Hometown: Cashmere, Wash.
Major: Exercise Science
Occupation: Professional Cyclist
Hobbies: I love to backpack, run, backcountry and nordic ski, and do a little hunting, in addition to riding my mountain bike on the coolest trails around the world.
Why did you move to Montana? I was originally planning on nordic skiing for MSU, but mountain biking became a bigger priority when I joined the U.S. Development Team and got my professional racing license.
Do your future plans involve this area? Definitely. I graduate in December, and then I’m moving to Switzerland in February to race for the year. I love this town, and more particularly the surrounding mountains. I certainly could see myself back here for graduate school or just to live and play—once I'm done bike racing and skiing.
What is a day you will never forget? I won the U.S. National Championships this year. It was the culmination of a lot of hard work over the years.
If you could do anything for a day, what would it be? I would really like to visit Nepal. My parents ran a clinic on the Annapurna trekking route for six months back in the 80s, and my dad did some climbing over there. Fortunately, I'm racking up the frequent flier miles, so hopefully it will be a reality sooner rather than later!
As a professional cyclist, Ettinger is almost always traveling. Last year alone he spent about 175 days away from Bozeman. Between January and October he traveled to Colombia, South Africa, Germany, Switzerland, England and Canada. Then he was back to Germany and Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Italy and Mexico. Finally, he toured six U.S. states as well as Quebec.
In each of the past three summers, Ettinger has called Freiburg, Germany, his U.S. National Team headquarters. A “home away from home”, Freiburg is a place where Ettinger spends time with friends he’s met as well as their families. Together they explore new trails, travel through Europe and just hang out with music and coffee.
Last April, Ettinger competed in the Pan American games in Guadalajara, Mexico. The race was in a small town called Tapalpa involving thousands of fans, some asking for autographs and photos. Although the results weren’t so good, the experience of the games, as well as staying at the Pan American Games Village with the other athletes, is one Ettinger will use as a motivating force to try and qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
