It’s that time of year where we all probably start thinking about what the future might bring, but also reviewing how this year went. What went well? What do we need to work on? What shall we just gloss over and pretend never happened? It’s not just Joe Public who do this of course, the cycling industry having been doing it too. Canyon sent over their version of a “year in gravel” featuring two of their sponsored riders, former Unbound winner Carolin Schiff and ‘the original gravel privateer” Pete Stetina. We’ve cherry picked some of the highlights from their year to share with you.
When she won the 2023 edition of Unbound, former pro-road racer Carolin Schiff, who races for the Canyon CLLCTV gravel team, really launched herself onto the gravel scene as a top-level gravel racer. 2024 saw her continuing her winning ways with overall victory in the 2024 UCI Gravel World Series and piloting herself to the top step of the podium in the 200km event at the Traka for good measure.
Pete Stetina, another former road-pro who now races as a privateer but is supported by Canyon, had an equally stellar 2024, with victories on both sides of the pond – he won the Belgian Waffle Ride Series in the USA and The Traka 360 in Europe. He managed to get on the podium across almost the entire year, with victory in the Grasshopper gravel race in January and finishing his season with a third place at Big Sugar in October.
When asked for some insight into what made their 2024 seasons so successful, both riders gave completely different responses. “I did a small gravel race in Girona this year and I noticed that I wasn’t as good as some of the local riders when it came to riding downhill.“ Carolyn said. She continued “I spoke to Canyon about this and they immediately arranged a downhill training camp for me. It was so good and I learned so much that I was able to put those new skills to the test and win the Traka 200 for the second time in my career.”
Pete on the other hand put his victory in the Traka360 down to just one thing – determination. After an early puncture put him nearly seven minutes down on the lead group, he had almost given up hope of victory, but he joined forces with a fellow racer and they spent six hours chasing the lead group, before eventually Pete soloed away for victory. This is how he summarised what happened “For sure I thought we were going to be dropped once we came back to the front group after the long chase, but on the most important climb of the day the defending champion attacked and only Rob and I were able to keep the pace.”
When asked about their plans for 2025, the two riders have quite different visions. Carolin has a big focus on the 2025 UCI World Gravel Series with fifteen events currently pencilled into her schedule. She will also be racing The Traka 200, Unbound 200 and a number of smaller races too. Pete on the other hand, is changing his focus “Gravel racing has always been a continual exploration for me. I came to this by following my heart and wanting a new adventure. As gravel has professionalised, I’ve been pulled into the same pro game as my road days by chasing the same wins again and again. It’s become standardised so next year it’s going to be more about quality over quantity and with the focus on races that truly suit me. That’s meant I’ve omitted my name from Life Time Grand Prix series. Instead, I’ll race the Traka, Unbound and some BWRs the Gravel Earth Series and also some new adventures along the way. I always want to bring it back to those roots of what made gravel special in the first place for me, which were the lifestyle and social aspects. The adventure is the best part and I need to let that be my North Star.”
It's always interesting to see what kind of bike set-ups the pros use and Canyon has given a detailed breakdown for each rider. Carolin will be running the following:
- Canyon Grail CFR
- Integrated Canyon down-sweep gravel bar
- Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 shifters and brakes
- Shimano Dura Ace di2 12spd derailleurs and crankset (with 165mm cranks) with a powermeter fitted
- 50-34 chainrings, 11-34 cassette
- DTSwiss GRC 1100 Dicut carbon wheels
- Schwalbe G-One RS/R/RX tyres in either a 700x40 or 700x45mm fitting.
- Wahoo Element Roam bike computer
- Shimano XTR SPD pedals
Pete’s setup isn’t that different:
- Canyon Grail CFR size M
- 90mm stem and integrated Canyon down-sweep gravel bar
- Shimano GRX Di2 shifters and brakes
- Shimano Dura Ace di2 12spd derailleurs and crankset with a powermeter fitted
- 50-34 chainrings, 11-34 cassette
- Shimano GRX Carbon wheels
- IRC Tyres (usually 700x42c)
- Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt computer
- PRO Turnix carbon rail saddle
While both Carolin and Pete are going to race-focussed again in 2025, they both mentioned that racing isn’t just about winning “it’s about adventure, friendship, fun, camaraderie and pushing yourself and your machine to the absolute limits”. That sounds like something that all gravel riders, whether they are top ranked professional racers or enthusiastic weekend warriors can agree on!
If you’d like to follow Carolin and Pete in 2025, check out their Insta accounts. If you’d like to find out more about their Canyon Grail CFR bikes, head over to Canyon’s website.
Images courtesy of Canyon.