Peter Stetina had come to New Hampshire with an aim to set a new course record at Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb, a record that his father Dale held for 17 years, from 1980 to 1997.
Known as ‘the toughest hillclimb in the US, if not the world,’ the 7.6-mile (12.2km) ascent of Mount Washington in New Hampshire averages a punishing 12% gradient, pitching up to 22% at its steepest, and tops out at 6,288 feet (1,916 metres), the highest peak in the northeastern United States. This race is hosted by and benefits Tin Mountain Conservation Center.
Two days before the “mythical climb”, Stetina posted on social media, “this has been my major 2025 objective all along. Over the last 2 months I’ve both enjoyed and agonized over stripping my body and bike down to a pure climbing apparatus".
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For the 52nd edition of the event, Stetina’s stated goal was to beat the “all-time record”, including his father’s time of 57:41, and the 2020 time of 49:24 set by Tom Danielson. After the road was fully paved in 2022, records were reset, with Phil Gaimon establishing the new benchmark at 50:38.
After receiving a late invitation from Stetina, Ian Boswell proceeded to not only beat his friend but also set a new men’s course record in the process. Though Boswell lives in New England, he had never set his sights on the legendary climb until Saturday.
Boswell clocked a time of 50:15, besting by 23 seconds the previous record, while Stetina set a time of 51:36 to take second place behind Boswell.
“I shot for the stars, and held that pace for 60% of the mountain, but it was clear my body simply said [nope] today. Things weren’t clicking early and I was far off my numbers from training,” Stetina posted.
“I flopped. I probably cared too much, I probably convinced myself this sinus infection wouldn’t make a difference either: but missing the mark is my reality and there’s no changing that. To have a dreaded off-day on THE day sucks: time waits for no one. To admit this failure after publicly announcing my intention cuts even deeper. I currently don’t know where or how to rebound from here for the short term.”
Stetina, who moved from the pro road peloton to a successful gravel privateer six years ago, is slated to race Lauf Gravel Worlds in Nebraska next weekend.
Another record was set in the women’s race with Illi Gardner, setting a time of 58:07, beating the 2024 record of 1:06:08 set by Kristen Kulchinsky. Gardner, three-time winner of the British National Hill Climb Championships, tackled the Mount Kearsarge Hill Climb and Mount Ascutney in preparation.
