Interview Petra Stiasny

Last year she left big names like Realini, Van Empel and Niedermaier all behind her in a queen's stage. This year, Petra Stiasny keeps working to become a better climber every day. The 22 years old Swiss riders is currently doing her third full season in the World Tour and is preparing for a strong end of the season again after that she finished La Vuelta again well today. A cyclist who only got to know the sport by coincidence during a pandemic and who is know working to close the gap to the best on her terrain. Get to know her better in our interview.

Last year, you had an impressive Tour de l'Avenir, where you finished ahead of riders like Van Empel, Bunel, Wlodarczyk,... Can you tell more about your experiences in that week?

Tour de L’Avenir was an incredible experience. It was also the first time with the national team. For me Tour de l’Avenir was a big goal in the season, given the mountainous parcours. I prepared well for that race. The last stage was a good opportunity to show my strengths in the long climbs. In womens cycling stages like these are quite rare and you often don’t get to show your abilities. On that day everything came together and I could do a good race.

What are your long term goals in your carreer?

Being still quite new to cycling I still need a to learn a lot of things and develop in a lot of different aspects. This will still need some time. But longterms I want to become a GC rider and one day I’d like to win a grandtour.

What is the hardest aspect about being a pro cyclist for you?

For me personally one of the hardest aspects of cycling is that you often don’t get to show your abilities during races. In athletics when you’re strong you win, when you trained hard, are in shape, you know you can for example run a certain time. But cycling is so much more, you need to be able to position yourself in a peloton, not get dropped on descends, tactics, etc… there are so many different aspects that influence a race. Sometimes it can be quite frustrating when you know you're in shape but never get to the point where you can really deliver a performance. This is also why Avenir was a special race for me, because on that day everything came together. These days are rare, but they’re the ones you train and live for.

What or who brought you in this sport?

I came to cycling during the 2020 covid pandemic. I used to be a runner, I did athletics. But due to injuries I went swimming. Because of the lockdown the pools closed and I used my dads old road bike to train and immediately fell in love with the sport. In that year I mainly did some local hill climb races in Switzerland and discovered my talent and love for the sport. The next year I did my first road races and got into the cycling world.

How did you develop physically and mentally in the past years?

I developed in many ways over the past few years. From not knowing anything about a bike, bike racing etc. With every race I learn new things and get to know new things about this sport; tactics, technical skills, nutrition, etc.

But also physically, I worked a lot also on shorter, more explosive efforts. Not being so long in the sport yet, I think there is still a lot of room for improvement for me.

What are your big interests outside cycling?

Besides cycling I study Food Technology and Nutrition Sciences. I also have a big interest in sport sciences.

You're living in Switzerland. Which climb would you suggest to other cyclists for training?

There are so many beautiful climbs in Switzerland! Hard to name one… but I live close to the Glarus region and I love to train in that region. Its full of really steep, long, hidden climbs. If I have to name one, I would suggest “Vorder Höhi” from Weesen to other cyclists, I often do my intervals there and the view form the top is just beautiful.

What can we wish you for the coming months, Petra?

I would like to perform well in the remaining races of the season.