Mud, Miles and Mayhem: 20 Years at Unbound Gravel
It started in 2006. Back then it was known as Dirty Kanza. The inaugural race in Emporia, Kansas attracted 34 riders. The event now known as Unbound Gravel (Life Time rebranded the race in 2021) is renowned as the biggest race in gravel cycling with everything from World Tour cyclists, Olympic mountain bikers and, thanks to Unbound’s incredible growth, gravel specialists set to compete alongside thousands of gravel enthusiasts looking to take on the unique and life-changing challenge.
Roughly 4,000 athletes are expected to compete at the various events this weekend that include everything from 25- to 350-mile races. The marquee 200-mile race offers US$60,000 in prize money that’s split between the top-five men and women.
20th Anniversary Course
To celebrate the two decades of racing in Emporia, organizers have created a course that celebrates some of the iconic sections of past races. This year’s 200-mile race will actually include 207 miles of racing with over 9,000 feet of climbing that combines the north and south courses. With rain expected, that means the infamous 10-mile Sharpes Creek Road section promises to be every bit as painful as the last time it was featured at Unbound – 2015. That year’s mud-fest kicked off with a stretch of “prairie peanut butter mud” at about mile 10 that stopped many athletes in their tracks. It’s remembered by many as 100 miles of mud survival and 100 miles of gravel racing.
The terrain around Emporia, including the Flint Hills, features endless rolling climbs. If there’s not all that deep mud the course will often feature extreme heat – the course doesn’t offer much shelter from the elements. Thanks to a wet spring and the chance of rain this weekend, athletes could be in for another tough year at Unbound.
Men’s Race
Last year Kiwi Cam Jones, a mountain bike specialist, took the win after riding roughly 150 miles in a breakaway with Swiss rider Simon Pellaud. Jones will be the man to watch on Saturday, especially with the potential for a muddy course. The 2024 champ, Boulder’s Lachlan Morton, moves back down to the 200-mile race after an epic, record-setting duel with Canadian Robert Britton in the 350-mile race last year that saw just six minutes separating the two.
Two other big names to watch on Saturday include France’s Romain Bardet, who left the pro road peloton last year to focus on gravel racing, and another big-name former World Tour rider who has now moved to gravel, Canadian Mike Woods. Former champ Keegan Swenson is also back to look for another title and move up a spot on the podium after a runner-up finish to Bradyn Lange, who is also racing, at Sea Otter, the opening race of the Life Time Grand Prix series. American track legend Taylor Phinney has come out of retirement to try and represent the US at the LA Olympics in the team pursuit and will also test himself on Saturday.
You can see the full pro men’s list here.
Women’s Race
Last year’s women’s champion Karolina Migoń (a Pole who lives in Switzerland) was able to launch a full-time career after the win in Emporia last year. (She worked as a software engineer and took a five-month leave last year to focus on racing last year.) She managed to extricate herself from a three-woman breakaway with 50 miles to go last year to take a convincing win.
The 2024 champion, Rosa Klöser will be back to regain the title that eluded her last year after a crash and a wrong turn forced her to settle with a fourth-place finish. Another former champ, American Lauren De Crescenzo, who won in 2021, will be another to watch. As with the men, some big-name roadies will be garnering some attention – Axelle Dubau-Prévot (sister of Tour de France Femmes winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot) and Ashleigh Moolman Pasio will be switching to gravel for the weekend.
You can see the full women’s pro list here.
Tech Innovation
Gravel racing doesn’t fall under the same kind of technical UCI rules, which has made the event a testing ground for many manufacturers. This year there will be lots of eyes on defending men’s champ Cam Jones an Robin Gemperle, who will be riding Scott’s Racing Concept (RC) Gravel 32″ prototype bikes. According to Scott “the bikes ridden by Cameron Jones and Robin Gemperle are pure prototypes and will never be released on the market.”
As the “Kona of gravel,” there will no-doubt be more innovative products on display both at the huge expo, and on the race course.
