Olympic Champion Greg Van Avermaet excited to ride Unbound Gravel
2024 Unbound will be a record breaking edition, as the growing list of world-class athletes head to home of the Gravel in Kansas on June 1st. UCI Gravel World Champion Matej Mohoric Added To Star-studded Roster.
Gran Fondo Guide took the opportunity to attend the pre-race conference hosted by Nick Howes, Communications Manager and Kristi Mohn, Marketing Manager at Life Time who has been instrumental to the growth of the Life Time UNBOUND Gravel since its launch in 2006.
This year, it's the third time the race is heading north Kristi stated, "the gravel is a bit more chuckier, punchier climbs and it's pretty open praire up there. There gonna enter some single track sections, the divide road and infamous little Egypt. The meat and potatoes of the course is between 20 and 150 miles, thats were the chunk and the rough stuff is. The north mud is different than the south mud, it doesn't stick as much, the north holds water a bit better, but if it rains, it's part of the deal!"
World-Class athletes in attendance included seasoned U.S. gravel riders Peter Stetina and Sarah Sturm and this year making his U.S. debut in gravel racing is no other than Greg Van Avermaet, 2016 Olympic gold medalist, two-time Tour de France stage winner and 2017 Paris-Roubaix champion.
Kristi continued "I love seeing our start lines grow and the coverage that come with calibre of athletes that we are attracting to unbound gravel. I think Lifetime has done a really great job of promoting Gravel Riding as a professional sport and we've seen the professionalism come from that. I also super stoked for all the athletes, some coming across the finish line at 3 am. There's some real unsung heros out there who tell some stories about whats it really like. It's great to have the growing list of professional athletes highlighting the event, but its also important to bear in mind that there's everyone out there having an amazing day."
Greg Van Avermaet has been doing his best to prepare around his busy schedule, now riding up to 20 hours per week to be at a good level. Greg was super excited but also a bit nervous about the distance and having never ridden in the Flint Hills."
Greg said "I'm really looking forward to riding. I've got a bit more preparation to do in terms of kit and being self sufficient, this isn't a WorldTour race with team cars and 6 team-mates to fall back on. However I'm really looking forward to the experience and seeing what I can do. Everybody has to have a good time and have fun on the bike, it's about the adventure."
Pete Stetina who's had a great Spring racing so far this year. "It chews up bikes and tires and there's some luck involved up north. It's the deepest men's field so far, plus the added influx of European based riders. It's going to be a record breaking year, regardless of the weather."
The weather forecast for June 1st is currently 79F and light winds. However, as Pete remarked, "the weather can change out there pretty quickly, we've already had some storm warnings out on the plains so you have to be prepared for anything. Things can change on a dime."
This year's course is north of the home town of gravel racing Emporia, and Pete continued, "the terrain and gravel is different north of Emporia, it is more flint stone rock shale rather than clay that coagculates. This is what the natives would carve arrow heads out of. You could even be lucky enough to find a true arrow head out there!"
Van Avermaet also spoke about the huge explosion of gravel in his home country, Belgium, arguably one of cycling's powerhouses, "more and more Belgian riders are opting for a gravel bikes , because they can ride on and off-road, the bergs and cobbles too."
Sarah Sturm, U.S. athlete who finished third at Unbound last year, and recently rode the Trakka 360 in Spain along with Pete, "the 360 women's field was much deeper more competitive field than the 200. Unintentionally it gave me a sneak preview into what the unbound competition will look like coming from Europe. I think the women's field will also be the most competitive race too."
This year the women get their own start as the women's race continues to develop and grow, as more women take up gravel racing too.
Life Time continues to promote the event through the docuseries 'Call of a Life Time,' showcasing race footage and engaging the gravel racing community through watch parties
Be sure to check back after Saturday June 1st as Life Time will be releasing race video highlights from Unbound 2024..
The new route for the 2024 Life Time UNBOUND Gravel 200 was unveiled last week and sees the riders tackle a taxing loop to the north of Emporia. Life Time has also revealed the routes for the 25, 50, 100 Mile and XL (350-mile) contests which are taking place over this four-day celebration of cycling.
Click HERE for more route information.
Click HERE for more full start lists information.
The Life Time UNBOUND Gravel 200 is the second event of the groundbreaking seven-race series - the Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda - and is far and away the longest race of the competition. Its length and difficulty will push the endurance and character of the world’s best off-road riders to the limit.
Matej Mohoric Added To Star-studded Roster At 2024 Life Time Unbound Gravel
Team Bahrain Victorious team-mates Matevž Govekar and Lukasz Wisniowski joining UCI Gravel World Champion
The Slovenian, who has also won the 2022 Milan-San Remo and claimed stage victories in all three Grand Tours, will be competing in the Elite 200-mile event on Saturday, June 1st alongside his Team Bahrain Victorious team-mates Matevž Govekar (Slovenia) and Lukasz Wisniowski (Poland), who are also announced today.
Mohoric is one of the sports' biggest names and the Life Time UNBOUND Gravel 200 will be his first major race since crashing out of the Tour of Flanders on March 31st.The 29-year-old will wear the iconic rainbow jersey in Emporia and join a stellar cast of riders who were unveiled last week.
