the gap and entered the ruthless Muur van Kannarraberg with about a minute and a half.
Here’s where the tactics disappear and it’s just about legs and suffering. I went all in on my preferred terrain and opened up a gap on my companions, additionally I went quicker than the chasers and had nearly 2 minutes by the top. This race was mine, or so I thought.
Due to the cold and the altitude I started to feel twinges of cramps that would only intensify. And I still had 20 miles of windy undulating terrain back to the finish!
There’s nothing romantic about those final 45 minutes: I died a thousand deaths, time-trialing in purgatory over the 4 chasers hunting me down. All the while damning the organizers for adding all the additional pavement and just praying the finish line would come soon. It was only when I turned into the tailwind for the final 2 miles I knew I had it. Sight of the finish arch melted the cramps as agony transformed to joy and overriding relief. I’d nabbed my 3rd BWR Utah and 6th BWR ever. It’s only getting harder again these young and hungry pros, so this was immensely gratifying.
While the win means a lot to me, what I’m most pleased about was my attention to detail throughout the day. stripping layers pre-determinedly, anticipating that race, and in general making sure I actually got to the Kannarraberg with the best chance of success. I can’t say I won by being the strongest, but rather by strategically dismantling the race and engineering the scenarios for myself. That’s what gives me pleasure.
I now lead the series with a slim margin over Torbjorn Roed, it all comes down to California in a few weeks!
Utah resident, Bjorn Larson, put some of Gravel’s stars on notice. Here’s his recap!
By Bjorn Larson — This was one of the coldest race starts I have ever done. Being a Midwesterner, I thought I was prepared for it, but I was mistaken. When the race started, it seemed like everyone’s legs were a bit cold. The group was slow moving through town and there wasn’t a huge fight for positioning. We hit the first gravel section, and the pace started to pick up. I knew a tunnel coming up in a few miles would be a pinch point, so I did my best to stay near the front to be one of the first through. Once we passed through there, it was game on. A few riders got on the front and tried to create some separation. Although, due to the wind and a lack of cohesion, the group swelled in size. For the next 20ish miles, we all rolled together as no one wanted to take up the front due to the headwind.
Fast forward to mile 35 and the race finally started to come alive. We turned off the main gravel road onto a small two-track path. The pace started to pick up and I found myself near the back of the group. I quickly realized this was where the first separation of the day would occur. I then put an effort in to get towards the front of the group. Once I got to the front, I saw Adam Roberge snuck off the front and had 30 seconds on the group. As soon as our group started to lull I launched an attack to bridge up to Adam. I made it within a few seconds of him before the pack turned on the gas and caught me. However, those efforts slimmed our group down immensely.
As we approached the mountain bike section, there were around 8 of us in the lead pack. I knew my bike handling skills were subpar compared to those around me, so I backed off and let them gap me. I was solo for about ⅔ of the sector before Joe Goettl and Lance Haidet caught me. After we exited those trails, we had our work cut out for us. The lead pack had over a minute on us and the headwind was growing stronger. The three of us turned ourselves inside out and finally caught onto the group. Fortunately, the lead pack’s pace slowed, allowing us to recover and catch our breath.
