Stetina: I was literally googling how to start a new job with no college degree

The transfer market can be a cold and difficult place, particularly if you’re coming off the back of a difficult season.

Peter Stetina was already making post-retirement plans when Trek-Segafredo offered him a lifeline. The 31-year-old American has been a professional for over a decade but thought that his career was over when he struggled to find a contract as the season's end approached.

An undiagnosed illness had marred the opening half of his season and he found himself digging a deeper hole as he tried to find the form to get the results he needed. However, a string of solid performances at the Italian one-day Classics in the autumn – and a gap left by Ivan Sosa’s move to Team Sky – was enough to secure Stetina a last-minute deal for 2019, and he’s taking the opportunity with both hands.

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“I went through that period in the summer and fall of pushing and trying to prove everything. You get to the point where you can’t keep waiting for someone else to make your life decision for you, that’s not a healthy way to live,” Stetina told Cyclingnews.

“I was struggling mentally with that and I realised that I had to take my future into my own hands and as I started doing it, luckily Trek-Segafredo did decide to keep me. I had those results in those one-day races and they did have faith again. It wasn’t too late because I was committed to finishing out the season as if it was my last.”

“I was literally googling how to start a new job with no college degree. I had some plans in the works and I had a new project that I was pretty passionate about, but in the end, Trek-Segafredo came back and wanted me to continue and that was still the first choice. This is the best job in the world and I’m coming at it with fresh motivation.”

Getting back on track

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