Garmin UNBOUND Gravel p/b Craft Sportswear Unveils New Courses as the race Heads South

One of the biggest events of the gravel cycling calendar has released details of five brutal courses for the next edition taking place on June 3rd in Kansas

Unbound was started in 2006. Orginally known as “Dirty Kanza,” it was low-key race of just thirty-four riders. It has now grown to be the most well-know gravel race in the world which sells out for thousands of riders decided by a lottery. This year’s event will be held on June 3, 2023.

The event’s original distance—the 200 mile route —starts and ends, as ever, in downtown Emporia, Kansas before heading out on one massive loop on the brutal exposed flint roads, over its sea of punchy hills, and across its seemingly endless plains and prairies.

The original 200-mile route is actually 205.3 miles with 9,101 feet of climbing with two water stops at 42 and 124 miles. ONLY WATER will be provided at the water oasis. Absolutely NO support crews are allowed. Support crews are allowed ONLY at designated checkpoints of Eureka and Madison. Holmes Sundries convenience store will be open in Hamilton to purchase snacks in needed.

The first water stop comes atop Texaco Hill, one of the area’s most stunning views before shooting riders down what is known as “Water Bottle Hill,” a descent so rough, it will toss your water bottles out of their cages. After about 140-miles, riders pass through the ghost town of Thrall before turning off on another twenty-or-so-mile eastward stretchbefore turning north and back into Emporia.

The XL distance 352 miles and 13,539 feet of climbing, there are 5 convienience stores on routes for riders to get food and water back on board.

The 100 mile route is actually 103.1 miles with 4,373 feet of climbing. The 50 mile route is actually 52 miles with 1,528 feet of climbing and the 25 mile route is actually 25.1 miles with 667 feet of climbing.

No aero bars and staggered starts in 2023

Unbound Gravel, voted North America's number #1 Gravel Fondo, has announced new rules in it's 2023 edition.

The race format and rule changes are the first since the inaugural edition way back in 2006 and the event organiser, Life Time, says they've been made to improve rider safety.

Elite and amateur riders will be seprated at the start line and the start times staggered. This means that elite women and men will start at different times, easing any starting chaos, which has become larger each year as the event has grown. 2023 will see over 4,000 riders lining up to participate in the gravel event in Kansas, US.

The 200-mile Unbound Gravel will kick off with the elite men, followed two minutes later by the elite women. The rest of the participants will start 10 minutes after the elite men. The other distances (100, 50 and 25 miles) will continue to be raced in one category and with mass starts.

The elite 200-mile riders are now for the first time prohibited from using aero bars, whereas the amateurs are still permitted to use them. The organisers explained that this year's rule and regulation changes have been made with the increased competitive side of the event in mind.

“Elite riders might be the least unsafe using aero bars but they don’t need them. The reason we decided not to rule out aero bars for everyone is that 98 per cent of riders are out there to finish. If that’s a tool they need to finish before the cutoff, then great, we don’t want to take that away from everyone else because we’re trying to police what happens in the elite field,” the organisers said to the cycling press.

With the changes, the organisers of Unbound Gravel hope to achieve a more enjoyable gravel event for everyone, and also offer better visibility for riders across the board. The staggered elite rider start will give better visibility for the women and added marshalling will increase road safety for riders of all levels. 

NEW for 2023 is junior’s race will now cover the 50 and 100 mile distances.

The 50 mile junior categories: 12-13, 14-16, 16-18 Boys and Girls. 100 mile Jr. category: 14-18 Boys/Girls. Additionally, the 50 miler is now a RACE! 50 mile categories: Open Men, Open Women, Non-Binary, Para Men, Para Women, E-Bike, Junior Race.

Get ready for the UNBOUND Gravel 200, 100, 50, or 25 random selection process that starts January 5, 2023 until January 20, 2023.

For more information please visit: https://www.unboundgravel.com.

Epic Muddy conditions on the 2022 UNBOUND Gravel Course

Last year, the course was thick with mud on sections, leaving riders exhausted and struggling to stay upright. Amazing bike handling skills required just to keep going

It was a rainy day in Emporia, Kansas, as 4,000 racers took to the Garmin Unbound Gravel course, racing distances ranging from 50 to 350 miles. The 200-mile event is the best-known distance from the original race, Unbound is the second race in the Life Time Grand Prix series, the racing was predictably intense.

Some riders had to walk 3 miles for well over an hour in thick mud to get back on their bikes.

2022 Unbound XL Winners

In the Unbound XL race, William Harrison of Charlotte, N.C., crushed Unbound Gravel's 350-mile grinder with a winning time of 20:17:29, Harrison maintained a 17.25 mph pace. Five minutes behind was Marius Karteusch of Plettenberg, Germany, he came in with a time of 20:22:28 for second place. Ernie Lechuga of Springdale, Ariz., claimed third place with a time of 20:35:08. Chris Mehlman of Manchester, Mass., finished in fourth with a time of 20:36:08.

Cynthia Frazier of Lexington, V.A., was the first woman to roll through the finish with a time of 22:27. Scotti Lechuga of Bentonville, Ark., came in second with a time of 23:26 and Andrea Dvorak of Longmont, Colo., took third with a time of 25:42. Betsy Welch of Boulder, Colo., was fourth with a time of 26:33.

2022 Unbound 200 Winners

Dutchman Ivar Slik won a four-up sprint to win Unbound Gravel 200, beating defending champion Ian Boswell, Keegan Swenson, and Laurens ten Dam. Slik, 29, is an elite-level beach racer, races on the road for UCI continental team ABLOC, and on gravel for the Wilier Triestina factory team.

Keegan Swenson of Heber City, Utah was just behind Slik with a time of 9:22:05. Ian Boswell of Barnet, V.T., took third with a time of 9:22:05, behind Swenson. Laurens ten Dam, who was the runner-up last year to Boswell in a two-up sprint, rolled across the line in fourth, seven seconds behind this year’s photo finish for the final two podium spots.

In the women's race, Sofia Gomez Villafane took the win, soloing home in a time of 10:27:41. Less than 10 minutes behind, the second place finisher was former champion Lauren De Crescenzo who nearly got hit by a dear out on course, in third place was Emily Newsom. 

In fourth place was BikeSport's Whitney Allison co-founder of the Foco FondoFest and Gravel Gracelands gravel rides in Colorado.

Gomez, who won the eight-day Cape Epic with teammate Haley Batten, used a smooth and super-quick 30-second transition at the first checkpoint 77 miles into the 200-mile event to take the lead in the women’s category.

Gomez said on social media, "I was here to definitely prove a point. I wanted to show that mountain bikers can go fast and go long, I was going to be stoked to just to win a Life Time Grand Prix race, but to come out with the overall, it's a true testament to the hard work I have put in."

Men’s Unbound 200 Top 10

1 Ivar Slik, 9:22:04
2 Keegan Swenson, 9:22:05
3 Ian Boswell, at s.t.
4 Laurens Ten Dam, 9:22:12
5 Alexey Vermeulen, 9:22:27
6 Rob Britton, 9:24:26
7 Russell Finsterwald, 9:28:22
8 Peter Stetina, 9:31:00
9 Payson McElveen, 9:31:15
10 Adam Roberge, 9:32:28

Women’s Unbound 200 Top 10

1 Sofia Gomez Villafañe, Specialized, 10:27:41
2 Lauren De Crescenzo, Cinch, 10:36:50
3 Emily Newsom, EF Education-Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank, 10:49:44
4 Whitney Allison, Bike Sports, 10:57:24
5 Haley Smith, 11:07:18
6 Sarah Sturm, Specialized, 11:14:50
7 Kristen Legan, 11:17:10
8 Sarah Max, Argonaut, 11:19:06
9 Hannah Shell, 11:20:58
10 Angela Naeth, 11:27:02