Registration for Stetina's Paydirt, a gravel race organized by Peter Stetina, will open at 8 a.m. PDT on Thursday. The race will be held on September 11 in the Pine Nut Mountains.

Amity Rockwell, Maude Farrell, Kathy Pruitt, Andrea Dvorak, and Casey Armstrong form part of a strong women's field, and more names could be registered in the coming weeks. The men's race will be held on the same day, with both competitors tackling 4,600 ft. of climbing on the 65-mile course.

"The move to gravel has led me to explore the other side of the valley from Lake Tahoe, where I live part time, and although I didn't have Strava or trail maps, I planned a gravel route and named it "Stetina'," reminiscent of mining culture and western style, in 2020. COVID canceled it, but it gave us a year to settle in a bit more.

The race embraced much of the culture that made gravel so popular in North America. Not only does the $4,000 prize money provide an incentive to increase the women's field, but it also offers non-racing competitions, and riders can earn time bonuses.

"What sets us apart," says Stetina, "is the western theme, the time bonuses, and the women's challenge.

"The latter is my role in trying to foster equality within the sport. In my career, if there has been a women's race, it has been early in the morning, and it has often been treated as the opening act for the 'main show,' but I want to help foster equality in the sport, and I have been racking my brain about how to do that."

"I have been thinking about how I can help foster equality in the sport."

"So I decided to make the women the stars of the show. The men still get to be on the podium, get great prizes, great beer, and great races. But the women, and I personally believe that more exposure can lead to more pay and everything else that their hard work deserves. We have enlisted Shimano to help us organize the Shimano Paydirt Challenge with a total prize pool of $4,000.

"We hope men will not be put off by this. I think we should all strive for 50-50 participation and we can all play a small part in achieving 50-50 in the future. I hope this does not put some men off. Rather, I hope it will encourage many of my male colleagues to support their female colleagues and enjoy the course and the boatloads of beer at the finish. There will be a podium, prizes, and a great time for the men."

"It's not just a classic race by time. There are time bonuses as well. There are mechanical bulls and tire barrel tosses. Bonuses are given, so the podium depends on the final challenge. It's totally different."

Stetina now has more than just his own event in mind, as the centerpiece of his racing season, Unbound Gravel, is just a week away. Formerly known as Dirty Kanza, the race pits elite American gravel riders against European World Tour pros, as well as the likes of Lawrence ten Dam, who won the Gravel Locos over Stetina, and 2019 Unbound winner Colin Strickland.

"Right now I'm focusing all my energy on training and unbound. That's where all the chips are. Then there is the Oregon Trail stage race." Stetina said.

The former Trek-Segafredo pro finished in the top 10 in the 155-mile gravel loco but suffered an unfortunate flat tire in the finale and was eliminated from contention for the win.

"I'm satisfied," said Segafredo. It was really good to see the fitness of the other riders and I was surprised how well Lawrence was doing. At the same time, everyone was there. It was tactical in the mud and everybody was attacking each other one after the other.

"He was the strongest and jumped out, but if I hadn't gotten a flat tire with about 30km to go, things might have been different. I'm not satisfied, but I have two more weeks to dot my "I "s and cross my "T "s. The World Tour athletes are racing in the spring, you know."