Sofia Gomez Villafañe and Keegan Swenson (both Specialized Off-road) returned to the top step at SBT GRVL on Sunday in Colorado, both launching solo attacks on the later segments of a refreshed 108-mile 'black' course. It was Swenson's fourth elite men's title while Villafañe won the elite women's race for a second time.

This year's Steamboat Springs long 'black' course featured one single-loop circuit through Routt County, with an out-and-back, washed-out gravel road, Cow Creek, featured as the first climb after the start from Yampa Street and again as a decisive technical descent in the final 12 miles.

Three elite men exited the Cow Creek climb at the front of the race - Nathan Spratt (Ventum + Voler), Adam Roberge (Felt UN1TD) and John Borstelmann (Ventum) - and set a marker of four minutes. Across the next 24 miles, two-thirds of that the longest ascent of the day with uneven pitches reaching 7%-9%, the leaders were caught by six riders - Swenson, Henry Nelson (Lunchbox Racing), Cobe Freeburn (Trek Driftless), Alexey Vermeulen (ENVE), Pete Stetina (Canyon) and John Keller.

By the mid-point of the race, Swenson was part of the new lead group as Freeburn, Roberge and Nelson, with Spratt, Vermeulen, Stetina and Keller giving chase, and Borstelmann dropping off the pace.

A long paved descent led to the second longest climb on the route, approximately nine miles of gravel, passing to the south of Hayden and from the crest leaving 35.5 miles for a return to Steamboat Springs. On the descent from this climb, Swenson launched his attack on a paved section and by the time he hit the return ascent to Cow Creek had a two-and-a-half minute gap.

Swenson completed his ride in 4:36:20, with Vermeulen second and Freeburn third in a four-rider chase who were five minutes back. Nelson finished fourth and Roberge fifth. Stetina had worked with Keller for a second chase group, Keller going one second better than the Canyon veteran at the line, just 47 and 48 seconds behind Vermeulen

Swenson finished second last year, outsprinting Freeburn and Vermeulen. This year Vermeulen's runner-up spot was his third podium at SBT GRVL, having gone third to Swenson in 2024 and 2023.

"The king reigns on here at SBT GRVL," Vermeulen said about his rival Swenson. "Got dropped, but managed to finagle my way back into the sprint for second by the end thanks to a great chase group with John Keller and Peter Stetina."

The elite women started five minutes after the men, with the field staying mainly compact for the opening 15 miles. On the 17-mile dirt ascent known as Wahooligan Pass, Sarah Lange (Velocio-Kenda Bicycle) set the tempo with Cecily Decker (PAS Racing) and 2023 winner Villafañe.

The trio were joined on the descent by Danni Shrosbree (Rapha-Argon 18), Kylee Hanel (Cervélo-Maxxis), Paige Onweller (Trek Driftless), two-time winner Lauren De Crescenzo (The Feed-Argonaut-Castelli-Maxxis) and 2024 winner Lauren Stephens (Aegis x LOE), which created the decisive split of the race.

The riders traded attacks, but none took hold until Lange broke away on a gravel descent south of Hayden at mile 80. She carried her momentum into the technical section at Cow Creek, where Villafañe began to close the gap, and Stephens trailed 30 seconds behind with Onweller another 30 seconds back.

"I tried to attack a few times earlier in the race but nothing stuck and our group of 8 kept coming back together. So when I found myself off the front during a lull with 25-30 miles to go, I went for it," Lange said on Instagram.

"When I exited Cow Creek and had 7 miles of pavement back into town, I was told Sofia was solo 30 seconds back. I kept pushing but knew she was gaining on me. I heard someone yell her name and knew I was caught with about 2 miles to go."

Villafañe caught and passed Lange on the tarmac just outside Steamboat Springs and cranked out a six-second gap to ride across the line uncontested in 5:25:01. Stephens finished 42 seconds behind Lange for third, her fifth time on the podium spot at SBT GRVL.

"The last 45 minutes of the race was spicy as we worked hard to chase down Sarah Lange who was on a ripper of a day. I pushed HARD on cow creek, separated myself from the chasers and made contact in the last two miles of the race," the new two-time winner said on her Instagram account.

Women’s defending champ Melisa Rollins, who has been away from racing for several months due to arm and wrist injuries, finished 20th. 2025 men’s winner Brendan Wertz did not line up as he was still recovering from a crash at Lost & Found gravel in California two weeks ago.

Last year SBT GRVL had separate race days for elites and amateurs, with the elite fields starting and finishing in Hayden. All race routes returned to downtown Steamboat Springs this year, featuring safety enclosures for elite categories and a black course team support and nutrition aid station at mile 63 at the Hayden Gun Range, which also served as a spectator zone.

Results

Gabby Traxler (GURU Energy-Basso Bikes) and Carter Nieuwesteeg (Giant Bicycle Canada) won elite titles at Ghost of the Gravel in Water Valley, Alberta, punching their tickets in the 26th qualifier event for the 2026 UCI Gravel World Championships.

Traxler launched a solo attack from a front group of five riders after the opening 48km to finish in 4:34:42. Hanna Johansson of Sweden was 2:46 back in second and Francesca Seal another 2-plus minutes back for third.

Canadian Sidney McGill, the 2024 Pan-American Cyclo-cross champion, had been part of the lead group but faded to seventh place, just over 36 minutes behind her compatriot.

"I pushed hard and went solo for the last 70km. After third and second the past two years, I was very happy to finally get the win," Traxler wrote on Instagram, the Alberta native scoring her first gravel win of the season on home soil.

The 118 kilometres at Ghost of the Gravel featured 90% dirt roads across the foothills near Calgary, with 2,073 metres of elevation gain found on a large clockwise circuit. Early rain made for a wet surface, and Nieuwesteeg called it "the gnarliest conditions I’ve seen to date" on a course used the past two years for the Canadian Gravel Championships.

Nieuwesteeg, who was third overall at BC Bike Race, held off Oskar Stack-Michasiw in a two-up sprint for the elite men's victory, both riders finishing in 3:49:00. Finn Borstmayer then won the sprint for third against Wyatt Gaulke, 11:21 later, for an all-Canadian men's podium.

The men's race saw 12 riders grouped at the front for the first 35 kilometres, which was mainly climbing. Then on a technical descent, splits formed and the podium quartet set off together. Nieuwesteeg and Stack-Michasiw set off together with 40km to go.

"A full day keeping it throttled with Oskar Stack-Michasiw. Pretty sweet to get the win at a UCI World Series event, definitely did not have that in the cards as mentally I’ve been fully in FGG [Fernie Gravel Grind] planning mode for the last couple weeks," Nieuwesteeg wrote on social media. "I guess Gravel World Champs in Australia is now calling."

Gravelking UCI Gravel World Series was the second stop for the series in Canada, taking place on back-to-back weekends with OG Classique in Quebec. The next round of the series will be July 5 in Germany for Hegau Gravel Festival.

Results

Eurobike is back. Though not as I or many others remember it.

At one point, it looked like the show might not go ahead at all, but in the end, it has returned, albeit in a much smaller capacity, and there was still plenty of new tech on display to check out.

The event now uses only three halls and even these were far from full, compared to seven or more in previous years. As someone who has attended the show on and off for fifteen years, I found this rather melancholic. It's an event that everyone likes to complain about, but it was always a great chance to meet up with the rest of the industry from around the world in one place. Alas, times change, but despite this, there was still some great stuff on show.

Having roamed the halls, here are my top five highlights.

1. New Canyon Aeroad CFR

Canyon wasn't shy about its latest race bike, the Aerroad CFR. "The fastest Tour de France bike you can buy." That's a line touted by many an aero bike builder, but this one is at least backed by test results from Tour magazine that put it under the elusive 200W barrier, and putting it ahead of everything else currently in the pro peloton. Time will tell how well it fares in our own testing, though; keep your eyes peeled.

Calling it a new bike feels a bit of a stretch, though, as all of the changes and improvements come from using a different handlebar. It now features UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger) compatibility, and more seatpost options are available, too, making it much easier to get your ideal fit.

The handlebar has been used by Mathieu van der Poel and his teammates all season and is available aftermarket at £598, should you want to upgrade your existing Aerroad.

The catchily titled CP0053 is said to be 120g lighter than the outgoing version and to save two watts, with a forward-sweeping design and flared drops. Canyon make some lofty claims on how much this new bar saves with the rider, claiming the longer lower position could save up to 24 watts (assuming, of course, the lower position works for you and you can stay in it, which is no mean feat for most of us).

2. Ridley's unnamed gravel racer

The prototype for this was first spotted at the Traka by our own Will Jones back in April, and it now looks much closer to production-ready, proudly on display on the Ridley stand. We assume it'll be the new Kanzo, but it doesn't yet have an official name.

It's a striking-looking beast, and ticks all of the current gravel racers' want lists. Aero, wide tyre clearance (up to 58mm apparently), frame storage and an aggressive position similar to top-end road bikes. The display bike featured SRAM Force 1x13 (does anyone still run a double chainring in gravel?) and had a neat Wolf Tooth chain guide as well as a sharp-looking Forza one-piece cockpit with narrow lever position and flared drops. The wheels look like something new, too, with deep rims and 27mm internal rim bed, CeramicSpeed-equipped hubs, and carbon spokes. They're named the Forza Sikonros and could be a good, fast option with wider rubber.

3. Eddy Merckx 525R

On the same stand was the Eddy Merckx 525R, which takes a thoroughly different approach to going fast. It has a lot of the things you'd expect, like a nine-watt saving over the original, tyre clearance for 34mm and a sub-kilo frame weight. But what makes this interesting is its approach to fit geometry.

By steepening the seat angle and raising the stack, they've created an aero bike that still lets the rider get in an aero position, but one that's far more comfortable for us mere mortals to hold. There is some clever geometry manipulation going on here, and good use of the revised UCI regulations, too, which means they have moved the saddle position further forward to open up the hip angle, which is becoming an increasingly common way to get faster on the bike.

Elsewhere, you'll see aero features common on lots of other bikes, like a deep head tube and aero tube shapes throughout, but combined with its fresh take on fit geometry, this could be one of the surprises of all of the latest generation of aero bikes.

4. Megamo Upon

Avinox, the e-bike arm of DJi, drew plenty of attention this year with its new concept motor, combining an E-bike motor and gearbox, but it was the use of its current 2nd-series motor on the Megamo Upon that caught my eye.

Most E-road bikes approach the motor in the same way, trying to hide it as much as possible. Both in terms of looks and function, but the Upon is different. Looks-wise, Megamo has done a very good job of packaging the full power motor and 600Wh battery. You can still tell it's an e-bike at first glance, but it's far from the early monstrosities the Eurobike was often full of.

Power is where it differs greatly, though. Normally, bike brands will spec either a lighter-spec version with less torque or a specific motor designed to give a softer feel on drop-bar E-bikes. The idea being that you don't really notice the motor and still feel like it's your effort propelling you forward, more of a gentle assist than you would find on a full-power e-MTB, for instance. But not here. This uses the same high-powered motor as their MTB line, offering up to 1500 watts of peak power.

I'd say watch out Jasper Philipsen, but his is limited to 25 km/h in Europe, so don't expect to be dominating any sprints on it. It should make light work of steep climbs, though. It's an interesting approach, and one to keep an eye on.

5. Gusto's new GTG gravel prototype

And finally, a bike from a brand you might not have heard of, but one ridden by someone in his younger years, you certainly will know.

Gusto are a Taiwanese brand that offers great value road bikes, but unlike many others, has been involved in the European race scene for some time, sponsoring a certain Tadej Pogačar when he first joined the peloton. In fact, he now personally sponsors the second division team that still runs the Gusto bikes.

The brand had a new gravel bike on display outside in the sweltering heat. Details were a bit scarce, but it looked like it follows many of the aesthetics and details found on its current road bike, the GTR and added all the features you'd expect of a gravel bike; plenty of tyre clearance, a one-piece cockpit and a suitably aggressive position, and some new gravel-specific wheels too.

The brand says it expects to launch the bike fully later this year, but if its road range is anything to go by, I'd expect it to be sharp-handling and extremely well priced.

Led by 20-year-old Kenyan Ivan Kipruto, the Black Mambas Development Squad swept the men's podium at this year's Migration Gravel Race, while Swedish gravel national champion Nathalie Eklund won the women's division.

The four-day stage race, June 16-19, was the seventh stop of the Gravel Earth Series. Migration Gravel Race covered 650 kilometres of rugged, red clay roads and paths in the Maasai Mara wilderness of Kenya, with more than 8,000 metres of elevation gain.

Kipruto rocketed into the GC hunt on the queen stage, then secured a surprising overall victory on the fourth and final day, jumping past fellow Kenyan teammates Stanley Ngugi and Peterson Kamau, who finished second and third, respectively.

It was a coming-out party for riders on the Team Amani development team, and first major gravel race victory for Kipruto, who earned a podium at the recent Safari Gravel Race.

"Stage 4 brought one final battle across the Maasai Mara, capping off an unforgettable week of racing on home roads. Throughout the race, the Black Mamba Development Squad animated the action," the Black Mambas team wrote on social media.

"The Black Mamba Development Squad completed a remarkable sweep of the men's overall podium—a testament to the talent, hard work, and belief that continues to drive the program forward. This race has always been about more than results. It's about creating opportunities, inspiring the next generation, and showing that East African riders can compete with anyone in the world."

Eklund, who started the year with the overall win at Sahara Desert in February, battled against Team Amani rider Claudette Nyirarukundo all four days on the rugged terrain. Just three days before the stage race, the 23-year-old Rwandan earned a career-defining victory at Safari Gravel Race, earning a berth at the UCI Gravel World Championships.

Theresa Rindler-Bachl of Austria completed the podium for the pro women. On the men's side, Francisco Moreira of Portugal was the first non-African rider in the men’s ranking, finishing seventh.

Axelle Dubau-Prevot (EF Education-Oatly) continues to command the women's GES leaderboard with five top 10s from the first half of the season. Morgan Aguirre (PAS Racing) is second and Sophie Wright (Ribble Outliers) is third.

With a four-race sweep of wins, Mads Würtz Schmidt (Specialized Off-road) holds the men's overall GES lead. Hugo Drechou (Gravel Nation) is second and Petr Vokoč (Factor Racing) sits third.

Results

Hayden Christian (Trek-MAAP Pro.Fwd) carved his way around the two decisive singletrack turns to win Belgian Waffle Ride Montana, proving the fastest among a group of five elite men on the final half mile of the 115-mile (185km) course into Bozeman.

Stella Hobbs (MAAP-ENVE-Tailwind) won her second consecutive elite women's victory at BWR Montana, this year going solo in the elite women's division with a time of 5:07:39.

Cécile Lejeune (Trek Driftless) finished seven minutes behind Hobbs for second, which confirmed her position as overall winner in the Quad-Tripel Crown of Gravel. Lejeune opened her BWR account with a third place in Arizona and then sealed the overall with back-to-back wins at BWR California and BWR Utah. Hannah Shell finished second overall, just 8 points ahead of Holly Breck.

Hobbs got away from Lejeuen with 30 miles to go, and both finished with an average speed of more than 21 mph.

"It's how riding goes here - nothing's that long and nothing's that steep. So if you can capitalise on every little bit that there is, you can really move through this course fast. We were hauling," Hobbs said at the finish to organisers.

The men's Quad-Tripel Crown was decided at Saturday's sprint, Christian earning the title by just eight points over Lance Haidet (Colnago-SRAM-Velocio), who finished third in the final race. Christian progressed up the leaderboard at all four stops of the series, starting with 11th place at Arizona, then fifth at California and third at Utah, which put him two points behind Haidet going into the final race.

Christian and Haidet rode in the decisive lead group with Elliot Thornblade (Forward Endurance Coaching), Matthew Saldana (Cyclesport.com) and Ryker Brand (ALLIED-Formula 369). Thornblade made a late pass of Christian with a shoulder bump on the final dirt section, but Christian swooped inside Thornblade with another body barge 100 yards later to take the lead for the final 50 metres to the line, winning in 4:45:32. Haidet grabbed the final podium ahead of Saldana while Brand was distanced in fifth.

It was the second edition of BWR Montana, which moved to a new start/finish at Glen Lake Park in Bozeman. The long route skirted the Blacktail mountain range in south-west Montana but still amassed 7,500 feet of climbing across 70% of 'unroad' on a new course.

Results

Series standings

Adam Roberge (Felt-ENVE) and Haley Smith (Factor Racing) claimed victory at the OG Classique on Sunday, a new round of the UCI Gravel World Series in Wakefield, Quebec.

Michael Woods (Ventum) took second in the men's elite race, which ended with a tight four-way sprint. Fiset Guillaume was third while Griffin Easter (OpiCure Foundation Gravel Team) came fourth.

In the elite women's race it was another charged battle to the line, with Dylan Baker coming second to Smith while it was third for Laetitia Bilodeau.

The race came a week after both victors had ridden the cancelled Canadian Gravel Championships. OG Classique was the first of two Canadian qualifiers in the GWS, the next being the Ghost of the Gravel in Alberta next week.

The weekend's 122km Quebec event delivered 1,676m of elevation gain through the rolling terrain of the Outaouais region on a route in the Gatineau Hills that was more than 70% gravel. The start/finish area was located at Centre Vorlage ski and mountain bike resort.

It was one of four qualifiers across three continents held on the weekend, with Italy hosting the Grand Tour 3 Cime Lavaredo and Australia the Devils Cardigan on Saturday while on Sunday there was also Eislek Gravel Luxembourg. The top 25% of competitors in each category qualify for the Gravel World Championships, this year being held in Nannup, Western Australian in October.

Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) and Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Premier Tech) scored wins at Eislek Gravel in Luxembourg on Sunday, with the gravel World Champion winning the elite women's race solo. The Belgian National Champion grabbed his first gravel victory of the year at the UCI Gravel World Series race in a sprint showdown.

Wiebes finished ahead of last week's Wish One winner Sophie Wright (Ribble Outliers) while SD Worx Protime teammate Femke Gerritse was third in the race. It was the second GWS victory of the season for Wiebes.

In the elite men's category, which began in the heart of Vianden and then climbed to the castle, Joris Nieuwenhuis took the runner-up spot while Petr Vakoč (Factor Racing) was third. Five riders went to the line on the cobbled climb to the finish, Hugo Drechou and Magnus Bak Klaris rounding out the top five behind the podium trio.

The 109km race presented tough conditions through the Vianden Forest, with high temperatures that soared to 31°C and 2350m of vertical gain over the three loops of the course.

The second edition of Eislek Gravel was one of four qualifiers across the globe on busy gravel weekend, with Devils Cardigan in Australia, the OG Classique in Canada and Grand Tour 3 Cime Lavaredo in Italy. The top 25% of competitors in each series race qualify for the Gravel World Championships in Nannup, Western Australian on October 10-11.

Karolina Migoń (PAS Racing) and Fabian Rabensteiner (Torpado Kenda FSA Factory) won the elite Grand Tour 3 Cime Lavaredo on Saturday, both winning solo at the Italian event which is one of four UCI Gravel World Series races playing out over the weekend.

Migoń came over the line over four and a half minutes ahead of UAE Team ADQ road pro Erica Magnaldi in the elite women's race on the challenging course, where the climbing hits hard and early. Italian MTB Marathon champion Debora Piana was third.

"I managed the race from the front from start to finish," Migoń said. "It was a demanding course, true gravel. Today it was important to know how to manage your energy well. I'm very satisfied with my performance."

The men's race finish was a lot closer, with Leonardo Paez taking second in the men's elite race in, just 26 seconds back on Rabensteiner, whilst Norway's Eskil Evensen-Lie was third, a further two minutes down.

"Today I felt very good and my skills as a climbing biker helped me a lot on this type of course. When I ride in my Dolomites I'm always happy," Rabensteiner said. I didn't think I would win, because it was a very competitive race."

Though it was a gravel race, most of the podium finishers came from a mountain bike background, with Rabensteiner and Piana both national XCM champions, testament to the mountainous course in the Dolomites.

The 133km race with 3,200m of elevation gain started and finished in ski village of Auronzo di Cadore, with the first peak of the Danta di Cadore just 10km in and another where the ascending starts at 30km, the Klammbach peak, marking the high point of the race at 1,929m. After that the course flattened out a little but there was still another challenge at around the 100km mark, the Passo Tre Crocci.

Migoń led over all three 'cime' climbs to take a dominant victory, whilst in the men's race, Paez crested the Passo Monte Croce first, but Rabensteiner came from behind – not even in the top three over the first 'cima' – to go over the Carbonin and Passo Tre Croci in the lead and hold on to the line.

The four qualifiers across three continents this weekend also included Australia's Devils Cardigan, Eislek Gravel Luxembourg and OG Classique in Canada. Across all rounds, the top 25% of competitors in each category qualify for the Gravel World Championships, this year taking place in Nannup, Western Australian from October 10-11.

Results

Brendan Johnston (Giant) won his third edition in a row of The Devil's Cardigan on Saturday, while Holly Harris stepped up from fourth last year to this time claim the top step at the Tasmanian UCI Gravel World Series event.

The third and final Australian qualifier for UCI Gravel World Championships in Nannup, Western Australia in October played out in crisp but fine conditions, over a 106km course with 2,300m of vertical ascent, including the 'un-named climb of hell'.

Johnston, as usual, had put on the pressure to try and take off solo early, but British rider Harry Leask wasn't going to let him have it all his way, catching the Life Time Grand Prix racer on the plateau.

"I've only been there by myself before so I wanted to kind of keep it like that," said Johnston in a Devil's Cardigan finish line interview posted on Instagram. "But to my surprise Harry quite easily seemed to ride back to me and then I just had to kind of wait 'til Ruby Flats Road there where it turns in my direction a little more, sort of rougher and a bit more gradient."

Johnston managed to shake off the former rower, now cyclor – an athlete that uses a stationary bike for adjustments like trimming sails and replaces the grinders who manually operated hand cranks. The Australian crossed the line solo in 3:22:49. Leask, who was taking on just his second gravel race, was second less than a minute back while Harry Bebbington (Maxxis Flanders) took third.

For Johnston, the victory at the race where a bag of local spuds and a wooly jumper serves as the trophy, made it a clean sweep of the Australian UCI Gravel World Series races for the 2026 qualifying season, starting with Gravelista in Seymour back in October, continuing on with SEVEN in May before finally wrapping up at Devil's Cardigan in Derby, a town rejuvenated after the development of a popular mountain bike trial network.

In the elite women's race the event, which started out in 2021, continued its tradition of delivering a new winner each year. The battle for victory came down to a duo that lasted right to the line between Harris and New Zealander Michaela Rogan (Specialized NZ).

"We've been together the whole race. Michaela has just been pushing all the climbs and I was like 'Girl, if you want to do that, I'm coming'," said Harris in an interview with Devils Cardigan commentator Jethro Gammie-Nagle.

The 2022 Australian gravel champion, who also has a list of mountain bike national titles to her name, took the lead in the sprint and from then wasn't going to give up that top spot. Harris crossed the line first in 4:15:44 with Rogan, who recently set the fastest known time for the Otago Central Rail Trail, just one second behind.

In third, less than three minutes back, it was Flora Johnson who came second to Tiffany Cromwell (Canyon-SRAM) at the Australian Gravel Championships race at Ponderosa Pines last month.

The event is one of four qualifiers across three continents this weekend, with Italy hosting the Grand Tour 3 Cime Lavaredo on Saturday as well and on Sunday it is Eislek Gravel Luxembourg plus the OG Classique will be held in Wakefield, Canada.

Results

An assumption about gravel racing is that because it happens largely 'off' paved roads, the elite riders are clear from motor vehicles, traffic furniture, sidewalks, gutters and throngs of crowds close to the action at every corner. But is off-road racing really a safer environment?

The short answer is no, as off-road racing has its own set of dangers and risks, with a laundry list of natural and man-made obstacles that can cause chaos: elites mixing with amateur fields, media vehicles on the same minimum maintenance roads (MMR), courses open to public traffic and more. With more live streaming of gravel races, including events at the Gravel Earth Series and Life Time Grand Prix, global audiences can now see for themselves what the riders have talked about for years.

"Safety should be number one. I would trade all the prize money for safety," was an emphatic response from Keegan Swenson to The Cooldown co-host Alexey Vermeulen in March after a camera crew on an all-terrain vehicle almost crashed with Sofia Gomez Villafañe and Paige Onweller, the elite women's leaders at The Mid South.

"These issues happen so often. In the end, it's small instances out on course, and you sometimes forget how close of a call it is because you're in the midst of racing and you go straight back to racing. It's good it got caught on camera, to see actually how sketchy it was.

"At almost every single race, there's an incident. Big Sugar last year was one. You talk to promoters or race organisers after and it's always 'Oh, sorry, it won't happen again'. But it just keeps happening. It just seems like a recurring theme. It's time for them to step back and focus on the safety of the riders more than the shot," Swenson said to Vermeulen.

Both riders are part of the Life Time Grand Prix, Swenson currently second overall and Vermeulen third, and noted that even the races in the series were not immune challenges. At Sea Otter Classic the course is closed, but has had issues with dust kicked up by media vehicles and hand-off in feed zones. Unbound Gravel 200 and Leadville Trail 100 MTB have areas where the course passes over active roads, and the feed zones were shared with age-group riders.

"The sport, to begin with, isn't very safe. You know, I come from the road. We still see crashes with cars, even though it's closed courses. We still see riders making stupid decisions," Vermeulen said.

"The UCI has done some things, like trackers on bikes now, riders can't get lost. We [gravel racers] deal with even more, because we're racing off road, there's all sorts of weird surface things. I feel like in the end, you need to control the controllables."

Media vehicle mayhem, 'dusting' riders and 'the slip'

Onweller and Villafañe were not injured at The Mid South near-collision with a media all-terrain vehicle, but it disrupted their race. A nine-rider sprint was won by Villafane, with Onweller finishing fourth. Onweller said she has spent a lot of time talking with Mid South organisers since and they had been receptive to her input for safety, specifically with media vehicles.

"They've been super open to feedback and wanting to talk through like plans and how things are improved. I'll continue to talk with them as they work towards next year's event," she told Cyclingnews.

Vermeulen confirmed that while The Mid South got called out for the incident because it was seen globally on a live stream and social posts, it still happens all the time.

"When you have a conversation about how crazy an event was, very rarely is it in a photo, on video or two [people] actually talking about it afterwards, because you go on to the person who won the race. And if there was the catastrophe or someone got hit, then there isn't a reason to really talk about it. People want to glance over it because we don't want to point the flashlight at the dark corners of the sport."

The Mid South is not an isolated incident related to chaos kicked up by UTVs, motorbikes and jeeps. A 'side-by-side slip' can be created by these vehicles, specifically when conditions are dry, that provides less air resistance like drafting from the front. These common situations, according to Swenson, occur when a media vehicle misjudges the speed of the racers.

"They'll be stopped at the bottom of the hill, and we roll up onto them so fast. [Then] accelerating, trying to get out of there, they're dusting us. It creates a situation where it puts off this mean slip[stream]. You happen to get in the slip of this thing, you can just be gone."

He recounted how Cameron Jones and Simon Pellaud used this slipstream effect at Unbound Gravel 200 in 2025 to break away from the lead group. It wasn't a safety issue, but could be interpreted as a fairness issue.

"It's not necessarily the fault of the riders, because if it's there you're going to use it. We're looking for every advantage. Sometimes you just happen to attack and the side-by-side is there, and there's nowhere else to go.

"And I think the issue with the side-by-side, not many think about it, is those big exposed wheels [of the UTV]. They can just suck you in, like catch your foot on them. Whereas a motorcycle, it's more like a bike. At least you're not going to get sucked under the wheel and run over by a 5,000-pound machine."

But motorbikes are not clear of trouble, as a moto crashed at Lauf Gravel Worlds last year and caused separation in the pro field. Another moto crashed at Unbound two years ago. The Cooldown hosts agreed that skillful motorcycle operators were part of the solution.

"What's hard, is that it's changed really quickly. I think in the span of three or four years that you and I have been involved, gravel has gone from 'spirit of gravel' – hang out, have fun, stop in feed zones – to professional racing. We're going that first part of the race 27, 28 miles an hour average into the first feed zone. You can't plan on the fly when you're going that fast," Vermeulen added.

Did feed zones work at Unbound?

The early feedback was positive on expanding feed zones for pros only at Unbound Gravel 200 this year, a change made by Life Time, the organisers of the Grand Prix series and owners of the collection of six races, because of input from the elite riders.

"Unbound was always tough because it's such a long race, so feed zones historically, got you to think about carrying like four litres of water," Onweller told Cyclingnews after she finished top five for a second time at Unbound 200.

"I went to a wind tunnel with Sika specifically testing how to carry four litres of water, and then the next thing you know, Life Time announces they're doing a third feed zone. So I think a lot of us elite racers were really excited, and the elite feeds were separate so that improved safety."

Onweller said the first pro-only feed zone was really short, and the speeds carried into the area would be too high for the space allowed, but the mud at mile 15 split the men's and women's pelotons apart so there was no mass entry of riders. She thought the second two feed zones were super long and having space between team set-ups was good. However the difficult logistics for crews to move between feed zones was stressful and split resources.

"We had a crew that was at the start line that then went to feed two, and then the feed zone one people went to feed zone three, so they alternated each other, so that they could catch both male and female riders," she confirmed.

"At the end of the day, adding a third feed zone actually split resources. Yeah, I think that was a really big struggle. We tried to get as many bodies as possible, but it's still a stress to your resources, so for that reason I didn't really like the added third feed zone. Unless you have endless resources in this industry, which is pretty rare, I think it stressed a lot of people."

Andrew L'Esperance, who completed his fourth Unbound Gravel 200 this year and back as an invited rider in the Grand Prix, agreed that the third feed zone did work for the most part but did create stress.

"I think it worked quite well. It avoided all the challenges that were in previous versions of Unbound, just because the feed zones were longer and they had way less people in them, so there was just a lot more space to operate," he told Cyclingnews.

"There were some challenges with transportation between feed zone one and two. I just think with the way the course layout was, it wasn't really impossible to have the same person feed [at both]. It is just the reality of the area we're racing in, that the way that we got from feed zone one to feed zone two was all on back gravel roads, and there was no real main roads to get there quickly.

"This is just an example of them [Life Time] trying to improve, They hit it like 90% great, and that last 10% is just something they can do to make it perfect."

Close calls and closed courses

Gravel races typically cover so much real estate, are closed courses possible? In Europe, the courses often pass through densely populated areas. Vermeulen and Onweller noted that USA Cycling had a closed course for US Gravel Nationals that worked, Onweller third in Nebraska two years ago and Vermeulen finishing fourth at US Nationals in Minnesota last year. Swenson said the 2025 circuit course for SBT GRVL was 'semi-closed' and seemed safe.

L'Esperance noted that one of the best-organised gravel races he has done was a regional event near his home outside Montreal, Gravelooza. It was held the weekend after Unbound, with 1,800 participants, and he noted that all intersections were marshaled by construction workers.

"At the front of the race, it felt safe the whole time," he said, noting that the workers are used to regulating traffic.

Leadville and Big Sugar were races many riders called out as unsafe – Leadville for the two-way traffic up and down the Columbine climb, and Big Sugar in Arkansas for multiple intersections where the course crossed paved roads, many of them busy. L'Esperance also noted that The Traka 360, where he finished ninth this year, had issues that may have gone unnoticed.

"I ran into the situation at The Traka where there was just most of the busy roads were marshaled by volunteers, I would say with varying effectiveness. So they didn't have the same confidence or authority that you'd expect in that situation.

"There was a fast gravel road corner and our group came very close to getting hit by a car. It was just one of those scenarios where I think the group had been pretty used to having marshals at key intersections most of the day. This happened to be one where there wasn't a marshal, and it wasn't a hard corner, it was like a softer corner, so maybe there was less alertness by the group on it, but these things obviously can happen."

Vermeulen pointed out that while it is great to have volunteers along a course, they need to be helpful, pay attention at all times and understand what is the proper hand signal to use. Are they signaling that an intersection is clear to cross or are riders to stop, or is a car to stop?

Onweller noted that Life Time did a better job this year with protected intersections, and securing the pro finish lines with fencing for an extended distance and providing police at many of the later intersections, for amateurs and pros.

Leadville the next barometre

In the 'early days' of gravel racing, just five years ago, Life Time, the organisers of the Grand Prix series and owners of the collection of six races, set a precedent by outlawing comfort bars from the elite divisions of the off-road races. It was a rather seismic rule, but the dust settled quickly.

Next came separate starts for elite men and women, larger spacing from age-division rider starts and a no-drafting rule for riders in outside categories. Rules vary from race to race around the globe on all of those, with The Traka allowing age-group men to start before the elite women this year and chaos ensued.

Life Time created two athlete advisor roles for this year, the fifth season of the series, to provide feedback from the elite competitors to improve "race experience, competition structure and key decisions that shape the series". Melisa Rollins and L'Esperance were selected by their peers for 2026, and both shared with Cyclingnews how the 'shaping' of the series has a key focus on safety.

"Life Time is open to feedback, and they're trying to improve all the time, and this is just an example of them trying to improve," L'Esperance said, the process still being developed.

"It's really cool to see that our opinions really do matter and they are actively making changes. When they say they are gonna bring it back to the team and come back to us, they always do," said Rollins, who has been out most of 2026 due to several injuries.

"I'm just getting one billion texts from one billion different avenues, about this and that, so we're kind of a good middle I think, Lespy and I."

A past winner of Leadville Trail 100 MTB, Rollins said that race had its own issues related to feed zones, media vehicles and two-way traffic with age-group riders that bring safety to the forefront.

"It seems as the media demand is sort of elevated at these races. Everybody wants media, but the more media, all the media vehicles, that's when we're having more safety problems. We aren't keeping up with the safety protocol," she said.

"Having the pro-only feed zones will help with availability for media. Hopefully it'll be safer in that regard because obviously last year there was a media crew incident coming down Columbine and we don't want a repeat of that.

"I'm not sure if there's really a solution other than closing the roads and we get a really, really safe race. That's not possible, not with races that are taking us [pros] six hours and an amateur race going on that take people 12 hours."

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It all came down to a sprint at the Safari Gravel race with Lawrence Lorot (Team Amani) and Claudette Nyirarukundo (Team Amani) claiming the UCI Gravel World Series race set in the Hell's Gate National Park, Kenya.

It was a step up from last year for Nyirarukundo, who in 2025 finished second to Haley Smith at the challenging 111km event with 85% gravel and surfaces that range from red clay to single track and game trails. This year the Rwandan got the better of Canada's Sarah Diekmeyer in a tight battle to the line in the women's elite race. Austria's Theresa Rindler-Bachl (Megamo) was third, more than ten minutes further back.

In the elite men's race Lorot took his first UCI Gravel World Series win in his first gravel race of the year where, after coming straight from a road block in Mauritius, he prevailed despite a difficult start.

"In the first kilometres my saddle went down and I had to chase back," said Lorot in an Instagram post.

It was then Black Mamba Development squad riders who took the next steps of the podium as Stanley Ngugi sprinted to second, finishing a second back from Lorot. Ivan Kipruto was then just 18 seconds back from the winning time of 3:29:04, in third.

Results

Trek Driftless riders Torbjørn Andre Røed and Cécile Lejeune snared the Belgian Waffle Ride Utah victories, with Røed sprinting across the line ahead of Ryker Brand (Allied/Formula 369) while it was a clear cut solo win for Lejeune.

"A long day in the scorching heat of the dry Utah desert, it was a battle against the heat, wind, and the elevation," said Lejeune in an Instagram post.

"We had a good group of women riding together for the first hour, after which I pushed the pace on the first climbs. I got a gap and held it for the rest of the race."

Lejeune, who also won the California BWR, came over the Cedar City finish line after five hours, 48 minutes and 49 seconds, finishing the 117-mile (188km) race with a margin of nearly 20 minutes to her nearest rival, Courtney Sullivan (Mamis p/b Incycle). Holly Breck (Legion of Los Angeles) took third a further 13 minutes back.

It was a tighter battle to the line for Røed, who crossed the line three seconds ahead of Brand while Hayden Christian (Trek / MAAP Pro.fwd) was third, coming across the line a minute-and-a-half later.

Results

Canada's Gravel National Championships were set to play out on Sunday with a strong field and high temperatures, with extra measures put in place before the event in British Columbia began. However, while riders did take off from the start line – and some even forged through to the finish – the event was cancelled while competitors were out on the course.

"This decision was not made lightly," said event director Jon Watking in a statement put out on the race's social media. "During the event, an assessment was made that the on-course conditions did not meet the safety standards required for participants to continue racing."

The championships were set to run over 123km, playing out at the Burnt Bridge Classic in the Cowichan Valley of Vancouver Island, with more than 2,000 metres of elevation gain over a course with a 16km out-and-back route to a circuit with a long climb and technical descents, that elite riders would take on twice.

The elite men set off first at 9:30 am, followed five minutes later by the elite women and then over the next half an hour, the rest of the categories rolled out.

The lead elite men, namely Michael Woods, Benjamin Perry and Andrew L'Esperance, were, according to a report from Canadian Cycling Magazine, around 35km, mostly downhill, from the line when they received some communications that the race may be cancelled, while it appears the women's elite racers were in the early part of the second lap.

"Throughout the day, medical resources began to reach their maximum capacity, creating a vulnerable situation for the remaining riders on the course. Race temperatures exceeding 34°C were recorded, and it became clear that continuing the event would no longer meet the required safety standards for all participants," said the event organiser.

"We recognize that this decision has caused disappointment, and we understand the time, training, and commitment you have invested in participating in the Canadian Gravel Championships. Panache Cycling Sports is working closely with Cycling Canada to determine the fairest possible outcome regarding results and titles. We expect to provide an update by the end of the week."

In the men's race, it appears that there was a clear-cut leader when the decision was made to call off the race, with Woods having attacked on the major climb of the second lap, leaving Perry and L'Esperance behind.

All three kept rolling, with L'Esperance saying on social media that "About 30 km from the finish, a marshal yelled at us and said the race was cancelled. Ben and I paused for a second, but then chatted and decided to continue racing as the fastest and only way back to the finish line was along the course".

For retired WorldTour professional Woods, there appears to have been a little more uncertainty, so he didn't let off the pace or stop digging deep.

"When the motorbike came up beside me at one point and said, 'Maybe it’s cancelled', I thought, 'OK. Maybe I’m OK with that.” Then he said it was 'still on'," Woods said in comments reported by Canadian Cycling.

“I went so deep. One of the deepest I’ve ever gone. To now find out that there might be a podium or results? It’s a shame.”

The women's contenders had been swapping leads, with Haley Smith among the riders at the pointy end along with Lucy Hempstead and Kaitlyn Rauwerda, but it appears that they did pull the pin on a race that was less settled when word of the cancellation came through.

"Yes, it is confusing," said Smith in an Instagram story, adding that given the 30km of racing ahead, they don't know how it would have finished.

"Either way, it seems there are no results to be had from yesterday. But at least I still got to go for a bike ride and rip downhill at 75km/hr."

Cyclingnews has reached out to the event organisers and Cycling Canada for additional information.

Update: Cycling Canada confirmed in an email to participants, that was also shared with Cyclingnews, that while there were a number of categories where championship titles would be awarded, with the decision made "using a data-based approach", there were 10 categories "where the race cancellation affected the outcome" so titles wouldn't be awarded. These included the elite men's and women's national championship jerseys.

Full statement from the event organisers:

On Sunday, June 14, the decision was made to cancel the 2026 Canadian Gravel Championships. This decision was not made lightly. During the event, an assessment was made, that the on-course conditions did not meet the safety standards required for participants to continue racing.

Going into the event, additional precautionary measures had been put in place and communicated at the riders/managers meeting based on weather conditions to be expected at that time. These included offering a bottle drop at aid stations, adding more water and ice resources, and introducing a mandatory cut off time at 1:30pm for riders at aid station 2.

As the event progressed, we monitored the situation referencing the Cycling BC Air Quality and Extreme Weather Safety Guidelines. Over the course of the day, medical resources began to reach their capacity, creating a vulnerable situation for riders on course. On course race temperatures of greater than 34+ degrees Celsius were measured, and it became clear that proceeding with the event would not meet the safety standards required for every participant.

We recognize this decision was met with disappointment, and we understand the time, training, and commitment you have invested in participating in the Canadian Gravel Championships event. Panache Cycling Sports is working diligently with Cycling Canada to determine the fairest possible outcome regarding results and titles. We expect to provide an update by the end of the week.

Your safety is, and will always remain, our highest priority. Thank you for your understanding, your patience, and your continued support of gravel racing in Canada. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me or Cycling Canada directly for clarification.

Sincerely,

Jon Watkin

Panache Cycling Sports Ltd.

Lost and Found may have been set in Portola, California but the top spots across the Pro Men's and Women's race were both claimed by debuting riders from New Zealand, Ruby Ryan and Matthew Wilson (Scott Sports USA), who had decided to take a road trip out to the event after Unbound.

Wilson took a solo victory in the men's Gravel Earth series race ahead of Payson McElveen (Allied Cycle Works-Red Bull) while last year's winner Peter Stetina claimed third, passing Skyler Taylor (Pinarello) on the run to the line, as he bounced back from a gash to his knee that ended his Unbound endeavours.

Ryan, on the other hand, clinched the women's race in a two-way sprint, deciding to hop in the car and make her debut after men's winner Wilson suggested she too, should check out the event, and then finding another compatriot out on course to share the day of racing with.

"I rode most of the day with my fellow kiwi Samara Sheppard, who finished second," said the mountain biker from New Zealand who is part of the Life Time Grand Prix series. "We got away at mile 66, and then we were just rotating. It was great to be with her at the end, and it came down to a sprint finish. I think that was my first sprint win, so I'm happy."

Jennifer Tavé (SpeedBlock-Terún Pro Cycling) then rolled over the line about three minutes back to take third, repeating her result of 2025.

In the men's race, through the double-track it thinned down to a group of three – Wilson, McElveen and Taylor – but then, at the second-to-last feed zone, Taylor was left behind, and the duo of Wilson and McElveen were out the front.

"Then we just rolled turns from there until the final gravel climb," said Wilson in a race Instagram post. "We could see Skyler starting to come up on the horizon. Over the top of that climb I attacked on the descent and got a reasonable gap down the hill and managed to hold that till the entry of the single track.

"Once I was in the single track I was back in my home element and able to open up that gap a bit more and get out of sight and I just soloed home back down the hill."

It was Wilson's second win in as many weeks, with the rider who clinched a wildcard entry to the Life Time Grand Prix at Unbound having also snared a very different victory at Tulsa Tough. There, he washed the mud off his gravel bike, threw on some road wheels and claimed the McElroy River Parks criterium solo.

Results

Hugo Drechou (Gravel Nation) and Sophie Wright (Ribble Outliers) powered through the dry and sunny conditions to claim victory at Wish One Millau Grands Causses, the opening French round of the UCI Gravel World Series.

The French champion claimed the men's title at the long-running series event in a tight battle to the line with Jente Michels (Alpecin-Premier Tech), who took second place four seconds back. 2023 winner Toby Perry (Reverb) was third, finishing 16 seconds after Drechou, who completed the 130km course with over 2,000m of elevation gain in four hours and nine seconds.

British rider, Wright, on the other hand, was all in for a long solo. She escaped before the halfway mark of the race and built the gap across the long climbs and technical gravel sections to cross the line with a substantial gap after 4 hours, 35 minutes and 25 seconds. Sofia Schugar (MAAP Pro.Fwd) was second at just over 23 minutes later, while in third, more than seven minutes further back in the splintered women's field, it was Leonie Laubig.

It was Wright's second series win of the season, having also claimed victory at Monaco Gravel. While it was a first UCI Gravel World Series win of 2026 for Drechou, who had put his powerful form on display last month at The Traka, claiming second in the 360.

Wish One Millau Grands Causses is the opening French round of the series, having been on the schedule right from the opening year in 2022. The second French round comes right at the end of the UCI Gravel World Championships qualifiers with the Pyrénées Catalanes Gravel Tour on Saturday September 26.

The World Championships will be held in Nannup, Western Australia, on October 10-11.

European gravel champion Mads Würtz Schmidt (Specialized Off-road) followed his solo victory a week ago at Unbound Gravel 200 with another single-handed rampage at Ranxo Gravel in Spain. His winning time of 4:34:53 was five minutes ahead of a chasing group with five riders, led across the line by Kevin Kühn (Heizomat-Cube) in second, who was four seconds ahead of Julian Siemons (GVA Gold).

Strung out across the finish rolled the rest of the chasers, Hugo Drechou (Gravel Nation) in fourth, Joel Roth (BIXS Race Team) in fifth and Danny van Lierop (Heizomat-Cube) in sixth.

The European marathon mountain bike champion Rosa van Doorn (Buff-BH Team) outpaced Morgan Aguirre (PAS Racing) on the grassy straightaway to win the elite women's division by five seconds, completing the course in 5:19:01. Axelle Dubau-Prevot (EF Education-Oatly) trailed another 34 seconds later for third, with Sophie Wright (Ribble Outliers) a distant fourth.

"Huh, I definitely didn’t expect this one. First gravel race of the year on an amazing course," Van Doorn said on Instagram.

Würtz Schmidt has gone four-for-four in Gravel Earth Series events this season and has a substantial lead over Drechou in the men's overall standings, with Petr Vakoč (Factor Racing) third. Dubau-Prevot sits at the top of the women's leaderboard, ahead of Aguirre in second and Wright in third.

In previous years, Ranxo Gravel served as the decisive final round of the Gravel Earth Series. This year the 160km long route, with 1,930 metres of elevation gain from Ponts, Spain, was moved to June as the fifth race in the series, the finale taking place at The River by the Traka in Bouillon, Belgium on September 6.

FoCo Fondo gravel race adds live stream

A new live stream of the elite races at FoCo Fondo presented by Fat Tire will feature as part of the 11th edition of the Fort Collins, Colorado gravel race, taking place July 19. The broadcast will be shown on the YouTube channel of event organisation Bike Sports (bikesportsco), founded in 2016 by athletes Zack and Whitney Allison.

A total prize purse $15,000 is on the line in the 120-mile Triple Dog Dare distance, the longest of four routes, with payouts 10 deep for elite men, elite women and non-binary/gender expansive divisions, all with separate starts.

Last year Torbjørn Røed out-sprinted Alexey Vermeulen in the elite men's division while Lauren Stephens defended her title, 14 minutes ahead of runner-up Courtney Sherwell.

The event's non-profit beneficiary, Friends of FoCo Fondo, expands their reach in 2026 with the addition of 30 para-cycling athletes in a scholarship program. This initiative provides access to registration, housing, and educational resources who might not otherwise have a path to the start line. It is the sixth year for the scholarship program, which has helped more than 100 riders to date.

“We want to keep growing FoCo Fondo with a diverse participation base for the right reasons. Our event, who it benefits, who shows up, and how it feels, is all made better by having people of all types participating," Zack Allison said.

Expanded U23 Program confirms 32 riders for Life Time Grand Prix compeition

A total of 12 women and 20 men were named to the 2026 rosters for the second edition of the Life Time Grand Prix U23 Program. Series organisers, Life Time, expanded the number of participants from 10 in each division after strong showings in the two qualifying races.

Results from Life Time's first two rounds of the Grand Prix, Sea Otter Classic Gravel (90 miles) and Unbound Gravel 100, served as the races within each race for rankings of riders between the ages of 18 and 22. They will next compete in the remaining Grand Prix schedule for overall rankings after Big Sugar Gravel, with the top pair earning roster spots in the 2027 elite LTGP lineup. Four of the six total races are required.

"We originally planned to select 10 young women and men, but the depth of talent this year made it clear that we had an opportunity to expand. By expanding the roster and introducing race entry support, we are doubling down on our commitment to building a stronger development pipeline and creating more opportunities for the next generation of elite off-road cyclists," said Michelle Duffy, director of the Life Time Grand Prix.

Race entry fees will be covered for the U23 riders through the remainder of the season by Life Time, which Duffy said helps eliminate barriers of access and cost for many riders who are students or work full-time.

After two events so far this year, USA's Kylee Hanel has won two races to lead the women's standings, while Canadian Oskar Stack-Michasiw used a U23 second place at Unbound Gravel to move into the men's lead. Inaugural winners of the U23 Program were Ruth Holcomb and Griffin Hoppin, now part of the invitation-only Grand Prix lineup this season.

U23 Women's Roster

• Lauren Aggeler, Colorado, USA
• Samantha Campbell, Colorado, USA
• Alex Charles, Utah, USA
• Ellory Clason, Michigan, USA
• Katelyn Cook, Idaho, USA
• Brooke Darby, Colorado, USA
• Kylee Hanel, Oregon, USA
• Scarlett Hardie, Colorado, USA
• Samantha Johnson, Tennessee, USA
• Courtney Merrill, Idaho, USA
• Lacie Munns, Utah, USA
• Emily Stapleton, Pennsylvania, USA

U23 Men's Roster

• Isaac Allred, Minnesota, USA
• Ryker Brand, Utah, USA
• Aero Fisher, California, USA
• Jason Freihofner, California, USA
• Calvin Horner, Kansas, USA
• Jake Johansen, Arizona, USA
• Holden Krizek, Colorado, USA
• Finn McKenzie, Marlborough, New Zealand
• Luke Mosteller, Georgia, USA
• Ryder Ritchie, California, USA
• Ollie Rutberg, Colorado, USA
• Jacob Schneller, Kansas, USA
• Braeden Sellinger, Arizona, USA
• Jack Spang, California, USA
• Oskar Stack-Michasiw, Saskatchewan Canada
• Kash Steele, California, USA
• Jacob Stutz, California, USA
• Elliot Thornblade, Montana, USA
• Noah Warren, Alabama, USA
• Jonas Woodruff, California, USA

The Specialized Crux 5 had possibly the most successful launch of any bike ever.

It leaked at the Scottish UCI Gravel Worlds qualifier, the Gralloch, beneath Gee Schreurs as she rode to victory, and then after an official launch on Thursday, it took six of the 10 wide-podium spots in the Elite 200-mile races at an ultra-muddy Unbound on Saturday. For a gravel race bike, it has already proven it can race.

It was also tested among a cohort of competitor gravel race bikes here at Cyclingnews, and spoiler alert: it did well.

But before we get into the minutiae and results of that test, here are some basic details about what is still a very new bike at the time of writing. I'll spare you a regurgitated press release and instead outline some of the headline claims from Specialized.

1. It's no longer a 'cross bike and has instead gone all-in on gravel racing.
2. It's 15.2 watts more aerodynamic than its predecessor.
3. It boasts 55mm tyre clearance front and rear.
4. Builds start at 6.9kg with lightweight wheels, growing to 7.1kg for aero wheels.
5. It's mega expensive, at 14,000 US dollars for the top-spec S-Works model.

Wind tunnel testing

As mentioned, Cyclingnews had exclusive early access to wind-tunnel-test the bike against a cohort of competitors, including the Wilier Rave SLR ID2, the Argon 18 Anti Matter, the Trek Checkmate SLR, and the ever-popular Lauf Seigla.

The results are already live in our full gravel race bikes wind tunnel test write-up. But for those of you who want to focus solely on the S-Works Crux, you're in the right place. We'll be doing similar for other popular bikes from that test in the coming weeks, too.

Protocols and caveats

As ever, we used the wind tunnel at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub and, for the most part, mimicked the test conditions used in our road bike wind tunnel tests.

This means we tested each bike in a size 56cm (or equivalent), both with and without a rider, in the bike's as-sold setup, and then again with a pair of 'control' wheels. We tested each bike at seven different wind angles ranging from -15° to +15° (in 5° increments), and the results below will show a weighted average.

Rather than the 40km/h speed we use in the road bike tests, we adjusted the speed slightly to 35km/h to better reflect what you'd experience in gravel races.

To caveat that, I am aware 35km/h is still fast for gravel, but we settled on this speed for a few reasons.

Firstly, to ensure accuracy. The slower the wind speed, the less force is placed on the force balance inside the tunnel, which ultimately is what measures the drag. What's more, with lower resolution and testing with a real rider, slight movements would have an outsized effect on the result. We could have tested for longer at each yaw angle to offset this, but holding the correct position for longer has its own issues, as it can lead to more movement as the rider fatigues. Therefore, testing at as high a speed as is relevant made the most sense.

Secondly, I did some research into average speeds of entire races, and average speeds of key points within them (such as chases or attacks), and found that 30-35km/h was a good balance in competitive racing.

We used each bike as it would be supplied by the manufacturer, save for a couple of standardisations: We added bottles and cages, since that's how riders will use the bike in the real world. We swapped the 45mm Specialized Pathfinder tyres for a 45mm Pirelli Cinturato Gravel RH control tyre to ensure no bike gained an unfair advantage from speccing slick tyres.

We removed the out-front computer mount simply because not all bikes come with one. And we swapped the S-Works Power Mirror saddle for an Ergon All Road SR. This gave us a consistent 80mm point to measure to when setting the saddle setback, and meant no bike was unfairly hampered by a 3D-printed saddle (which can catch the wind when there's no rider sitting on top).

For the extra test using the 'control' wheels, we used a pair of Enve G SES 6.7 wheels shod with 50mm Vittoria Terreno Dry tyres. I feel that 50mm is a good balance of progressively wide, but not so crazy that half the bikes couldn't fit them.

Confidence margin

The below data is subject to the following confidence interval.

This is calculated by testing the same bike at the start of the day, then again at the end. Given that the same identical setup can achieve two different results, we cannot trust that any other bike is more accurate than this difference.

Results

Now, to get into the results. I will first share the raw data as it comes out of the tunnel. Then the processed data, which takes the average CdA from each of the seven yaw angles and calculates a weighted average that better reflects real-world conditions. Specifically, we weigh heavily toward zero degrees - or a direct headwind, as per the research and PHD of Cannondale's Nathan Barry.

Bike only: Stock wheelset

The Crux doesn't have the most aero-looking design, at least based on common convention, but it's clearly better able to slip through the wind than the Trek Emonda ALR and most of its gravel-focussed peers.

Since there's no rider on the bike here, a bike's ability to harness the wind at wider yaw angles becomes clearer, signalled by how flat this V-shaped line becomes. If you check out the same graph for all-out aero bikes like the Factor One or Colnago Y1Rs, you'll see it becomes more of an M shape, as the deep tubes help the bike to sail in the wind.

Next up, I will work out the weighted average of these data points and use it to calculate the watts required to overcome the aero drag. Those calculations won't include things like rolling resistance, but it's only the aero differences we're interested in here, not the absolutes.

We're pretty confident that thanks to the Crux's low weight and 55mm tyre clearance, it would outshine its competitors in a comparative rolling resistance test, but such a test would be fraught with variables. It is therefore easier to measure the rolling resistance difference of tyre models and tyre widths alone, both of which we've done.

• What is the fastest gravel tyre setup?
• Is a wider tyre a faster tyre? We combine aero and rolling data to find out

The above graph shows the watts required for the bike to overcome aero drag, and that the Crux is in 2nd place, just 1.21w (+/- 0.26w error) behind the much deeper-tubed Argon 18 Anti Matter.

There's around a kilo difference between the two, but bear in mind that the Argon 18 was equipped with the slightly heavier SRAM Force XPLR.

The graph above is a slightly clearer view of the differences between each bike.

And in the graph above, you can see every bike we've ever tested, listed as a difference against the baseline Trek Emonda, with the weighted CdA solved for watts at 40km/h, for consistency against the road bikes.

Some context to add here is that this baseline bike is kept completely unchanged from test to test, and it is retested at the start and finish of every single test session, so the differences between it and whatever cohort of new bikes we're testing are valid no matter when the test occurred.

Evidence that this works is that we tested the same Scott Foil in 2024 and 2025, and it performed similarly in both tests (bike-only and with-rider) over the two test days. In the bike-only test, it was 34.98 watts faster in 2024, and 35.66 watts faster in 2025; a difference of just 0.68 watts. With the rider on, it was 19.79 watts faster in 2024 and 19.15 watts faster in 2025; a difference of 0.64 watts.

Especially relevant today, though, is that we kept it in the road bike position, rather than adapting it to a gravel position. There are two reasons for this. First, the amount of adjustment needed to get it into a gravel position was impossible to achieve without a very strange stem setup. And second, road and gravel bikes do put you into a different position. By testing it this way with the road position, we could see a fairer difference in how the gravel bikes compare to the road bikes, in a way that is likely to be experienced.

Bike and rider

The 'road' position of the Emonda makes a world of difference to the results here, so please don't let your takeaway be that the fastest gravel bike is a 10-year-old road bike.

But for a consistent comparison machine, it's as good as we need, and comes with the nice bonus of allowing us to compare (loosely, given not everyone will adopt the same positions as we did) across genres.

With a rider on, the Crux lands a very impressive top spot, albeit well within the error margin of the Wilier, the Argon 18, and the Pinarello. If we couple this with the bike's impressive weight – a full kilo lighter than the similarly-specced Rave SLR – and ample tyre clearance, it's a very strong case for concluding the Crux is the fastest gravel bike we tested.

Here's a clearer view of the differences between each of the bikes. The Crux and Rave are super close, separated by just 0.05 watts.

It's very caveated by the positional difference and the fact that we've got gravel tyres fitted here, but as the fastest gravel bike we tested (with a rider), the Crux is the closest to all the aero bikes we've tested. It's still in the region of 20 watts off the Cinelli Aeroscoop, though, and 28 watts behind its road-going stablemate, the S-Works Tarmac SL8.

When we tested gravel tyre widths, we found the difference between a 40mm road tyre (Goodyear Vector) and a 47mm Vittoria Terreno Dry gravel tyre to be 8.7 watts when using the Zipp XPLR wheels, and 6.6 watts on Hunt CGR wheels. That's roughly what I'd expect to save if we swapped the Crux onto a road tyre, and it helps you understand the deficit in a slightly more comparable way.

With all that said, I am planning on running a more in-depth head-to-head between the Crux and the Tarmac soon. However, since a new Specialized has been spotted at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in recent days, I'm hoping Specialized will oblige me with the opportunity to test it against that. Watch this space.

Bike only, Enve wheels

A similar graph to the one above, but the Crux has actually dropped down the table a little, now into 4th.

When we calculate the weighted average and solve for watts, the Crux sits in third.

When we swapped in the Enve G SES 6.7 wheels and 50mm Vittoria T30 tyre, all bikes improved.

That could come down to the difference in tread between the Cinturato and the T30 tyres, but given the depth of the Enves, I'd be surprised if that's not the real reason.

Still, in a complement to the Roval Terra Aero CLX wheels that come on the Crux, it was Specialized that improved the least, at just 2.37 watts.

Essentially, this says the Roval wheels were the closest to the Enves, in a cohort that also included 3T's Discus, Miche's Graff Aero, and Zipp's 303 XPLR S.

Conclusions

As the most aero bike with a rider on, and 2nd place as bike only, the Crux 5 has held its own very well despite others here having a more obviously aero-looking design, such as the deep head tube of the Argon 18 and the integrated aero bottles of the Wilier.

Importantly, though, the Crux is a full kilo lighter than the competitors that accompany it on the podium.

It weighed 7.1kg on our scales, with Red XPLR, (empty) bottles in the cages, no pedals, no out front mount, and no sealant in the Pathfinder tyres it comes with.

Under those same conditions, the Argon 18 is 8.2kg (albeit in a Force XPLR spec, as tested), while the Wilier Rave SLR ID2 is 8.1kg with Red XPLR.

With that in mind, and the fact that neither beats it on tyre clearance, the Crux is the fastest gravel bike out there right now.

That could be about to change, though, because Giant just showed off an interesting-looking contender, Factor has a new wide-tyred aero bike on the way, Ridley has what is essentially a gravel-going Noah Fast coming, and Canyon's been busy too. Once again, watch this space.

Further questions

As ever, our testing has led to as many questions as answers. For example, I'm now curious how many watts would separate the Crux 5 and the Tarmac SL8 if we were to match the tyres and the rider positions?

Similarly, are those Roval wheels actually two watts slower than the new Enves, or is some of that down to the tyre tread? And how does the width affect it?

Likewise, what's the difference between the Terra CLX Aero wheels and the Terra CLX III (which are shallower and weigh 261g less)?

The FIFA World Cup 2026 begins this week and is an incredible 104-match feast of soccer action in North America. However, for us cyclists, the real show starts in Barcelona, Spain, in July with the Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2026.

The World Cup will be in its final stages when the world's best cyclists, including defending champion Tadej Pogačar, take to the start line of the 113th edition. Stage One of the Tour de France 2026 starts on Saturday, July 4 with an always exciting team time trial around the Catalan capital.

Viewing Le Tour and all the best sporting action, including the FIFA World Cup, can mean multiple streaming subscriptions. If you find yourself travelling abroad over summer, you'll most likely find yourself blocked out by geo-restrictions.

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2026 UCI WorldTour schedule highlights

• Critérium du Dauphiné (Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes), 7-14 June
• Tour de Suisse, 17-21 June
• Tour de France, 4-26 July
• Tour de France Femmes, 1-9 Aug
• La Vuelta España, 22 Aug-13 Sep
• UCI World Championships, 20-27 Sep

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Just last week, New Zealand mountain biker Matthew Wilson was celebrating a performance at Unbound Gravel that clinched him a wildcard spot in the Life Time Grand Prix series. However, there was no rest for the Scott Sports USA rider after taking 28th in a brutal edition of the race, given he'd decided to pin on a number at the Tulsa Tough criteriums through the weekend.

"I borrowed a mate's road wheels, put them on the gravel bike and gave it a nudge," said Wilson in the race live broadcast.

The 24-year-old on the repurposed Scott Addict Gravel wasn't just rolling around to make up numbers either, delivering an unexpected victory in the race style that could hardly provide a bigger contrast to his efforts of the previous weekend.

Wilson joined the fray after the Blue Dome criterium, part of the American Criterium cup series, opening up the legs with 51st at the Tulsa Arts District Criterium but then really turning up the heat for the finale, the McElroy River Parks criterium, which includes Cry Baby hill.

"Winning a US pro crit was not on the to-do list for 2026, but here we are," said Wilson in an Instagram post after a weekend of racing, which included claiming the Pro Men's top spot at the Tulsa Tough finale, the McElroy Parks criterium.

He was aggressive in pursuit of the break, which was far from a one-off effort, but Wilson was persistent.

"Having never really considered myself a sprinter, and not being a fan of the carnage that can unfold in the bunch, I figured the best place to be was off the front," said Wilson, who certainly couldn't have had any concerns about his ability to go long.

At more than 50 minutes into the race with around ten laps to go, Wilson clipped off the front in a move where he initially joined Riley Wrightsman, but then went it alone.

"It took a couple of attempts, but eventually I found myself solo with five laps to go and managed to hang on all the way to the finish," said Wilson.

A win in the prestigious US criterium may have been cause for celebration for the rider who confessed that "I haven't done too much crit racing at all to be fair." There was no time to get wrapped up in the celebrations, though, as the gravel bike is due to hit more familiar terrain once again.

"I'm up early tomorrow morning," said Wilson. "I've got a 14-hour drive out to Durango, making my way across the country to Lost and Found Gravel."

The Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, formerly the Critérium du Dauphiné (RIP), is always the traditional pre-Tour outing for brand new bikes. As always, ripened in the Grenoble sunshine, I have harvested a bumper crop of new machines to show you from trawling around team hotels before the race, and from the pits of stage one.

The biggest story of the week was of course the brand new Specialized Tarmac SL9, followed swiftly by the will-he-won't-he saga of whether Remco Evenepoel was going to make a surprise appearance, but we were also treated to new machines from Ridley, Orbea, Cube, and Van Rysel.

We've seen a lot of trends towards all-out aero machines in recent years, but now the pendulum seems to be slowly swinging back towards lightweight all-rounders. Now they can be made more or less as aerodynamic as their more chunky (and heavier) counterparts, but it's far from a ubiquitous theme.

Ridley's new machine appears to be a super lightweight climber, while Orbea had what was very much an aero bike on debut.

Let's dig into it and see what we can glean before the biggest race of the year is upon us.

Dutch rider Wendy Oosterwoud (PAS Racing) and Germany's Anton Albrecht (Rembe | Rad-Net) won the elite titles on Saturday at Gravel Adventure in Poland.

The Gravel Challenge was held for a fifth year as a Gravelking UCI Gravel World Series event in Poland’s Izerskie Mountains, a dry, dusty day on a 120km course with 2,355 metres of elevation gain.

The route began from Jakuszyce with a 10km loop that included an early 2.6 km climb with an average gradient of 6.6%. Riders passed the start line again to enter a larger 52km eastern loop that included a 7.7km paved climb with gradients over 9%. A final 2km gravel climb set up a 1.6km downhill finish.

For Oosterwoud it was her first gravel victory of 2026, having finished on the podium at three other European events. She made a solo move with under 40km to go on the dirt descent from the longest climb of the day, riding at an average speed of 26.7 kph to finish in 4:29:56.

Irina Lützelschwab of Switzerland finished 2:21 back in second, while Germany's Romy Kasper was third at 6:05 back. Kasper competed at last weekend's Unbound Gravel 200, finishing seventh in the elite women's field.

"Very happy to take the win home after a hard race in the Polish Hills! A big thanks to the Factor team that were there to support me," she wrote on Instagram.

Albrecht timed his move on the 7.7km final ascent, surging away from a lead group of 15 riders. He crossed the line in 3:49:14, averaging 31.4 kph, which was just enough to hold off a late attack by the Czechia duo of Petr Vakoč and Filip Adel. Vakoč finished runner-up for a second year in a row, this time 1:10 back, while Adel crossed the line three seconds later.

Results

There was ample pre-race hype about new equipment and the strength of the Specialized Off-road team at the 2026 Unbound Gravel 200 while the swirling around about the bigger setup under the PAS Racing collective was a little more subdued, even though defending women's champion Karolina Migoń was back.

Still, that doesn't mean that there weren't plenty of tales to be told from among the teams, of both results and camaraderie. PAS Racing started with seven riders in Emporia, Kansas, and finished with two on the podium. Cecily Decker and Tobias Kongstad secured third place in both elite divisions, plus Decker moved to second overall in the Life Time Grand Prix standings.

Migoń surrendered to mud and mechanical issues in the opening 20 miles for a DNF "because I simply couldn't pedal anymore", and Magnus Bak Klaris also pulled out. Simen Nordahl Svendsen fought on for 18th, and is now 14th in the Life Time Grand Prix men's standings. While the teamwork shone brightly as the tandem of USA's Morgan Aguirre and Germany's Romy Kasper battled through a crash, mechanicals, rainstorms, a long delay for a train before continuing on for a "best of the rest" sprint for the top 12.

Through blurry eyes, stinging and red from all the muck splattered across the 207-mile (333km) odyssey on Saturday, Romy told Cyclingnews her first Unbound was quite an eye-opener, and a seventh place was a reward that might just bring her back.

"So I came here and was like 'what am I doing, 330k's racing?' I was pro 17 years on the road, but 300 kilometres are just another level. I wasn't sure how I can handle the legs, but it worked pretty well," Kasper told Cyclingnews at the finish.

Kasper recently won her first gravel competition, Gravel One Fifty, a 150km Gravel World Series race in the Netherlands, and has three other top 10s. However, even beyond the distance, Unbound Gravel was a different challenge altogether for Kasper, who raced in the top-tier of road racing with teams like Boels-Dolmans, Jumbo-Visma and Human Powered Health.

Rain changed the complexion of the race, with all the elite riders facing struggles with mud in the first 15 miles. Kasper had to let the rest of the front riders go as she cleared debris and wet dirt from her bike. At the first Feed Zone she and her bike got a fast spray of water, and the she 'went all in' with a group to get within six minutes of the leaders, which included Decker, with 124 miles to go (82 miles done).

"Then the real battle began. From km 132 onwards, the conditions got brutal. Rain, mud, headwinds, crosswinds. Hours of riding covered in dirt, barely able to see at times, while our group slowly got smaller and smaller," she said on Instagram Monday.

She said that she had then come down about 40 miles later.

"Around km 190, I crashed hard at high speed. For a moment, I wasn’t sure if my race was over," she continued to explain in her diary recap.

"As if the crash wasn’t enough, heavy rain started pouring down shortly after. We got stopped by a train, stood there freezing, soaked, and suddenly finishing didn’t seem so important anymore. But sometimes you don’t need to decide about the finish line—you only need to decide about the next kilometre. I told myself I would ride to the next feed at km 240 and reassess there."

After the delay for the freight train, which lasted more than six minutes, she picked up Aguirre who had stopped to fix a rear wheel issue and the two rode together to the third and final feed zone. It was Kasper who became recharged and motivated Aguirre, who was looking for points in the Life Time Grand Prix. The two talked and Kasper said she would not leave her teammate behind.

The final 58 miles was a "fight of pure determination" according to Kasper.

"We kept catching riders one after another. Even when I felt completely empty around km 270, I refused to give in. In the end, I even won the sprint of our group to take seventh place," Kasper wrote.

"After more than 330km of racing, mud, rain, crashes, doubts, and countless highs and lows, I’m super happy with this Top 10."

Not one but two trains

Kasper also helped Aguirre not only make it to the finish in 11th, but move to a tie for 10th, with Samara Sheppard, in the Grand Prix standings.

"Romy said at the [final] feed 'we're gonna finish together'," Aguirre told Cyclingnews after crossing the line in Emporia, smiling at her teammate, through equally bleary eyes and with a mud-crusted face.

"I think with the conditions the way that they were, it was survival. I mean, we're riding without glasses, you can't see. I'm a little worried about how much cow poop I swallowed. If I get sick, I would not be surprised. I mean, it was torrential downpours, lightning, thunder."

The Portland, Oregon native is used to rain, but it wasn't just the elements of nature which stopped her progress multiple times.

"I do understand that there is only so much they can do to actually stop the trains, I do think the fact that there are no ways to make a fair race afterwards are a bit crazy. I was stopped twice. The first time I was just before feed zone 2," she said, connecting with Lauren Stephens there.

"The second time was the exceptionally long train with Lauren De Crescenzo. We had broken away from this larger group, with Lauren Stephens, LDC and myself, dropped Lauren in the middle and then just before almost catching Sarah Lange and Haley Preen, we saw the train and we all ended up stopped.

"Then after a few minutes we were caught by everyone behind and then some, we maybe were eight at that point. This is when I got really sad and frustrated. I think to have to ride Unbound on a good day is really hard, but then to have to do it in these conditions is another thing, [and] to quite literally have road-block after road-block."

After crossing the tracks, the next blockage was a stop for a rear wheel puncture. That is when Kasper joined her teammate and the two made up ground, it was only the breakaway of five and De Crescenzo they could not catch.

"From 26th position to fighting for seventh, I’m happy that I kept pushing with everything that happened. There’s so much power in knowing that the brain is so deeply connected to the physical aspect of this sport. Sometimes an equally scary fact too," Aguirre said.

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our gravel cycling coverage in 2026. We'll be on the ground at the biggest races of the season, bringing you breaking news, expert analysis, in-depth features, and much more. Find out more.

It's said that dogs are a man's (or woman's) best friend, and gravel racer and ex-WorldTour pro Alexey Vermeulen certainly seems to have a special bond with his dog Sir Willie.

Vermeulen often rides with Sir Willie (whose Instagram page you can see below) housed safely in a backpack. The American rider finished 5th at Unbound in 2022 and came home in 15th place in this year's Elite 200 race with an average speed of just under 21mph - that was without carrying Sir Willie around the course.

Vermeulen arrived at Unbound Gravel with Sir Willie in tow as well as a special custom-painted Enve Mog gravel bike, which garnered a lot of attention. It also features a very trick custom chainring.

Unlike many of his competitors, who kept their final race-day setups a secret, Vermeulen chose to display his bike at the expo, allowing everyone to check out his new custom paint job from ENVE featuring arguably the most famous dog in cycling. We grabbed some photos before the Unbound mud covered everything.

Cycling tech can get serious sometimes; this is a nice moment to enjoy a cool bike and a celebration of a man's love for his dog.

Check out our Unbound Tech gallery for all the best tech from the weekend's racing.

Wilier Triestina released a new Rave SLR gravel bike with a renewed focus on the ever-growing gravel race scene. The first-gen Rave SLR was released back in 2021 and pitched as an on and off-road crossover, when the concept of a dedicated gravel race bike was still forward-thinking.

The original Rave SLR’s success off-road was cemented by Ivor Silk riding to victory at both the Traka 200 and Unbound the following year, but its dual-purpose aims meant the bike had its compromises.

I felt the overall application fell short when I reviewed the original Rave SLR. While I enjoyed the spritely and reactive ride, which undoubtedly contributed to the bike's racing success, it lacked the aero-optimisation and wide tyre clearance that was beginning to creep into the gravel race scene. Ultimately, Wilier’s attempt to juggle both gravel and road duties fell short, leaving the bike feeling confused and compromised, particularly when it came to gravel riding.

These days, any self-discerning gravel bike brand has to have a dedicated gravel race bike in its catalogue, and Wilier has given the second-generation Rave SLR ID2 a clear gravel racing objective. The downtube is denoted with three pixel-style emblems, an arrow, a blank space character and a smiling emoji – symbolising Wilier’s goals for the second-generation Rave. These represent aerodynamic speed, space for bigger tyre clearance and the smiley because gravel riding is meant to be fun, the spirit of gravel and all that.

To compete with the best gravel bikes, the new Rave SLR was designed in collaboration with Wilier’s gravel racers and is laser-focused on off-road races like Unbound, where we first spotted a mystery stealthed-out, aggressive-looking Wilier.

Design and aesthetics

The new Rave SLR ID2 tubing shares very few similarities with the previous Rave SLR. Most notably, besides the very green paint, is the new aero profile. Developed using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics)

The resulting tube shaping is claimed to reduce air resistance by 8.9 per cent. For a rider of Slik’s calibre, that equates to a 54-second saving over a 70km course based on Wilier’s own findings.

A couple of key elements have been used to achieve this. The NACA profile downtube transitions from a thinner teardrop into a wider profile to shroud the leading water bottle and smooth out airflow. The fork shares design cues from the Supersonica SLR TT bike, and dropped seatstays and a scooped-out seat tube should limit the disruption of airflow as it passes over the rear of the bike.

To further boost aerodynamics, Wilier recently launched an aero kit which consists of an aerodynamic bottle cage system. The 550ml bottles and cages combined give a smooth profile with the downtube and seat tube to reduce turbulence. The bottle and cage cost €99, so you probably don't want to be throwing these bottles away, but if you need to grab a fresh bottle mid-race, a regular-shaped bottle will also fit in the cage.

One of the selling points of the previous generation Wilier Rave SLR was its impressively low weight. The Campagnolo Ekar build I tested in 2021 was lightning-quick on climbs and reactive sprints. Despite its larger aero tubing, the new Rave SLR only adds 120g to the frame weight but will be considerably more capable at holding speed on fast flat sections. On top of that, Wilier has added additional carbon reinforcement to the chainstay to increase stiffness by a claimed 11.78 per cent.

Increasing stiffness didn’t just involve slapping some extra carbon to the stays and calling it a day either. The Wilier SLR ID2 features a size-tuned layup to maintain the same ride quality for riders across all frame sizes.

As we provided in our lab test, wider tyres are faster, so it's great to see tyre clearance has grown to 52mm, roughly 2in if you speak MTB. While that isn’t the biggest we have seen for a gravel race bike, it's certainly up there.

There's one thing I disliked about the old Rave SLR that has been carried over to the new model. The seat clamp is still unnecessarily recessed into the top tube, making it trickier to insert the seatpost than it should be. It’s far from a deal breaker, as it's not something you will be dealing with regularly.

The bike features a Press Fit bottom bracket shell and is equipped with SRAM’s UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger). Although my bike was fitted with an electronic groupset, there is cable routing that exits through the underside of the chainstay if you prefer mechanical shifting.

Despite the proliferation of 12sp and 13sp drivetrains these days, double chainsets are still holding on as the preference of some gravel riders, so it’s worth noting that this frame is 1x only; there are no fixtures or cable routing for a front derailleur.

As it's a race bike, you’re not going to find much in the way of bikepacking fixings. There are the standard bottle cage mounts, plus eyelets for a top tube bag and under the downtube for an additional bottle or storage, but that's it.

I would like to see some internal frame storage; it's becoming increasingly common on gravel bikes, but it's a feature that is generally excluded from race bikes. Sure, it would require a little more design work and add a few grams to the frame weight, but I think the convenience of the extra secure storage is worth it, especially when you consider the potential aero penalties of taping ride essentials to your carefully crafted aero frame.

Although the new Rave SLR ID2 is visually very different with its new gravel aero profiles, Wilier hasn’t changed all that much in regards to the geometry. Most notable is an extra 10mm to the stack height, which the new aggressively shaped F-bar offsets; more on the handlebar later.

Beyond the stack height, only minor tweaks have been made to the headtube angle, chainstay and reach compared to the previous generation. This gives a far more traditional fit when compared to the longer top tube and shorter stem trend that we have seen on bikes like the Canyon Grail and Lauf Seigla.

On an aesthetic front, I felt the old bike lacked presence, but the same certainly can’t be said of the new aggressive aero profile. While Slik’s Unbound bike came in a subtle raw carbon finish, our test bike is certainly not going to fly under the radar in its eye-catching 90’s electronica paint scheme. My test bike came in the Pixel Green colourway, which incorporates fluorescent pixels of CRT screens and the laser beams of rave parties. There’s also a Neon Purple inspired by futuristic cities and underground clubs, Byte Cream that nods to the retro computers and consoles aesthetic and finally the understated Glitch Black.

Specifications

I tested the top-tier spec, which means I was treated to a full SRAM RED XPLR AXS groupset. That means the derailleur uses SRAM’s T-Type direct-mount to shift across a 10-46T 13-speed cassette. The bike comes with a 40t chainring. This is fine for general riding, but if you are serious about gravel racing, you’re probably going to want to get something with a few more teeth. It's a bit disappointing that spending almost €10,000 doesn’t get you a power meter, especially on a bike that's aimed at racing.

Miche isn’t a brand that's commonly featured on an off-the-shelf bike; Wilier has opted to keep it Italian and specced the Graff Aero 48. It’s a deep-section hookless gravel wheel aimed at gravel racing, with a 27mm internal rim diameter that's broad enough to comfortably support wider gravel tyres. They performed well during testing, although they aren’t the lightest, so there are a few hundred grams to be saved if you need it. These are fitted with Vittoria T50 tyres, but in my opinion, a set of faster-rolling T30S would have been better suited to the Rave SLR ID2’s nature.

Wilier specs its own F-Bar integrated handlebar on models at higher price points, and my bike came equipped with a suitably racey handlebar width of 37cm on the tops, flaring out to 40mm in the drops. All the flare occurs in the curve of the bar, giving the 126mm drops a comfortable inline hand position. The UCI’s handlebar width rules only apply to mass start road and cyclocross events, so these one-piece aero handlebars are still race legal in gravel and, with the hoods turned in, they promote an aggressive aero position. Cable routing is internally routed through the handlebars and continues unseen into the frame. The handlebar is available separately for an eye-watering $1000 price tag if you want to fit it to your current bike.

The full build comes in at a hair under 8kg for my size medium, which is very respectable, especially considering it's got aero tubing and it’s fitted with 48mm deep rims and 50mm tyres. For comparison, the benchmark of lightweight gravel bikes is the round-tubed and shallow rimmed Specialized S-Works Crux at 7.25kg. It's among the lightest of aero gravel bikes, coming in at not much more than 100g heavier than the Ridley ASTR RS and 300g heavier than the Cervelo Aspero-5.

Performance

The Wilier Rave SLR ID2 only has one purpose: it's a race bike, and it encourages you to ride fast. Climb aboard, and it feels as though you have a rocket between your legs. It's sharp and reactive, urging you to kick it up a gear and attack. Its unapoligetic about its singular focus and all the better for it.

As critical as I was about the old Rave, the one thing that really enamoured me about it was the instant reactivity and eagerness for acceleration. The aero upgrade, deep-section wheels and fat tyres could have easily numbed this experience; thankfully, the Rave SLR ID2 still has this explosive thrust forward when power is sent through the pedals.

Handling is extremely precise, with the short chainstay and wheelbase giving the Rave SLR ID2 a lively yet planted feel through the corners. In fact, I would go as far as saying that this is one of the best-handling bikes I have ever tested. Drill the bike through corner combinations, and it's easy to open up gaps that the wheels behind you will need to close.

What's interesting is that the Rave SLR ID2’s singular focus actually makes it a much better bike for spanning across gravel and sealed surfaces. Low weight ensures you are up to speed quickly, and the aero positioning and frame design hold speed well on flat sections.

Ride feel only tells you so much, but our own independent aero testing backs up what I felt when riding. We wind tunnel tested the Wilier Rave SLR ID2 against the top gravel race bikes, including two spicy unreleased gravel bikes from Argon18 aero gravel bike and Specialized Crux, and the Rave SLR ID2 consistently scored among the fastest bikes. If you want to delve into the numbers, check out the full results in our gravel race bike wind tunnel test.

While our rolling resistance testing has proven wider tyres are faster, and they certainly enhance cornering performance, it's worth noting that the wider tyres don’t necessarily equate to more capability. The bike is taught and even though it comes stock with 50mm Vittoria T50 tyres, there is still a lot of trail feedback translated through the bike. This was particularly noticeable when speeds picked up on rougher tracks, with a lot of vibrations communicated through the bike despite my experimentation with low pressures.

The cause could be attributed to a number of factors, so to try to isolate some of the nervousness when descending on raw surfaces, I switched the tyres to a set of Continental Terra Speed gravel tyres in a smaller 45mm size. Although the differences weren’t dramatic, the combination of a more forgiving sidewall and slightly more rounded profile made a difference to handling and I was able to corner with even more confidence. Ride quality also improved, and although the Terra Speeds I fitted were smaller, they dulled vibrations more effectively.

Changing the tyres didn’t transform it into a magic carpet ride, and the frame stiffness combined with the aggressive aero positioning makes descending on proper technical terrain an experience that demands some attention and care. Let speeds pick up on loose and chunky surfaces, and the bike will begin to feel a bit squirrely. I think it's forgivable; it's a race bike rather than a pseudo mountain bike, and if you are racing, the aero performance should outweigh the additional care needed.

Value

Wilier offers the Rave SLR ID2 in 10 different builds plus a frameset option. Pricing starts at $5,200 / £4,150 / €4,400 for the mechanical GRX 12sp bike up to the SRAM RED-equipped range-topping bike I have been testing, which costs $11,700 / £8,900 / €9,900. In between there are also GRX Di2, SRAM Rival and SRAM Force equipped bikes with either Miche Graff XL, Graff All-Road or Aero Graff Carbon 48mm wheelsets.

Is the Wilier Rave SLR ID2 good value? To put it bluntly, not really. Based on component MSRP’s, you will save money buying a complete bike, but it's a tight margin. The frameset costs around £3000 (add £800 if you want to F-Bar too) and with some shrewd deal shopping and a bit of luck, it could be possible to build up a SRAM RED/Miche Aero Graff 48 equipped Rave SLR ID2 bike cheaper than it comes from Wilier. Admittedly, you would have to factor in additional postage costs and deal with assembling the bike too. In the end, the discounts would need to be good to make the juice worth the squeeze, but let this be a reminder that it shouldn’t be assumed that an off-the-shelf bike build will be cheaper these days.

It’s worth noting that Wilier offers significantly better value than many of its gravel race bike competitors. Want to spend under five figures on a top-tier gravel race bike? You will be looking at a SRAM Force-equipped 3T Exploro RaceMax, Allied Able or Cervelo Aspero-5.

Pinarello’s latest Dogma GR can't be had for less than €14,000 complete, although it does come with a particularly flash set of Princeton Grit 4540 Evolution wheels. The Rave SLR ID2 undercuts some of the big players too, Specialized’s S-Works Crux and Cannondale’s SuperX Lab71, both with Red XPLR, are well North of the €10k mark.

There are better value bikes around. The SRAM RED equipped Lauf Siegla Ultimate that my colleague Tom tested saves a huge chunk of cash, and although it doesn't have a fancy integrated carbon handlebar, it does have a suspension fork and power meter. Trek’s Checkmate SLR 9 and Orbea Terra Race M11eLTD just scrape under the five-figure mark and both include a SRAM RED groupset, with a power meter as standard too.

Verdict

The Rave SLR ID2 hooked me on my first outing and the more I rode it, the more I loved it. It's undeniably fast, both in feel and in our independent aero testing, and the handling prowess is frankly outrageous. If you have confidence in the surface, few bikes will be able to hold the wheel of the Rave SLR ID2 through fast twisting trails. It's addictive, willing you to accelerate harder, go faster and brake later with each corner.

If you're looking for a bike that will absolutely rip the high-octane gravel racing that is seen on distances up to 200km, the Rave SLR ID2 is the tool for the job. It will cover the longer Ultra distance too, especially if you choose a supple tyre to improve comfort, but it's definitely better suited to the smoother, faster and more aggressive nature of short distance races.

To get the most out of the Rave SLR ID2 I would recommend switching out the tyres. Pairing the bike with a set of the best gravel tyres for your local conditions will greatly improve control and confidence on descents.

Now that the first two races of the Life Time Grand Prix series have been run and won the wildcard competition has been decided, with seven new riders joining the roster for 2026.

The three men and four women – due to the withdrawal of a pregnant Sarah Sturm – to earn the final spots available in this year's series are a mix of riders from the United States and beyond, with the performances across Sea Otter Classic Gravel and Unbound Gravel the deciding factor.

The top wildcard qualifiers were experienced British gravel rider Danni Shrosbree (RCC) – who came 29th at Sea Otter and a strong ninth at Unbound 200 – and Olympian Martins Blums. Just last week the Latvian mountain biker was racing XCO at Nové Město, and now he has earned his spot in the series with 21st at Unbound and 13th at Sea Otter.

There were also a trio of riders from the United States joining the competition, Skyler Taylor (Pinarello-Q36.5) , Jenna Rinehart (Rene Herse) and Hannah Shell. Taylor was the top men's wildcard finisher at Unbound, taking 20th place ahead of Blums, and is coming off a strong 2025, winning the UCI Gravel World Series event Highlands Gravel as well as two stages of Oregon Trail Gravel and coming second overall.

Rinehart – an experienced Life Time athlete who came 17th overall last year and won Highlands Gravel just last month – secured her spot for another season with 27th place at Unbound and 18th at Sea Otter. Shell, another returnee, was 38th at Sea Otter and did enough at Unbound to secure the final spot and achieve her goal of getting back into the competition.

"3 years ago I found out I wouldn’t be returning to the Lifetime Grand Prix, and I was pretty gutted about it. Since then, it’s been my goal to earn my way back into the series," said Shell in an Instagram post. "And I am so proud to say that 23rd at Unbound put me 3rd overall in the wild card and officially a part of the Life Time Grand Prix."

There were also two new riders from New Zealand, Charlotte Clarke (Ventum) and Matthew Wilson (Scott Sports USA), making for a large contingent from the nation in the season after compatriot Cameron Jones (Scott Sports USA - RCC) showed just how fruitful the wildcard path could be when he took one of the spots after winning Unbound and then captured the series overall as well. New Zealander born Samara Sheppard and Ruby Ryan were also among the original Life Time selection, which means the far-flung nation now has the biggest representation of riders from outside the United States.

Wilson, who came third in the road race at the New Zealand National Championships this year, had given himself a strong start to the wildcard race with 12th at Sea Otter and a 28th at Unbound sealed the deal. Clarke, who came 24th in the opening race, snared the wildcard position with 23rd at Unbound despite a tough run, when after being caught in the mud another rider hit her from behind, leaving her with just three gears for the 90 minutes until the first feed.

"Although I was well out of contention for the race itself, I kept fighting with the goal of hanging on to a Wild Card spot," said Clarke in an Instagram post. "In the end, I put together a ride I’m really proud of."

The Life Time Grand Prix series runs across six events, offering a season-ending $350,000 total top-10 purse, shared equally among elite women and men.

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At 6:30am on Saturday, May 30, Unbound Gravel erupted into chaos. The peloton had just entered the first mud section of the race, and hundreds of riders came to a standstill. They grabbed their paint sticks and started whacking away at the mud, attempting to clear as much debris as possible. Most bikes were completely clogged, their wheels unable to turn, and so riders began putting them on their backs and running.

I joined my fellow racers in jogging to the top of the hill with a mud-clogged bike, and it took us all a few minutes to get going again. This was 'Mudbound' 2026, and I was in survival mode.

I'd known about the biggest race in gravel for many years, but I had yet to line up for the race in Emporia, Kansas. After years of chasing a professional road racing contract, I took a step back from racing in 2020 and began riding on Zwift. It didn't take long until I was Zwift racing five days a week, rediscovering my love for the sport from the comfort of my own home. My numbers were improving, and my competitiveness returned.

In 2025, I started thinking about gravel racing, and only a year later, I found myself signing up for the Unbound Gravel Elite 200. I didn't want to dip my toe into the shorter distances; I wanted to go straight into competing with the pros.

As a working husband and amateur cyclist, I don't have as much time to train as gravel pros. Riders like Romain Bardet, Keegan Swenson, and Matthew Beers can train 30 hours per week if they want to. Their job is to ride a bike and win races. My job is to write, coach, manage, and do things other than ride my bike. So I came into Unbound having trained 10-15 hours per week for the past few months. Would it be enough to keep up with the pros at Unbound?

My Unbound Gravel Training Plan

90% of my training is done indoors. It's a personal preference that I've had for most of my cycling career, and for good reason. Outdoor riding isn't always feasible when you live in a cold climate. Why would I spend 20 minutes getting dressed for a one-hour ride in sub-freezing temperatures?

Indoor training is also time-efficient. I'll never waste time coasting down a hill or sitting at a traffic light. There are many reasons that I prefer indoor training, yet I still got outside for a few gravel training rides before Unbound. The 207-mile gravel race wasn't my only goal for the year, so I was still doing plenty of VO2 Max intervals and explosive work, rather than 3x20 minutes in zone three. Here is an example week of my training one month before Unbound.

In the weeks leading up to Unbound, I did a last-minute training block in an attempt to peak for the 207-mile race, putting together a 15- and 14-hour week just before Unbound. This was followed by a 10-day taper to ensure I was rested and fresh for Unbound. Obviously, 15 hours on the bike isn't much compared to the pros, but I added more intensity to really drive home the 'overload' feeling in the legs during this block.

In hindsight, I think I made a mistake here. Instead of upping my weekly volume for a couple of weeks, I think I would have benefited more from doing two to three'race simulation' rides. These would be five to six hours in the saddle, front-loaded with intervals followed by long blocks of zone two and zone three. This would prepare my body for the effort I'd experience at Unbound, but to be honest, I was a bit scared of these sessions. It's quite daunting to picture yourself smashing a six-hour training ride during a typical work week.

Overall, my fitness was quite good coming into Unbound. Unlike the pros, I hadn't trained the house down, but I was in good form, having won the Wisconsin State Crit two weeks before Unbound. The legs were there; now I just needed to be prepared for anything and everything.

The 3am thunderstorm was foreshadowing

I woke up the morning of Unbound to the rumbles of thunder in the distance. There had been rumours of overnight rain, and when I rolled over in my hotel bed to check the weather radar, I knew it was happening. The radar was bright red, and there was a massive storm cloud just south of Emporia, dumping rain on the first 30 miles of the course. I knew there would be a mud section there, but few of us realised how much time we would spend in the mud.

I had done everything in my power to prepare for Unbound, and there isn't a checklist quite like it. How can you possibly prepare for 207 miles in variable weather conditions, three aid stations, zero neutral support, questionable cell phone reception, and millions of rocks that could slice your tyre open at any moment?

Packing for Unbound was almost as stressful as racing Unbound. I envied the pros who had the full support of mechanics, soigneurs, and other staff. That is one of the biggest divides in modern day gravel racing – half the Elite field has a team of professionals to support them, while the rest of us have to make do with everything and everyone we can scrape together. A local race is one thing – asking friends and family to drive 10 hours to the middle of nowhere in Kansas is another.

My support system fell apart the morning of Unbound. After weeks and months of planning, the support system I thought I had was nowhere to be found. So there I was, 10 minutes before the start of the race, frantically packing my bottles into drop bags that Life Time would graciously take to the second and third aid stations. I wouldn't have anyone at the first aid station due to the failure of communication, which meant I would have to carry enough fuel to make it to the second aid station around four hours into the race.

The stress levels were off the charts, but if I've learned anything from gravel racing, it's that stressing about stress only makes things worse. The coolest and calmest riders are those who win the race. Anyone who panics loses all hope for a result – this was another piece of foreshadowing for the eventual winner, Mads Würtz Schmidt, who suffered a tyre-busting flat while in the lead of the race. But you already know how his race went. Back to me, the everyday amateur who just ran to the start line with five minutes to go.

It was 5:50am when we rolled over the start line in Emporia, and within seconds: chaos. Instead of turning left on the official race route, the lead moto had us turn right. Hundreds of bike computers chirped like a robotic symphony as we looped around town and back onto the correct course. The neutral zone was nothing spectacular, a few jockeying for position, but nothing like the calamity of last year's Big Sugar, where we rode straight into oncoming traffic.

As we hit the first mud sector at mile 12, the peloton relaxed because the mud was packed and smooth. But as we turned left at mile 15, the field exploded on a thick uphill mud section.

Almost every rider jumped off their bikes, grabbed their paint stick, and started swiping at the chunks of peanut butter mud glued to their frame. Wheels stopped spinning, drivetrains were ruined, and more than a few curse words were flying through the air. "This race sucks," I heard one rider say as we were scraping mud off our bikes.

The next few hours were... hilarious. I've struggled to search for other words to describe these miserable moments. The suffering was off the charts, we were all soaked and caked in mud, our bikes sounded terrible, and our chains were skipping like children on a schoolground.

I made it a few miles before my chain threw itself off its ring and onto my pedal. Thankfully, I noticed it right away, so I coasted to a stop and tried to remount the chain. My muddy fingers could hardly grasp it, and it took a few tries before the teeth finally stuck. I got caught by US Gravel National Champion Bradyn Lange, and that boosted my morale. If Lange was back here – a professional rider with the best equipment there is and an entire support crew – then I must not be doing that bad.

I don't know what kind of power Lange was pushing at this point of the race, but I averaged 325 watts for half an hour sitting on his wheel. Normally, that wouldn't be a crazy effort for me, but I also knew that we had more than seven hours to go.

By the time we hit Texaco Hill, the longest climb of the race, I was gritting my teeth just to stay with my chase group. I knew the leaders were miles ahead, but I also knew that I was likely in 30-50th position at this point in the race. Considering where I was coming from, I was more than happy to be in this position. When my group splintered before aid station two, I was feeling OK. A few pros had flown past me, but I was still chugging along.

At the second aid station, I found my drop bag, grabbed a few bottles, and made my way back onto the pedals. I didn't have a crew to power wash my bike, and who knows how many watts I was losing by continuing with mud in my drivetrain. Either way, I made my way out of the aid station and saw two notable riders up ahead: Payson McElveen and Taylor Phinney. "Those guys are really good," I thought to myself. If I'm catching them at this point in the race, then I must be doing pretty well.

Our chase group grew to six as we turned east, and this is where my race took a turn for the worse.

A heavy thunderstorm began dumping rain on top of us, and the headwind grew stronger as we inched through the mud. Every hill felt like a mountain, and we were moving at a snail's pace with no end in sight.

Lightning struck the ground all around us – I wasn't the only one who thought this was extremely dangerous. We were riding in the open fields of Kansas, and I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if the strikes became a bit too close.

Thankfully, none of us got struck by lightning, but I still suffered a catastrophic injury at this moment in the race. While riding through the mud, straight into a headwind, in the middle of a thunderstorm, there was no choice but to take our sunglasses off. Keegan Swenson – who finished fifth on the day – said that he wore a prototype pair of ROKA sunglasses that had tear-off lenses. That was perhaps the only thing that could have saved us in these weather conditions, but I didn't have a pair of the prototypes.

I rode without glasses, squinting and scrunching my face in an attempt to protect my eyes, but it wasn't enough. Specks of dirt, gravel, and grit made their way into my eyes, and there was nothing I could do. My hands, gloves, and clothing were covered in mud, so I had nothing to wipe my glasses with. I stopped on the side of the road multiple times in an attempt to relieve the pain, but nothing worked. I started riding with one eye closed – if you find any pictures of me during the race, it probably looks like I'm winking at the camera. But the reality was, I was riding with one eye.

My morale was ruined, and the pain became unbearable.

The diagnosis, I would find out later at the doctor's office, was a scratched cornea. At some point, I had gotten so much dirt and gravel in my eye that it had actually sliced the surface. It made sense that the pain was a 10 out of 10 with 100 miles to go. But being the stupid cyclist I am, I wanted to finish the race. My hopes for a top result were gone, but at least I could say that I finished.

I rode with one eye for an hour and a half, but the pain kept getting worse. The sketchy roads became dangerous, and I was worried I'd do permanent damage to my eye by continuing for four more hours. At mile 127, I pulled the plug and made the decision to ride back to Emporia. I limped back into town, covering one eye and on the edge of tears. I had put so much into this – months of physical and mental preparation, hundreds of training hours, so many days of packing and planning – and now it was all over. Just like that, my Unbound had come to an end.

What went well – gravel racing tips

The biggest takeaway I had from Unbound was this: be prepared for anything.

Now that is a big statement, and being prepared means different things to different people. I was never going to have a team bus at Unbound with a mechanic ready to switch out my tyres and pedals an hour before the race. But that is a luxury that many gravel pros have.

From my perspective as an amateur, being prepared for anything meant creating a massive packing list before I left Wisconsin. It meant heat training with my CORE suit in case the race was hot and dry. It meant having a bike like the Lauf Seigla with massive tyre clearance in case there was mud. And it meant having tons of nutrition on board for a 10-hour effort.

In a race of this length, comfort is key, especially at the contact points. Any little niggle can turn into a chronic injury when you're pushing on the pedals for nearly half a day. Thankfully, I found that my custom Posedla saddle eliminated pain downstairs, Solestar BLK insoles that helped my feet stay strong, and I had done months of gym work to prepare for the full-body beating of Unbound.

My preparation was dialled. I did everything in my power to prepare for Unbound, and in the end, the race-ruining events were mostly outside my control. But I still made a few mistakes.

What I would do differently next time

Note to self: when you see 50 riders in front of you cleaning mud off their bikes, hop off the saddle and run to the grass immediately.

In the mud sector at mile 15, I rode too far into the mud before making my way to the grass. Those few extra pedal strokes clogged my bike with mud and left me wasting precious time scraping the chunks off my frame. I should have hopped off the bike sooner.

Another mistake came from one of my biggest weaknesses in cycling: positioning. I often struggle to find my way to the front third of the peloton, and once I'm there, I sometimes get scared and drop back. At this year's Unbound, I actually made my way into a good position at mile 12. But then I relaxed when I saw the mud was smoother than advertised. I slid to the back of the group, and by the time we hit the real mud sector, I was 30 seconds behind the leaders just by virtue of being at the back of the line.

In fact, I did 50 watts more than the leaders through the mud sector (leaders of a similar weight). Yet, I was minutes behind. That is a failure by position, not by fitness.

When it comes to support, I know that I lost precious time and energy compared to the pros. It isn't feasible for every amateur to have a full support crew at Unbound, but next time, I know I need to have more. The support that I thought I had left me hanging at the last minute, so I didn't have a power washer or hand-ups in the aid stations. Had I been in a leading position, I would've lost too much ground to the pros with full support crews. And when it comes to riding six hours on a muddy drivetrain, who knows how many watts I was losing compared to those who had their bikes power-washed? I'd love to see that study – I'm looking at you, Dylan Johnson.

Can amateurs compete with pros in a 200-mile gravel race?

This is the question that I pondered on the 10-hour drive to and from Emporia, Kansas. At first, I went back and forth with myself. Amateurs vs pros – can one upset the other? But the more I thought about it, the more the answer became obvious. I was driving all the way to Emporia, so of course I believed it was possible. If I didn't, I would've stayed at home.

When you look at the power files, pacing, and timing, I truly believe that an amateur can match the pros. Countless professional riders DNFed at this year's Unbound. Some suffered crashes, others racing-ending mechanicals. Yy tyres were filled up with an unreleased sealant the day before the race, and I never flatted on my 50mm Panaracer tyres. With a slightly smarter mindset, I could've gotten through the mud faster than most. If I made the right decisions, the time savings were there.

However, I lost time and efficiency by not having a power washer at the aid stations. But during a dry Unbound when drivetrain-caking isn't a factor, I wouldn't have lost significant time. I grabbed my bottles and USWE hydration pack as quickly as the pros. In fact, I caught some of them that had stopped for much longer.

Finally, when you look at the power output of the podium, anything seems possible. Those who succeed at Unbound are those who can race for 9-10 hours without imploding. No one is doing 400 watts for 20 minutes at the end of Unbound. Instead, it seems like anyone who can hold 300 watts in the final two to three hours of Unbound is destined for the podium. The rest of the peloton cracks. I was hoping to see what my legs had left in them, but my eye had other ideas.

Will I be back next year? It's hard to say. The wounds are still fresh – literally – as it's still blurry to see out of my left eye. I wonder how many of my competitors have vision problems this week. Others suffered crashes and broken bikes. It was an unforgettable Unbound, one that will stay burned into our memories forever.

To answer the question from the title of this article... when it's muddy, the answer is 'No.'

The last time I spoke to Maddy Nutt was after her debut for the ultra win at The Traka Adventure, a race where she not only secured the victory but also set a new course record.

She was, despite being incredibly chipper, clearly totally hollowed out after the finish in Spain.

In Kansas, Nutt led Unbound XL for a long time, then finished her first entry in 27 hours, 46 minutes, 13 seconds, which was a runner-up position a little more than 34 minutes behind now two-time winner Svenja Betz.

While I spoke to her over the phone this time rather than over a cold beer, it was clear Unbound XL, a race she had upgraded to from the usual Unbound Gravel 200, had taken its toll.

Her voice was cracked to a degree I hadn’t heard since those heady days of school discos.

"How are you?" I asked.

“I'm surviving, not thriving. That's how I would put it.”

Unbound XL recap

Unless you’ve had your head in the sand you will know that Unbound Gravel this year was an infamously mucky affair. Stories abound of the mud, hiking, and general carnage. As I spent most of the race weekend tending to my allotment (sorry, the strawberries needed some TLC), I was keen to hear from the horses mouth (or should that be hoarse?) how the race went:

“Oh my God, it was an absolute adventure. It started really hard; I would say it actually started harder than the elite women's 200 started last year, because this was the start with men as well. So you had the pro men in the 350, who were absolutely whacking the pace at the beginning to try and trim down the group, and everyone was trying to do their best to hold on," Nutt said.

“Considering it was a 27-hour race at the end of the day, I did some one-hour power that I definitely should not have done in the first one hour of the race, and at that point it was only me, Heather Jackson [2025 XL champion - ed.] and this girl called Larissa [Hartog], who I've never raced before… people were literally racing like it was a 100-mile race.”

Unlike The Traka Adventure, where it is technically a non-draft race (although this rule gets bent at the start to some degree), drafting is very much legal at Unbound XL and introduces some different race dynamics.

“This race drafting is legal, which it wasn't at Traka, so you do have to think a little bit like… ‘if I can get in a group that's moving a lot faster I'm going to make quite a lot of time’.

“If men and women start together, it then becomes a little bit luck-of-the-draw as to whether you end up being able to draft someone later in the race or not. I ended up on my own for quite a bit of time, but it's so hard. I think you wouldn't be able to do a separate men's and women start with the size of the woman's field.”

Curious as to whether drafting makes life easier, it seems the answer was a counterintuitive negative:

“It felt unbelievably hard at the beginning, but I know even for the men they were saying it was unbelievably hard at the beginning. I think just everyone goes unnecessarily hard in these things and they just forget that it's however many stupid amount of kilometers they still have to ride, and they just have blinkers on, and they're just racing.”

Three key errors

While shorter races can be won error-free, there will always be mis-steps in ultra distances. Nutt recounts how she felt good for the first 300km, at which point she was leading the race, only for things to unravel in the endless cloying mud for three key reasons.

“One was wearing stiff carbon race shoes… and I'll tell you that my heels are not in a good way. So, one was like, not thinking about the fact that I could have to walk in my shoes.”

It must be said that I don’t think this is a slight on her Q36.5 shoes; hiking for hours on end in bike shoes, even those with a bit of flex, will slough the skin off most feet. I suggested, somewhat flippantly, that perhaps barefoot might have been preferable (and if you’d seen the pictures you’d probably be with me on this):

“I mean, I really should have done. I should have just taken my shoes off. And this is where the crucial error was, because we didn't know how long the mud sections were. And the problem with this kind of mud is you don’t know it's gonna get stuck on your bike until you try and ride on it. It doesn't look bad.

“It was honestly five hours [walking]. I think the fastest guys did it in four. I think Svenja [Betz] did it in about four, and when Svenja passed me she was just carrying her bike on her back, and I think she's just got much better upper body strength than I do because I tried and I tried to carry it on my shoulder and I just kept dropping it! I just couldn't carry it.

“There was some bits where it was actually hard to walk; there was bits where you couldn't even walk on the grass on the side, and it was just deep mud, and and I kept having to take breaks because I was struggling to carry my bike.”

While the footwear choice might have been far from ideal, it wasn’t the only reason that Nutt dropped from first to third in the endless slop.

“The other two: These are more crucial. One was I put wider tyres on the day of the race because I hadn't brought with me the right tyres that I needed, because I changed my mind about my tyres and I wanted thicker tyres for more puncture resistance.”

It transpires that the day before the race on a recon ride, Nutt suffered a puncture that went unseen until a puddle of sealant revealed itself on her final bike setup session later in the day. If she wanted to go for a sturdier tyre she would also have to go wider. This then reduced tyre clearance, added to the glogging factor, but it must be said Nutt did not mention any punctures from her Panaracer tyres, something that afflicted many in the race.

All of that pales in comparison to what many will see as a quite extraordinary decision to jettison her paint stirrer stick before the mud section, a decision she describes as ‘extra silly’.

“I had a mud stick in my pocket and about, I think it was like 200k in, I was, like, ‘I'm sick of carrying this stick. It's not been muddy, it's so dry’, and I just threw it in a bin at a gas station!

“FIVE HOURS of hiking was to be on the cards for later in the day, and I would have needed that stick, and instead I had to use my fingers. There was mud everywhere, and I was having to pretend my finger was a mud stick and try and get it out. It was silly.

"I lost two positions in the mud. But then after the mud when I actually was able to ride again in the bike race, I did manage to move forward quite a lot, and I actually got within two miles to Svenja, but I couldn't catch her.”

Despite these hardships, her attitude to scratching was a commendable mix of pragmatism and sheer bloody-mindedness.

“Scratching's probably as hard as continuing, so I might as well just keep going.”

Thunderstruck

While the mud was cloying and attritional, it was caused by an absolute deluge from the heavens and some quite severe weather, though preceded initially by swarms of fireflies to add some early night magic:

“We had horrific lightning storms, and it was actually really scary. And I was really lucky that I was in a little group when the lightning got really close, and we actually looked to see where the nearest town was, and it was 30k away! I guess, if we stay together, at least we're not one person on their own, and I just kept ducking really low, hoping that if I'm closer to the ground, then if lightning does go for us, maybe I'll be the last one to get struck.

“We were right in the thick of it; proper, proper, proper lightning storms everywhere. At the beginning it was kind of magical because they were in the distance, and then it wasn't magical when our turn directions started pointing towards the lightning.

"I did question whether I should stop a few times and find refuge and maybe get picked up, but I did think this would be quite a good way to go if I was to go. It's kind of ‘if it will be, it will be’.”

Having seen the footage it’s no great surprise that it had riders questioning their mortality, and Nutt casually drops in that one of the riders sent a message to a friend to give to her husband in the event that they were struck down from on high: Just tell my husband that if I go, I was doing something that I like.

Three wees, this time

If you’ve read my previous interviews with Nutt, or seen the various clips of her circulating social media (clips that got her recognised in Walmart for her infrequent urination), you’ll know she’s extremely candid, though she is the first to admit that this is elevated following a race when the filter is degraded by hours of exertion.

Amazingly she managed to complete the Traka Adventure with only two stops for a nature break, and would have matched that at Unbound were it not for a tactical stop to draft a lofty chap coming over the horizon:

“Yeah, well, I actually thought I was gonna get away with only two, and I thought, wow, that's quite impressive. And then it was this real bad headwind section towards the end, and I've been alone for hours, and I was pretty sure considering the time gap that Svenja had someone with her and I’m really sitting in the wind on my own and I look behind me, and there was a very, very tall man, and I was like that man. Looks like a brilliant draft, Maybe I should wait for him.

“So I had a wee just to wait for him. And then, when he caught me, he was like, ‘I need a wee’, and I was, like, ‘oh no’. So I had to leave him, and I felt really guilty because he asked me for a tube, but my tube was like stuck underneath my tracker in the bottom of my saddlebag, and I was really too scared like faff with trying to get my tube out to give it to you.

“So I didn't give him a tube, and I still feel guilty about that. And I owe that man, definitely a tube and a coffee.”

Her openness reached new heights after this anecdote when we touched on the subject of the risky gas station breakfast burrito:

“I very stupidly was convinced about this burrito, that it would be really good to have a breakfast. burrito in the morning, and then I accidentally picked up the wrong one with jalapenos, and I just really almost had an accident on the bike.”

What's next for Nutt?

The race clearly had taken it’s toll physically, so much so that a trip to to the hospital was needed after the podium (priorities, right?):

“Did I tell you that I ended up going to ER yesterday?! I went to the podium in the morning, and then we went to hospital because I convinced myself I'd like got a serious injury in the downstairs region, but it turns out it was not as bad as I thought.

“They’re basically like saddle sore-esque, and they've given me antibiotics, but I shouldn't ride my bike for a few days. And I would say riding bikes for 27 hours is not good for you.

"I could barely sit on the saddle at the end. I was like, this is agony.”

It’s perhaps a damning indictment of US air travel that, despite all the trials and tribulations, her worst experience came in the airport on the journey back to the UK:

"I had a horrific flight home where it was delayed by hours when I was stuck in my connecting airport for, like, three hours, not able to get on the flight until 3 a.m., which was horrible. And there was no wi-fi, so I didn't even have anything to distract me. So I literally just sat staring into space for three hours. That was worse than the race.”

It seems that the ultra bug has worn off, at least temporarily. Home, and recovering, there doesn’t seem to be any more plans to enter ultra-distance races, though Nutt clearly sounds like she’s got eyes on next year for some longer events given her impressive podium placings.

“For the rest of the season I think I am gonna stick to my original plan, which is to go back down to the short and faster staff, and just like bash out of a few UCI races and end the season on that. Then have a think about next year because I think it would be crazy if I ended up doing something like Badlands now. Obviously I would be tempted, but I think it's not sensible.”

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our gravel cycling coverage in 2026. We'll be on the ground at the biggest races of the season, bringing you breaking news, expert analysis, in-depth features, and much more. Find out more.

Unbound Gravel 200 was a more than successful outing for the Specialized Off-Road team, with European champion Mads Würtz Schmidt and Matthew Beers going one-two in Emporia as 2023 champion Keegan Swenson made it three in the top five with a fifth-place finish.

The trio of experienced gravel racers were joined in the top 10 by a gravel first timer as 21-year-old Emil Herzog raced to eighth place.

Tackling 200 miles (322km) for his first gravel race was some debut for the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe road pro. He reached the finish among a group of five riders, including reigning champion Cameron Jones, crossing the line 24:52 behind Würtz Schmidt. He certainly had a story to tell after reaching Emporia.

"It was super fun, but I did some, let's say beginner mistakes, because I missed my second feed. After five-and-a-half hours, I was completely empty, and I just dropped from the wheel," Herzog told Cyclingnews after finishing.

"At the third feed, I could eat again and got my legs back a little. I was able to keep riding, a bit quicker than right after I’d missed the feed, and in the end I came home eighth."

Herzog is more used to racing on the road, having worked his way up via German junior squad Auto Eder and a season with Hagrens Berman Axeon in 2023 before turning pro with Red Bull in 2024.

Along the way, he's scored top 10s at Milano-Torino and Settimana Coppi e Bartali, while this year his calendar has seen him take in WorldTour races including the UAE Tour, Strade Bianche, and Itzulia Basque Country.

Unbound is a different beast altogether, of course. Nevertheless, Herzog had been racing among the leaders before his fuelling mishap. Swenson was further back, having handed his wheel over to stricken teammate Würtz Schmidt.

Herzog linked up with Swenson with 50 miles to run, the pair forming a group with several others before the American went solo for fifth place later on.

"I was never able to get back to the group I was in, and then at one point, some riders came, and my teammate Keegan came from the back," Herzog said.

"I worked with him, and then a small group caught us. I spoke with Keegan, and he said he wants to go on the last kicker, and I was then just sitting there, and let the others close the gap."

Herzog was still in the running for sixth place as his group approached the finish. He admitted to making a mistake with his positioning for the sprint, however, and so came home in the middle of the five-man group.

"Then I sprinted, but it was a little bit stupid. I started the sprint as fifth, but it would have been better to start the sprint first or last," he said.

"It was a super cool experience, and for sure I want to come back. I got support from Specialized. They gave me the opportunity, and I'm super thankful for this because it was an awesome week, and I really appreciate it."

A top 10 on his Unbound – and gravel – debut was some feat for Herzog on his first-ever trip to the USA, and he was more than pleased with the outcome of his nine-and-a-half hours in the saddle.

"My teammates from Specialized Off-Road went one, two and five – four of us in the top placings. It was a really cool day, a great result and great fun. I'm sure I want to do it again."

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our gravel cycling coverage in 2026. We'll be on the ground at the biggest races of the season, bringing you breaking news, expert analysis, in-depth features, and much more. Find out more.

Over the weekend in Emporia, Kansas, riders on the new Crux 5 from Specialized claimed the top three spots in the elite men's 200-mile race and the top two in the elite women's 200-mile race.

It marks an opening weekend of blockbuster proportions for a bike that launched to the public less than 48 hours before the race got underway.

Among the many steps along the way to this result was testing in the Flint Hills both in and out of competition.

Matt Beers, winner of four Cape Epics and now second at this year's Unbound was involved in both efforts. Early on in the process, Beers and 2021 Unbound winner Ian Boswell were recruited for some tests that pitted the previous Crux against one of Specialized's other gravel bikes, the Diverge STR, which features a small suspension device at the rear.

"We came out [to Emporia] in 2024," Beers told Cyclingnews. "We came out here and we tested the Crux versus the STR which has the rear compliance in the seatpost. And we tested that with a bunch of sensors on each bike doing recon. Ian Boswell and myself.”

This testing was followed up a year later with a sensor-equipped Diverge race bike that Beers rode in the 2025 edition of Unbound, where he gathered data about where and how the rough terrain of the Flint Hills was translating into fatigue for riders.

As the Crux evolved from a pure cyclo-cross machine to a gravel racer, it was crucial to know where comfort could be gained without sacrificing stiffness and power transfer.

“We had a little black box on the saddle that took data from the race. I raced with that. The more vibrations that go through you, the more fatigue, so trying to figure that out and trying to eliminate that."

According to the brand, this is part of its 'Equation of Speed', which essentially aims to replicate Formula 1's lap times technology and measure everything between the power in at the pedals and how that translates to speed. This involves the well-known metrics like aerodynamics, rolling resistance and gravity, but also factors in frame responsiveness, tyre traction, course profile, course surface roughness, weather, rider fatigue, rider habits and so on. These are all measured, quantified, and input into an algorithm - built in-house at Specialized by former F1 engineer Marcel Keyser - which then runs simulations and calculates finish times. By iterating on bike design - adding extra stiffness here or more compliance there - the algorithm can calculate how that affects a rider's speed.

"Obviously, we've had the Crux, we've had the Diverge, the Diverge STR, and we've collected data through all those bikes. That had an effect on development on this bike, trying to make one that can kind of tick all those boxes and be super fast, and I think that was the main goal of this bike, was just to kind of make it as compliant, but very fast and super stiff all in the right places.”

As a taller rider, Beers, and his teammate Geerike Schreurs have found the new Crux design to be especially adapted to their needs.

"I think the head tube is always quite important. Mine is very long, and you can feel quite a lot of flex through it sometimes. But also just the overall fit of the bike. I think Gee will also know, the bike fits really well for a tall person.”

This is down to Specialized's Rider First Engineering principle, which promises the same ride quality for every rider, regardless of their frame size.

Schreurs agreed. “It fits perfectly for tall people. It's kind of built for me, I think."

When Brendan Johnston (Giant) crossed the line in Emporia in fourth place with a small fist pump in celebration, a tough day out was written all over his face, as while Unbound 200 may be known for being gruelling, even by its own standards, this had been one brutal ride.

"Unbound Gravel is never a straightforward race, and this year’s edition delivered some of the most challenging conditions I’ve experienced," said Johnston in a statement from his team, Giant, with the rider having taken on the race on a Giant Revolt prototype.

Right from the start of his Unbound journey, Johnston has gone into the race with a determination to shoot toward a top result. The challenges of the terrain and style of race play well to his diverse experience, and the distance suits the physiology of a rider who, even before he contemplated going to the United States to race gravel, had a record of excelling over long distances.

The first year he raced, the 'peanut butter' mud edition of 2023, turned out to be a learning experience, as his race effectively ended at 11 miles in when he fell prey to the equipment-destroying mud. He then stepped up to 15th in 2024 when he made the lead group before suffering three punctures.

The meticulous preparation and growing experience paid off in 2025 when the multidiscipline rider, who is now all in on gravel, clinched fifth. The win, of course, remains the ultimate prize but in 2026 there was more progress along the way, even in an edition where the mud was laid on thick, and storms raged along the way.

"One better than 2025 and a significantly more savage day out," said Johnston in an Instagram post, having joked in another interview: "I might have to come back three more times and who knows."

It wasn't just the conditions that proved challenging for Johnston, as he had to tackle other obstacles along the way as well, but both the physical and mental resilience built up over the editions and through the preparation paid off.

"Everyone has their issues out there, I had some decent ones at a few very opportune moments in the race. I fought back each time and kept my head in it," he said.

"Sure, you need good legs for Unbound, but you need an eternally positive and powerful mind. I was ultimately left alone after a mechanical with 120km to go and a 20-mile-an-hour Kansas headwind to get home. I was calculated, and I made it. Super proud with that ride."

What's more, not only was Johnston fourth in the race, but the effort also shifted him up to fourth on the Life Time Grand Prix leaderboard after two events, setting him up well for the rest of the six-race series, where he finished ninth overall in 2025.

After having to contend with a mud-caked bike that briefly turned into a single-speed stead, a slow leak, a rain deluge, and a hit to his morale, Taylor Phinney then had to race 130 kilometres of Unbound Gravel 200 with only one foot clipped in.

The first big mud section on Towers Climb, after 24 or so kilometres, pushed Phinney to go from the front to “bent over” his bike. The field quickly split, with a leading group, including eventual winner Mads Würtz Schmidt (Specialized Off-Road), pulling away as Phinney, amongst others, was left behind.

“The chain wouldn’t even stay on the chainring – so much mud in the cassette. [This is] like 30km in by the way. I just kind of figured if I keep the chain line straight, basically single speed it,” a bemused Phinney, his face still caked in mud, said in his '(F)Unbound' social media post after the epic race on Saturday.

After washing his bike at Feed Zone #1, 71 kilometres in, Phinney then “beasted the gap” over the next 38 kilometres to connect to a group by the next Feed Zone.

“And then the sky opened up, [and it] turned into a damn puddle cycle,” Phinney said, tongue out. "Just inhaling mud, not great for morale.”

Another challenge hit, as the US rider battled a slow leak on his rear wheel, taking out his air compressor three times to try and fix it.

“I couldn’t find a hole. Every time I would stop, I would not be able to get my cleats into my pedals,” he said with a chuckle.

“There was a final time that I had to unclip at kilometre 205, and that was the last time I was able to clip in with my left foot. I did the last 130 Ks with the right foot clipped in and the left foot not. I two quads, one hamstringed my way around Kansas after that.”

During this time, the lead five-rider group of the elite women’s field, which had started 10 minutes after the men, caught up with him.

“I didn’t feel like I wanted to be that guy that gets passed by the ladies and then has to pass them back because we all know that guy,” he said. “But I just enjoyed my time back there and watched the ladies rip until we got to Feed Zone 3.”

After a rear wheel change, Phinney still had 92 kilometres left to race, and took off to reach another group from the elite men’s race.

'Gravel is road now'

Phinney’s first experience at Unbound 200 was back in 2019, but a lot has changed since then, from material, to the riders and teams and tactics.

“When in 2019, we all started together, men and women, and it was more of like a group ride rollout, and now it's more of a psycho race in Belgium, sort of fighting for position," Phinney told Cyclingnews a few days prior to Unbound.

"I'm pretty comfortable with that. That's how The Traka was, and that's how Sea Otter was. That's just... gravel is road now."

Phinney has been racing gravel for a few years now since he retired from road racing. Earlier this year, in April, he announced that he is returning to track racing in a bid to make Team USA for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

As for his stated goals for Unbound, he added, “I'd be happy if I was in, like, the top 50, top 20 would be mega, but I'm realistic as to the level of the of everybody, compared to my own, so we'll see if it's a really nasty day that could be better for me or worse, depending on the equipment.”

Phinney’s finishing time of 10:33:03 and average speed of 31.56 kmph put him 52nd overall and 19th of the 63 finishers in the elite men’s field.

Unbound Gravel always delivers such a full spectrum of racing performances - from the good, the bad and the ugly. The riders seem to get faster with each edition, this year the signature 200-mile contest celebrating its 20th anniversary, no matter the course direction or conditions.

Speaking of fast, the technological advances with gravel bikes, tyres and components is as much of a whirlwind of forward motion as the riders who work their magic on the equipment come race day. Gravel has gone aero. Tyres and wheels are bigger, bikes are lighter and riders just go faster.

The simple little outing for 34 men in 2006 has ballooned to more than 5,000 participants, pros and amateurs, who compete in five ride distances. Unbound Gravel 200 is still the showcase event for the Life Time Grand Prix. Unbound XL, the 350-mile overnight race, has boomed to 234 starters, the biggest XL yet as compared to 180 starters last year.

On the latest fast machines, the Specialized Off-road squad dominated the elite men's and women's races - all five of their riders finishing fifth or better, including four podiums. And most of the slips, slides, splashes, and wild wheel changes were seen on an expanded broadcast as well, both men's and women's races shown start to finish by Life Time cameras.

A rider named Bardet did find the top step of the podium in Emporia, but it was six-year-old Angus who stole the limelight from his retired road pro father Romain. Angus competed in his first kids' criterium and won the two-lap race on Saturday morning. Romain, however, pulled out of his first Unbound 200 after mile 98.7, calling it a day at a town where he could get a ride back to Emporia and finish his family vacation.

So who were the big winners and what were the revelations from the Flint Hills of Kansas? Yet again, Mother Nature was the conqueror, unleashing gnarly and unexpected weather on all challengers. 2026 Unbound Gravel men's champion Cameron Jones summed it up when he said the weather was "biblical".

Here's a rewind of Unbound, and how some things were good, some were bad, and some were just plain ugly.

Mudbound

All elite riders are eager to get to Emporia early on race week to inspect the route in order to dail in equipment setups for race day. However, weather predictions for a dry versus wet course are highly unpredictable.

Pre-rides in 2026 showed no complications on the horizon, with a mixed bag of puddles on potholed farm roads inevitable. Late Friday before Unbound 200 took off, the forecast was less than a 27% chance of rain. Well, all 27% of that prediction came.

The skies opened across eastern Kansas early Saturday morning around 3:00 a.m. local time. D Hill did get extremely wet, the notorious mud from 2023, but it was rideable for the elite men, then a mess for the elite women 15 minutes behind. At mile 15, the Towers climb was this year's challenge, the chunky gravel now a quagmire of mud and the creek crossings with higher flows. And by the time the 100-mile riders came through, the path was in shambles.

But it wasn't just one rainstorm that caused chaos. There were two more major downpours on Saturday, with one deluge of rain, and some hailstones, dampening progress and spirits before the half-way point. 2026 men's winner Jones called the vast weather changes "biblical".

For the Unbound XL riders, who were caught in the first nighttime storm with strong winds and rain and had five hours of walking in mud, the course delivered "what could only be described as hell" according to women's runner-up Maddy Nutt (Q36.5).

One clever development for the inevitable mud came from women's third-place finisher Cecily Decker. "I kind of was very comfortable with my mud setup. I have this scraper that I sort of made myself, a putty scraper with a U-shape. As I'm riding through [mud], inching down and scooping the mud."

A special thanks to pro rider and penman Joe Laverick (ENVE) for the headline here. He crashed out on the vicious 'rock garden' section of the course after mile 40, the same place as former Unbound 200 winner Lachlan Morton (EF Education-EasyPost). We borrowed his great one-word summary for the race. (JT)

Race made famous by US pros now dominated by global talent

It's long past the stage where Unbound Gravel can be pegged as just a national event, its global cut through has been evident for some time, with former and current road and gravel professionals from Europe, or hopefuls from New Zealand and Australia flocking to Kansas. But just in case there were any doubters left, the elite podiums of the showcase event, Unbound 200, have continued to make it crystal clear.

In fact, in the elite men's race it has been quite some time since an rider from the United States won, Keegan Swenson in 2023, and in fact the whole podium this year was from elsewhere. The three years from 2023-2025 in the women's race were also an entirely European affair when it came to the victor list.

Some are driven to make the long trip to the start line by curiosity, like Romain Bardet, others by a determination to carve out a place in the gravel world which becomes undeniable when you do well at Unbound – the case for 2025 winner Cameron Jones – but it's a race with such size and influence that if you want to truly be taken seriously in gravel its almost an essential stop.

Such is the reach that any nation that might think the same weekend as Unbound is a good time for a National Gravel Championships race – yes, I'm talking about Australia – should perhaps think again if they want to have a highly competitive field that includes the broadest spread possible of the best in the discipline on the start line. (SG)

Surprising DNFs

Bardet was one of 28 elite men who posted DNFs, many succumbing to crashes and mechanical malfunctions due to mud. Among the other former pro road riders not crossing the finish on a bike were Lukas Pöstlberger, Jasper Ockeloen, Benjamin Perry, Robin Carpenter, Thomas Dekker, Chad Haga, Thomas De Gendt and Lachlan Morton.

On the women's side, 15 women did not finish the course, including Canyon x DT Swiss ATR duo Nele Laing and Larissa Hartog who had been mixing it up at the front for the first half of the race, but pulled out around mile 140. Multi-discipline riders Nicole Frain and Peta Mullens were out just before the halfway point and Life Time Grand Prix contenders Melisa Rollins and Karolina Migoń posted early DNFs. (JT)

Start to finish broadcast of Unbound 200

Part of the lure of Unbound Gravel that riders talk about is the unknown and isolation. While part of the joy in following it is the mystery, with the stories of the race unfolding eking out not just through the long stretch of miles that riders are out there for, but also well beyond. Still, funnily enough, the presence of a live broadcast of the event seems to do little to change that, with the live stream of the race switching regularly between the men's and women's event and offering a glimpse into the experience with split screens as well that were enough to pique the interest, but not completely sate the curiosity.

Going from an already extensive seven hours of coverage last year to the whole lot in 2026 was certainly welcome given how pivotal the early stages can be, between opening breaks like the flyer of John Borstelmann and 2023 Australian champion Connor Sens, to the early mud patch which quickly ground the field to a halt and left an indelible mark on the race.

The level of interest in the race is already undeniable in the US and beyond, as the increasing glimpses of the race unfolding across prairielands in Kansas. It is an even greater insight into the scale of the challenge. It's hard to imagine that the coverage won't deliver a whole new raft of fans as and provide an even bigger draw for the sponsors.

The growth is already evident, with Life Time reporting that their live YouTube stream, which attracted 332,000 views in 50 countries last year, soared to 470,000 views, 1.8 million impressions and 18,000 chat messages this year. (SG)

Bigger, faster and lighter

After the flood of new tech revealed at The Traka there was a moment when it passed through the mind that Unbound might be a bit of a snooze on that front, but I should have known better. That illusion was quickly dispelled when Scott started the flow by unfurling the bike that defending 200 champion Cameron Jones and Tour Divide record holder Robin Gemperle would be riding - a new prototype 32" gravel race bike.

While Jones didn't get to ride it to victory, Gemperle did and when he was interviewed after Unbound XL was quick to praise the piece of equipment that carried him to the win: "It was absolutely amazing ...there was just no excuse. I just had to keep pushing as hard as I could."

Then the new lighter and more aero Crux 5 with bigger tyre clearance was announced and there was no better advertisement for it than the Unbound 200. Specialized riders sweeping the top two spots on both the elite men's and elite women's podium on a brutal day of racing. Würtz Schmidt had a clear run over the line so could lift his bike up to the air in both tribute and celebration while no sooner did women's winner Villafañe have a microphone pointed toward her than she extolled "God, that bike is so fast". (SG)

Past champions ride for others

2021 Unbound Gravel 200 winner Ian Boswell completed Unbound Gravel 100 this year, riding alongside his Adventure for All teammate Chase Pettey. The clock was not part of their equation for success, though they finished a few second beyond 9 hours total on the course. The point was they finished.

"The bike has been so instrumental in my life, beyond just racing. To have that opportunity to kind of pass on my knowledge with these young kids who are maybe haven't been given the opportunities, or the foresight that they could even ride bikes 100 miles, it is very impactful. It's so cool to see young people that are just so motivated," Boswell explained to Cyclingnews.

Adventure for All provides opportunities for young 'exceptionalities' adults. Boswell said that Pettey, 20, is neurodivergent and has battle through spinal issues.

2015 Unbound Gravel 200 champion Yuri Hauswald returned for his 13th race in Emporia, this time lining up at the back of the 200-mile field. His goal was to pass as many riders as he could, which in turn raised funds for the Life Time Foundation 'Chase the Race' initiative to build a bike skills park for Emporia-based youth.

"What I'm doing this year is the most impactful thing I think I could do as a rider, so I'm really, really motivated. My pedal strokes this year will help build a bike skills park in a town that has changed the trajectory of my career and enhanced my life in so many ways," Hauswald told Cyclingnews.

The 56-year-old passed over 1,200 riders, according to Life Time, and has raised more than $35,000 so far. Donations will remain open this week. (JT)

The biggest weekend in the gravel racing calendar has now come to a close, and the storylines are still slowly filtering out. The 2026 Unbound Gravel had everything, from extreme mud, brutal crashes, and shows of impressive selflessness.

But as ever, it also brought dozens of new tech finds too. It would have been hard work for this year to top 2025's total of nine 'spotted' bikes, but brands certainly tried their best. Factor, Canyon and Giant all brought the heat, each with respective new machines.

Meanwhile, Specialized launched its all-new Crux and dominated the action, claiming a 1, 2, 3, 5 in the men's Elite 200, and a 1, 2 in the women's Elite 200.

Scott's prototype could be the biggest story of the weekend though. With 32in wheels, it's the first competitive outing for the new, bigger wheel size, and it took the win in the 350-mile Men's XL race, albeit Robin Gemperle has been in such impressive form of late that he probably would have won that on a Brompton.

In this gallery, we've predominantly got the bikes from the Elite finish line, plus a bit from the Expo and the XL to round it off. We kick off with the Men's Elite 200 winner.

Last year's Unbound Gravel 200 champion Cameron Jones (Scott Sports USA-RCC) called his attempt on Saturday to defend the title a battle to survive.

His losses were measured against mud, lack of late momentum and then precious time, going from fifth position to 10th late in the race when choosing the wrong line cost him. However, there was a rainbow at the end of the ride for him in Kansas as "a good points haul" in the Life Time Grand Prix series moved him into the top 10 overall in that competition.

Jones was in the chase of Specialized-Off-road duo Mads Würtz Schmidt and Keegan Swenson, who had more than eight minutes on a strung-out field with 75 miles to go.

The dynamics abruptly changed when Würtz Schmidt suffered a torn rear wheel, and Swenson donated his back wheel to let the Dane sail off for a solo victory. Jones had connected with the five other contenders, including eventual runner-up Matt Beers (Specialized Off-Road) and third-place finisher Tobias Kongstad (PAS Racing).

"Yeah, it went relatively smoothly to start. Made it through all the early mud sections and made all the right splits. I had good legs, and with like 50 miles to go, I was in a group fighting for second," he told Cyclingnews Sunday morning at a local Emporia coffee shop. Swenson would battle back with Emil Herzog (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) to join Jones' group.

"Then I think I got a little bit behind on nutrition, it was taking a bit longer than I thought, maybe I dropped something or missed something. [For a while] I was riding solo, I thought I was just bleeding time, but I got a good rhythm, kept aero. Then with 30 miles to go, there's a little muddy road, and I just took a wrong line and got clogged up, lost a couple of minutes, got caught by six people, and they all beat me.

"So went from a solid fifth place to like 10th in the end, so that stung a bit, but it was good to know that I was right there."

The final two hours were under brilliant sunshine, but there was nothing radiant about the other seven hours and 39 minutes.

"At one point I thought, 'Oh, that maybe this is hail'. It was maybe just the raindrops, but yeah, it was some biblical weather out there. We went through five different rainstorms, and it was super wet. The eyes are probably the part that's suffering the most after the race, because your glasses can only do so much ... I took them off with about a quarter of the way to go."

Jones gained star power last year when he won Unbound Gravel 200, which also earned him a wild card spot in the Life Time Grand Prix. He went on to win the overall six-race off-road series, unseating three-time winner Keegan Swenson (Specialized Off-road).

His 2026 Grand Prix campaign had a similar start to last year, with a modest showing at Sea Otter Classic Gravel, this year 20th overall but good for 14th in the series standings. While a repeat victory and even a podium were off the cards in Kansas on Saturday, he salvaged "an emerald effort" with his top 10 and fourth-place in the points for the Life Time Grand Prix – given not all Unbound riders are part of the series – which has moved him into the top 10 of the series standings as well.

"I am happy with the day. So top five for Life Time is sort of an emerald effort for defending it. If I'd done a bit less work, I might have got a better placing, but you've got to fight for the win, even if it means you get a bit worse place in the end. You've got to at least try and win and defend it," he said.

With solid points behind him, and some obviously strong form, now his attention can turn to the next race on the series calendar.

"I'm looking forward to Leadville," the rider with a mountain biking background said.

Before he takes on the first mountain bike race of the Life Time Grand Prix, Leadville Trail 100 MTB, Jones told Cyclingnews he was headed to Tulsa, Oklahoma for criterium racing next weekend. He said he would race with some friends at Tulsa Tough, the three-day set of criterium events in Oklahoma, just 180 miles (288 km) north of Emporia, staying safe at the front of races and going for some primes. Then he'd get in some time at altitude in Utah before heading to Leadville, Colorado for the July race.

"The race in Leadville itself isn't really mountain bikey, but the training you do is very much on the mountain bike. I will just go out and do some big high country missions in the Colorado mountains, and it's a lot of fun," he said.

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our gravel cycling coverage in 2026. We'll be on the ground at the biggest races of the season, bringing you breaking news, expert analysis, in-depth features, and much more. Find out more.

Keegan Swenson, Unbound Gravel 200 champion three years ago, was once again among the frontrunners at this year's edition of the Kansas gravel epic. He'd end up in fifth place in Emporia and had some story to tell at the end of it.

In 2023, the Utahan outpaced Petr Vakoc and Lachlan Morton in a thrilling seven-rider sprint. On Saturday, he rounded out his race in fifth place, 24 minutes down on the winner, Specialized Off-Road teammate Mads Würtz Schmidt. With second-placed Matthew Beers also racing on the Specialized squad, it was a more than successful day on the bike.

Along the way, Swenson, who fractured his hip only three months ago, and his team battled through mechanical maladies before he effectively sacrificed his own shot at glory for the good of his teammates.

Both he and Würtz Schmidt were off the front alone with 75 miles to go, having left behind Cobe Freeburn (Trek Driftless), when the European Gravel Champion suffered a massive rear puncture. Swenson, recognising that his teammate had more energy left in his legs, gave up his own wheel to help.

"It was one of those things. The hole is so big – it was like tread to bead. We tried plugging it, but it didn't work, and I was on the limit. I was telling Mads to slow down," Swenson told Cyclingnews reporter Jackie Tyson after the finish.

"I got something tangled in my cassette early, and had to chase for an hour to get back to the front before Madison. I think I spent most of my pennies there, so I was a bit cooked, and I knew that he could make it.

"I wasn't 100% sure that I could make it, and the goal was that one of us had to win the race, so I was like, if I give him the wheel, he can win."

Würtz Schmidt raced on solo, avoiding any further mishaps, and carried a seven-minute lead into the final 50 miles. He'd convert that into victory, the first European to win the men's 200-miler since Ivar Slik in 2022, while further back, Swenson battled on in search of a top placing.

After giving up his own wheel, Swenson managed to fix Würtz Schmidt's – with its broken freehub and all – before going again. He managed to link up with a chase group containing Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe road pro Emil Herzog, also racing here under the Specialized umbrella.

"So, I gave him the wheel, and I just got it fixed, and carried on," Swenson said.

"It was a long change, because the freehub had fallen off and I was missing parts, and had to go back and find the parts. For a second, I was like, 'Oh, I guess I'm calling a ride, because I can't pedal.' But then I found the spring and got it fixed, and then we carried on, so...

"Then I was able to catch Emil, who was here riding with us from Bora. He was amazing, a great teammate. I got back to him, and he was like, 'We're still racing for top 10.' So, it kind of re-motivated me to keep pushing."

Herzog told Cyclingnews that he had made a rookie mistake during his debut, including missing the second feed zone. But still, he was on hand to help Swenson, even if the conditions were far from what he's used to.

"It was super fun, but I did some, let's say beginner mistakes, because I missed my second feed. After five-and-a-half hours, I was completely empty, and I just dropped from the wheel," Herzog said.

"I was never able to get back to the group I was in, and then at one point, some riders came, and my teammate Keegan came from the back.

"I worked with him, and then a small group caught us. I spoke with Keegan, and he said he wants to go on the last kicker, and I was then just sitting there, and let the others close the gap."

Swenson and Herzog raced in a group containing Adne Koster (Seka Bikes), Daan Soete (Ridley Racing), Piotr Havik (Castelli SOG x Colgnago), and defending champion Cameron Jones (Scott Sports USA-RCC). Swenson would take off before the end to secure a fifth-place finish with a little help from his new teammate.

"It was a pretty horrible day. It wasn't a great day. But it was a good day for the Specialized squad," Swenson said.

"My back was pretty cooked all day. I was struggling with it. I started to feel a little bit better at the end, I think. I don't know whether everything else was hurting, and it got better.

"I found out we were racing for fifth, and I still had a little bit of gas in the tank, so I attacked on the last climb and finished it."

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It was a near miss for Cameron Scott at the AusCycling Gravel National Championships last year, but on Sunday, he returned to Ponderosa Pines and hit the bullseye.

The road regular, who also turns his hand to track, will now have every incentive to venture out on the gravel on a more regular basis, given he has a green and gold jersey to put on display.

The 28-year-old, who races on the road with Li Ning Star, and previously spent two years in the WorldTour with Bahrain Victorious, carved out a gap on the run to the line, launching early as he shook off the last of the small group of riders remaining out front.

"You had to go full gas from the bottom, but yeah, luckily it was a tailwind," said Scott after claiming the title with a time of 4:03:47 on the entirely gravel 123km course with 1,600m of elevation gain.

Scott crossed the line six seconds ahead of Brent Rees, who earlier this month took seventh at the SEVEN UCI Gravel World Series race in Western Australia. Harrison Bennington was third, a further 7 seconds back.

It was another muddy day of racing, following a wet women's title chase on Saturday won by Tiffany Cromwell (Canyon-SRAM), and the field progressively thinned as it worked its way through a lap of the 17.5km Western Loop and two laps of the main course.

"I wasn't really sure what to expect today with the conditions, but it was just an elimination race– guys slowly dropping off one by one," Scott told AusCycling. "These guys had me on the climbs, but I just had to measure my effort and come back on the descents. I think we were all pretty gassed, there wasn't many attacks in the end."

Which turned out to suit Scott. Last year, he had finished behind Mark O'Brien, who had clinched the title with a solo sortie. This year, O'Brien was ninth.

Even though Scott isn't exactly a regular on the gravel circuit, it is a discipline he has been dipping into over several years; in fact, he took second place in Gravelista on the very first year of the UCI Gravel World Series in 2022.

Sunday's gravel victory in South Australia means Scott will hold the Australian title in a year where the nation is also hosting the UCI Gravel World Championships, though the heavy serve of climbs on the 140.7km route with 3,625m of elevation gains may not be so appealing for the sprinter.

Kylee Hanel (Cervelo-Maxxis) and Robert Oehler (Lads Racing Collective) won at Unbound Gravel 100 on Saturday in Emporia, Kansas.

After her victory in the women's category of the 100 event Hanel – who also won the women's under-23 title at Sea Otter Classic Gravel in April – has a commanding lead in the U23 Life Time Grand Prix standings. In a much different gravel race in Kansas – 117-miles longer than the Monterey, California race – Hanel conquered the mud and a strong field in a time of 5:36:38, putting her in 34th place overall.

"I did what I came here to do - win the U23 women's race and finish top 50 overall," Hanel told Cyclingnews later Saturday afternoon. She came into Unbound after finishing third overall at Tour de Bloom, riding the road for Aegix x LOE.

However, her gravel victory wasn't a sure thing. She said the mud on Towers Climb could have been a tragic setback, and then a train stopped her progress on the back half of the route.

"Oh, you saw the mud coming, and you saw it go all the way up the hill. I mean, you could see Towers and the mud for over half a mile. We walked a lot of the way and then I had to spend another five minutes cleaning at the creek. When you're walking, there's so much mud caked to your shoes your feet feel twice as heavy.

"We got stopped by a train, and I'm sitting there thinking at my last time check the next woman was two and a half minutes behind me," said Hanel, adding that the train cost her two minutes.

The 20-year-old dug in, finishing 2:31 ahead of Samantha Johnson of Tennessee who finished second. Johnson held off Ellory Clason of Michigan by 14 seconds, both also in the LTGP U23 competition.

Oehler rode solo for the win in the men's race, finishing with a time of 5:04:39. The 28-year-old Ohio resident scored a huge improvement from the year before, when he came 14th.

He finished two minutes ahead of U23 riders Finn McKenzie of Blenheim, New Zealand and Oskar Stack-Michasiw of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Both McKenzie and Stack-Michasiw are also part of the U23 field for the Life Time Grand Prix, the Canadian fourth overall in the standings after Sea Otter Classic Gravel., where the New Zealander did not start.

Results

Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road) claimed her second victory at Unbound Gravel 200, emerging victorious from a muddy elite women's race after topping her rivals in a five-way sprint.

A mud-caked Villafañe finished the race in 10:31:37, celebrating in the sunshine with the earlier rain and brutal mud now just a memory. Teammate Geerike Schreurs was second, a second back, while Cecily Decker (PAS Racing) took third.

"The plan was for Gee to try to go solo and put in attacks and then I would help her in any way I could with that," said Villafañe in the post-race interview on the live stream. "But then if it came to the sprint, we were going all in on my sprint, and to go one two is unreal."

It became clear well before the race was coming into Emporia that the battle for the podium would be down to the leading group, which took shape in the first half of the race.

Try as they might to reel those riders in, the chasers couldn't make the junction with Villafañe, Decker, Schreurs, Rosa Klöser (Canyon-SRAM-MAAP) and Paige Onweller (Trek Driftless), who lost contact at times but just kept coming back.

The group of five came into the final climb all together and then Schreurs attacked, but 2024 winner Klöser was quick to react and they all came into the barriers together. Villafañe made her move within sight of the line and there was little any of her rivals could do to stop the 2022 champion adding another title to her tally and continuing her gravel winning streak in 2026, which earlier this month also included claiming victory at The Traka 200.

After Schreurs and Decker crossed the line, Onweller claimed fourth while 2024 winner Klöser was fifth.

How it unfolded

Fifteen minutes after the pro men took the start from Commercial Street in Emporia, the first gleams of sunlight brought the pro women into view. After the opening 2.5 miles of neutral pavement, the field hit dirt roads, which had turned to mud from overnight rain.

US riders Laurel Quinones and Emma Langley (Ventum) were the first to try an attack, which seemed to be just a test for the legs. A large puddle along Road D caused some chaos, and a few riders went down, Michaela Thompson appearing to have a rear puncture in that area.

Coming out of the muddy mess, 12 riders went clear at the front: Danni Shrosbree (Rapha-Argon 18), Cecily Decker (PAS Racing), Nicole Frain (Factor Racing), Lauren Stephens (Aegis x LOE), Geerike Schreurs (Specialized Off-road), Carolin Schiff (Canyon x DT Swiss ATR), Samara Sheppard, Rosa Klöser Canyon-SRAM-MAAP) and Paige Onweller (Trek Driftless). All the riders were already covered in mud from head to toe.

Frain dropped out of the group before the first Feed Zone as she crashed hard and struggled to straighten her handlebars. On the Life Time livestream camera, Frain was seen rubbing her left leg, with a considerable amount of blood on her leg and wound on her left shoulder.

After the first Feed Zone at mile 43.5, the women's lead group saw Onweller, Schreurs, Klöser, Decker, Schiff joined now by Haley Preen (Factor Racing), Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road), Sarah Lange (Kenda), Nele Laing (Canyon x DT Swiss ATR) and Cecile Lejeune (Trek Driftless).

Closing to the second Feed Zone, on a long straight stretch of dirt after Texaco Hill, Morgan Aguirre (PAS Racing) chased solo, three minutes back, and not far behind her were Stephens, Stella Hobbs, Langley, and then a small group of Jade Treffeisen (Canyon x DT Swiss All-Terrain), Clara Koppenburg (Tudor), Alexis Skarda (Q36.5 - Scott), Nathalie Eklund, Hartog and Frain.

A paved stretch led to the second Feed Zone, 82 miles done, had mechanics and pro support crews positioned on the right side of a very narrow dirt road with trees on one side and farmland on the other.

A group of four entered together at the front - Specialized duo Schreurs and Villafañe with Decker and Klöser. Only 18 seconds behind were Lejeune, Lange, Schiff, Onweller, Sheppard, Laing and Preen, the South African struggling with her stop to grab a water bottle.

When Frain pulled into the Feed Zone, she took a longer stop than the others, taking off her gloves and cleaning the road rash from her wrists and arms. Shrosbree pulled into the area, and the two rode off together, as more rain started to fall.

Rolling terrain rolled north 16 more miles and passed through Matfield, Kansas, with Onweller making inroads to the four leaders, and made the catch at the halfway point of the race.

More rain fell, which in turn just splattered the mud on the leaders as they kicked on at an average of 20.5 mph.

Through mile 115, the leading quintet of Schreurs, Villafañe, Decker, Klöser and Onweller marched on and carved out an advantage of nearly six minutes on their closest rival, Mieke Kröger (Rose Racing), the World and Olympic Team Pursuit champion riding solo. A trio of chasers were 30 seconds behind the German - Lange, Laing and Preen.

Riding through Chase County to the north, passing just east of the famous Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, the group charged on. They handled the minimum maintenance road, W Road, handily, the one-mile stretch just grass and rocks, not gravel. Schreurs, Villafane, Decker and Kloser stayed on the gas, while Onweller, who had fallen off the pace, rejoined.

The third and final Feed Zone at mile 149 was dry, but the wind was blowing hard. Onweller stopped for some supplies while the other grabbed bottles on the fly, and Onweller rejoins. Krõger was still on a solo sortie.

Apparently, other riders had to stop and wait for a train to pass, which allowed Lauren De Crescenzo to join the second group with Preen and Lange. Stephens was another two minutes back. Laing had dropped well back.

With 75% of the route done and just 55 miles to go, the five leaders continued to work together, now under sunny skies and dry dirt, but the wind was making all the flat roads like liquid hills. Urgency behind saw De Crescenzo and Lange try to wipe away a portion of a 14-minute gap.

The table was set for a wide-angle podium.

Onweller may have been yo-yoing but she continued to fight her way back, and the five headed into the final 15 miles together. There had been some shifts behind, however, with De Crescenzo now the leading pursuer, and while she held sixth, the gap proved insurmountable.

It was over ten hours of racing when the attacks in the lead group started with Schreurs, and though that initial effort didn't stick, all of a sudden everyone was casting a wary eye behind. It all, however, came down to a sprint.

Mads Würtz Schmidt (Specialized Off-Road) rode away to victory in the men's Unbound Gravel 200, after escaping with teammate Keegan Swenson midway through a race battered by heavy rain, wind and mud.

It was, however, another teammate who ultimately snared second place with Matt Beers crossing the line more than five minutes after the European Champion, while Tobias Kongstad (PAS Racing) took third.

"I was on a really good day, and it was quite a ride. But in the end, I couldn't have done it without Keegan. He's a champion," said Würtz Schmidt on the race live coverage.

When the Dane was out front with Swenson, almost 10 minutes ahead of the chasers, he suffered a gash to his rear tyre. Swenson stopped to help him fix the issue, but it turned out to be more than a mechanical adjustment.

"And then Keegan, he was quick to say that 'you need my wheel', because it was clear that I was the strongest, and the best chance for a win between me and Keegan was me. So he sacrificed his race and his Grand Prix, and everything for me," said Würtz Schmidt.

The Traka 360 winner made the most of the sacrifice, crossing the line to celebrate his second huge win this month.

How it unfolded

All the riders and bikes were coated with a layer of mud after the first 13 miles, as overnight storms dropped pockets of heavy rain in eastern Kansas. The 'D Hill' three-mile climb after mile 10 was not as vicious as the 2023 race edition, but several riders had to dismount and dislodge mud from derailleurs and cogs, including former Unbound 200 winner Keegan Swenson (Specialized Off-road).

With some separation after early mud, the lead group contained Mads Würtz Schmidt and Matt Beers of Specialized Off-road, Cobe Freeburn, Daxton Mock and Torbjørn Andre Røed of Trek Driftless, Romain Bardet (Factor Racing), Nils Brun, John Borstelmann, Daan Soete (Ridley Racing) and Frederick Raßmann.

Thirty seconds back were a solid group of chasers, Lachlan Morton (EF Education-EasyPost), Brendan Johnson (Giant), Arno Van den Broeck (Powerplus Grave Team), Caleb Botcher (ENVE), defending champion Cameron Jones (Scott Sports USA-RCC), Simon Pellaud (Cervelo-Assos-Maxxis) and Adne Koster (Seka Bikes).

Thomas De Gendt (Power Plus Gravel Team) was in the lead into the first feed zone, at mile 43.5, and seemed to accelerate through the area while a few others slowed down. There was a regrouping across the next few miles, and Mock attacked from the front group, which had grown to 21 riders.

On Texaco Hill, the lead group began to split, with mud beginning to be an issue. Beers, Alexey Vermeulen (ENVE) and Pellaud all seemed to have some issues but worked back to the group.

After mile 62, having passed over Texaco Hill, three riders moved away with a serious acceleration - Würtz Schmidt, Swenson and Freeburn. They opened a 25-second gap on the chasing group of about 16 riders across the next seven miles.

The second Feed Zone, 82 miles done, had mechanics and pro support crews positioned on the right side of a very narrow dirt road with trees on one side and farmland on the other, where all three leaders stopped, all getting hosed down by support crews to clear bikes and bodies of mud.

Once the chasers came through, only a few riders stopped for bottles or other nutrition, and no one took a pressure wash. Would this be an advantage later for the breakaway? The trio opened a two-minute gap to the chasers when everyone was through the area, 124 miles to go.

At mile 98, almost the halfway point, the trio charged on, averaging 23 mph and extending their lead to more than six minutes, clouds dropping more rain on the western side of the course.

Just a few miles later on a long drag of farm road, the Specialized Off-road duo moved away from Freeburn, quickly opening a 30-second gap. A dozen riders remained together for a solid chase, but were eight minutes back.

With 75 miles to go, the two leaders opened a nine-minute advantage.

Then disaster struck. Würtz Schmidt suffered a rear flat, and the two stopped. Swenson attempted to help his teammate repair the tyre, but then opted to give his back wheel, the European Champion taking off solo. Swenson then went to work to put a tube in the repurposed tyre.

But the mechanical proved a challenge even for Swenson, who struggled to reattach the freehub, which had fallen off. The chasers of Beers, Herzog, Jones, Freeburn, Johnston and Kongstad flew by Swenson.

After 151 miles of racing, Würtz Schmidt charged on with seven minutes on his side ahead of chasers Jones, Kongstad and Beers, and Brendan Johnston (Giant) another two minutes back. Freeburn rode alone four-and-a-half minutes behind Johnston, while Swenson joined forces with Emil Herzog (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) another two-and-a-half minutes back.

Jones, however, began to slow and drifted backwards, leaving Beers and Kongstad as the main chasers going through Council Grove, the northernmost section of the course.

Heading to chunky gravel and rolling miles before Lake Kahola, the European Champion only dropped his average race speed to 22.95 mph, the road on the northern section of the course dry, the sun back out but lingering humidity making temperatures feel warmer than high 70s. Beers and Kongstad held steady at seven-and-a-half minutes back.

After a string of riders behind these three - still Jones, Johnston, Freeburn - Swenson now rode with five other riders 21 minutes back - Koster, Herzog, Soete, and Piotr Havik (Castelli SOG x Colgnago),

Würtz Schmidt wasn't gaining significant time as he passed Kahola Lake, but he wasn't letting the two chasers get closer to his virtual hold of the win either, as they still had 7:30 to make up.

Beers, however, ultimately left Kongstad behind and then no longer had to worry about moderating his pace to preserve his teammate's gap out front. He crossed the line nearly six minutes behind Würtz Schmidt to secure a clear-cut Specialized Off-Road one-two.

After Kongstad crossed the line to take third, it was then fourth for Johnston, a spot up from last year, and, despite giving up a wheel, Swenson managed to cross the line in fifth.

Swiss rider Robin Gemperle dominated the Unbound XL race, finishing the 356-mile (573km) gravel race in 21 hours, 20 minutes, and five seconds.

Gemperle finished 34:17 ahead of Sidhartha Mathai, with Ricardo Morante coming in third ahead of Max Agut of France.

The women's race was won for a second time by German Svenja Betz, who finished in 27:11:32. She was a little more than 34 minutes ahead of runner-up Maddy Nutt of Great Britain. In early May, Nutt scored the victory at The Traka Adventure, the 560km overnight race which Betz won in the inaugural year of the race in 2025.

It was then Larissa Connors who took third, coming over the line a little under two hours after Betz, while Ivy Pedersen was then just 28 seconds further back in fourth.

Early in the race, Gemperle revealed to the live broadcast interviewer that he feared he might have to drop out after getting sick 180 kilometres into the race, and after getting going, he had to walk around 21 kilometres because of deep mud and rain.

"After 180km, I was like, this is never going to work out, so mentally it was super tough. I kind of had issues with my stomach," he said.

"I thought I wanted to like save a lot of drinks at the beginning so I don't have to stop early, but then we decided together that we will stop early, which made me drink everything that I had left within 20 ks, which is incredibly stupid, and resulted in me puking."

Last year, Gemperle set the record on the Tour Divide, a much longer race between Canada and the Mexican border of the USA, and was happy to get the Unbound XL victory so he can get back to 'ultra' endurance races.

"The more often you do this kind of stuff, the further away you get from doing it again, so I do have kind of a focus on these shorter ultras for this year," he said.

"I'm just super happy that it worked out now with one win, because I don't want to do this another five years. I want to go back to really long ones, which is where I feel super comfortable. So, yeah, it's good I've made it work."

Nutt said every weather condition was thrown at riders during the epic ride, from thunderstorms with lighting to hail to wind and then sunshine with high humidity.

"At 10-and-a-half hours I was halfway through and I was brilliant. I rode really strong at the start, and then as soon as we hit the mud, I was... that hiking really took power of me at about 130km," Nutt recounted.

"Then we hit what could only be described as hell. It [the mud] just didn't end. We had a mid feed, and then we didn't have the next feed for the nine hours because of the hiking, so everyone was dying, four or five hours of hiking.

"I am as happy as I can be now. I didn't feel amazing on the bike though."

Cyclingnews provides you with comprehensive coverage of the 2026 Unbound Gravel directly from the Flint Hills of Kansas. Subscribe today for unlimited access to all the breaking news, live reports, in-depth tech coverage, and analysis from the biggest gravel race of the season. Find out more.

Results

The threats of overnight rain in eastern Kansas came as predicted and turned sections of the prairie roads into pools of water and mud, the kind that hide dangers from unsuspecting tyres, destroy derailleurs and also derail contenders across both Unbound Gravel 200 and Unbound XL.

Hopes were high when the day started, and conditions had seemed fine.

"We had our friend Jonathan go out to the first MMR [minimum maintenance road], and he was like, 'It's dry, it's hero dirt', and we're like, 'Yeah, let's go'," said eventual Unbound 200 winner Sofia Gomez Villafañe. "And then the stuff that you thought was going to be good just turned into craziness, you know. There was a lot of crashes, a lot of mechanicals, and yeah, it was just a day of perseverance."

That day of chaos ultimately worked out just fine for the repeat Unbound Gravel 200 women's winner, but not for many others.

Of the 117 riders that started the Unbound 200 elite men's race, 37 didn't make it to the end, while in the elite women's race, of the 62 riders that started, 15 didn't make it back to the Emporia finish line. The attrition rate was, perhaps not surprisingly, far higher in the Unbound XL, with just 60 of the 237 starters completing the 350-mile challenge.

The riders from the XL were the first to set off, rolling on the longest course on Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. local time with calm skies and sunshine, but that did not last.

"Yeah, this rainstorm that came in changed everything," Stetina recounted on the Life Time livestream Saturday morning.

And that rain also set the scene for a tough Unbound 200 with the chaos beginning in the first hour of racing as a large water puddle gave way to a brutal muddy patch which saw most of the riders off the bike and reaching for the mud sticks. They were conditions that tested equipment, hid hazards and pushed riders to their limits. Many came unstuck.

Every year, we catalogue the mishaps and misadventures that tell the tales of why a favourite rider may not have made it to the end, dropped way further down the results sheet than expected or even ended up in a sought-after position despite having to overcome considerable difficulties along the way.

Here is the list for 2026, which is being added to as more tales of the race flow:

Unbound XL

Peter Stetina (DNF) - "Around 9pm in the dark, I crashed real hard; it was deep mud, too. I had a big hole [on a knee] from what I could see after peeling away some mud blobs, so I kind of knew if I ride another 10-plus hours, like this is a guaranteed infection. My day is done," said Stetina. The rider who has completed multiple 200-mile events with a second place in 2019 and third in 2021, opted for the XL this year but it ended with him being taken to the hospital by his mechanic, Wayne Smith

Ted King (DNF) - When Stetina arrived at the hospital there was, unfortunately, another familiar face, with Unbound 200 2018 winner, King, being treated for a gash in his knee.

Rob Britton (DNF) - It not always a crash or equipment failure that ends a race as last year's XL winner demonstrated.

"The bike was solid. All of my kit was dialed but my body, the most trusted asset I’ve had my whole career, failed and not long after that my mind followed," said Britton in an Instagram post. "It sucks. To have won last year and be out after 6h this year…I never thought I’d be in that position but at this point I know how ever hard that call was to make, it was the right one."

Heather Jackson (DNF) - It was a tough edition for the 2025 winners, with Jackson also on the results rollercoaster. "We tried. My mind was excited for this race but my body had nothing to give," said Jackson on social media.

Unbound 200 Elite Women

Nicole Frain (DNF) - The Oceania Champion was in her second Unbound but unfortunately for Frain it was also another edition that started well but ended with a crash just when she looked in an ideal position. Frain had made it into the lead group but then came down hard, but despite the blood and bumps she initially straightened her handlebars and battled on, however finally had to pull the pin. "Unbound 2 : Nicole 0," said the rider in an Instagram post. "Ahhh this race. It was going so good until it wasn’t."

Rosa Klöser (5th) - A finish in the top five sounds like a good outcome for the former winner but now that, a week after the event, she has taken to social media with an outline of the challenges she faced its simply staggering. At 50km a dropped chain took her out of the front group and lost her 1:30, then there were two stops for a puncture at 85km, a crash and chase back at 205km and broken shifting at 220km but the Canyon-SRAM rider though the issue was resolved. Unfortunately she discovered it wasn't right when she went to sprint for the line: "At the moment that mattered most, my gears skipped and the chain was falling through the cassette".

Cécile Lejeune (10th) – The French rider was well-positioned in the leading group when she took an unscheduled dip.

Morgan Aguirre (11th) – For Aguirre it was the rails that were derailing her adventure, with the PAS Racing rider twice stopped by trains, which in a social media post she said cost her 7 minutes and 53 seconds in waiting time. She certainly wasn't alone in commenting on the train hold ups.

Karolina Migoń (DNF) - Last year's women's winner only made it through the second time check of the race at Mile 20, close to the front and trailing leaders by only 19 seconds. It was quite possible the early mud section caused mechanical issues, and an update will be confirmed.

Melisa Rollins (DNF) - The Liv Racing Collective rider was looking to make Unbound Gravel her comeback event of the season, last racing to second place at RADL GRVL in January. She took the start in Emporia Saturday morning, but only pedaled a few blocks and pulled out, as she did not have a doctor's clearance yet to ride off-road due to recent surgeries. Yes, more than one.

Two and half months ago she had for a broken left elbow suffered on a ride prior to a start at Cape Epic. Then a day before Sea Otter Classic Gravel, she suffered another injury that required surgery.

"The day I was supposed to leave before Sea Otter I was on a hike, and fell. I landed on my arm that I had just broken and had surgery on, and I partially tore my tricep on that same arm, so trying to get back."

Larissa Hartog (DNF) - "Early in the race I crashed, then crashed again, dropped my chain, and crashed once more," said Hartog in an Instagram post. Still, she dug deep and continued on. But after waiting in the rain for a train to pass, missing her gels at the feed and then a puncture, the adrenaline ran out and the pain kicked in so the decision was made to pull the pin.

Unbound 200 Elite Men

Lachlan Morton (DNF) - After opting to race the XL last year, and coming second, the 2024 winner was back at Unbound 200 for 2026 but it was the year Morton had been hoping for with the rider one of the early big name withdrawals in the first quarter of the race. "I had a big slam in one of the rocky sections. It was of my own doing but yeah, crashed pretty hard - had a big highside and landed on my hip quite hard which is pretty sore right now," said Morton in a video shared by EF Procycling. "Otherwise I'm Ok, just a little disappointed. The race was going well but brutal conditions out there."

Romain Bardet (DNF) - The Frenchman had told Cyclingnews he was just competing to "figure out" Unbound as he had heard so much about it, but was not contesting for the win as the trip to Kansas was part of a family holiday. It didn't, however, turn out to be much of a holiday out there and Bardet pulled the pin. He said on social media: "Massive respect to all the finishers. Was truly epic. Couldn't do it. Not a good resilience lesson today, fitness is one thing, managing your equipment over 9hrs is another. It was a day for the brave."

Keegan Swenson (5th) - It wasn't exactly Swenson's mishap, but more the ultimate act of team loyalty, that set back the 2023 winner as when he was out front with Specialized Off-road teammate Mads Würtz Schmidt disaster struck for the European champion. The rider who was fresh from a win at The Traka 360 had a gash to his rear tyre. Calculating the best chance of a team win Swenson handed over his wheel, fixed the damaged one and even then managed to clinch fifth place.

Simon Pellaud (15th) - Last year it was second place for Pellaud and while he was sitting pretty after the first sticky mud section, not even putting a foot on the ground, things got tougher afterwards. He was twice dropped from the front group while losing his muddy chain, then a small crash and five flats later he salvaged 15th place.

Daxton Mock (DNF) - "Unbound got me this year" was how Mock put it in a social media post explaining that after a small mechanical he let the frustration creep in. "Somewhere along the way I got too focused on the result I thought I should be having instead of the race that was actually in front of me. I stepped off after 130 miles. A tough lesson in composure and adaptability, but one I’ll carry forward."

Michael Woods (DNF) - The mud bought Woods unstuck, but it wasn't because it clogged up his tyres but rather his eye. The retired WorldTour professional suffered a 'huge scratch' on his cornea but he said that the sting of not finishing hurt almost as much as his eye. "It was one of the lamest ends to a bike race that I have had in my career," Woods said in a Substack post. "My legs could keep pedaling; my energy was still there, but I just could not see."

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our gravel cycling coverage in 2026. We'll be on the ground at the biggest races of the season, bringing you breaking news, expert analysis, in-depth features, and much more. Find out more.

Less than an hour into Unbound 200 and only around 15 or so miles into the race, and already the muddy chaos has hit, with pictures of the men's elite riders grinding to a halt and having to get off the bikes and run, well, at least if they could get their wheels to keep turning with all the mud.

A very few managed to find a grassy detour and keep on rolling, but most were pushing, or even carrying their bikes, and others were completely stopped with the paint sticks out to try and clear the mud so they could get their machines running again.

The mud was a curse for many, quickly splitting the field to shreds and ending 2023 Australian champion Connor Sens's sortie out the front.

Still, mud had been just what others were hoping for, defending champion Cameron Jones (Scott Sports USA) among them, with one of the reasons being that it may be at least one way of making the battle more of an individual one than a tactical team one.

The Specialized Off-road trio of Keegan Swenson, Matt Beers and Mads Würtz Schmidt are the team everyone is looking to in the men's race, and Swenson was one of the riders caught in the mayhem with mud clogging the wheels and cogs.

It was soon revealed, however, that Beers, held out in the front group of around 10 and Jones was chasing in another bunch just behind which soon made the junction and formed a lead group of around 17 which also included Romain Bardet (Factor Racing), Brendan Johnston (Giant) and Würtz Schmidt, but Swenson was, at least initially, left behind.

The women's race, which started later, then rolled on through. While there were some early offs in the puddle leading in, and some were off the bike once the mud truly hit, quite a few rolled on through, and it was a little less chaotic than the men's race.

Still, it caused a big split and a lead group of around 10 formed, including Geerike Schreurs (Specialized Off-road), Rosa Klöser (Canyon-SRAM-MAAP) and Nicole Frain (Factor Racing).

One thing for sure was that the riders and bikes across both fields came out of that section covered in mud, with the multi-coloured range of jerseys now pretty much down to varying shades of brown.

The mud struck again this year as the race started to the south, taking in roads that delivered the peanut butter muck of the 2023 edition. There were thunderstorms overnight in eastern Kansas that delivered enough moisture to turn dust to sludge.

As a result, it's fair to say most riders were aware that mud was possible, but being prepared in theory and the reality may have been two very different things for some.

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our gravel cycling coverage in 2026. We'll be on the ground at the biggest races of the season, bringing you breaking news, expert analysis, in-depth features, and much more. Find out more.

For the 2026 edition of Unbound, several of Factor Bikes' athletes will be racing and testing a head-turning prototype bike.

It doesn't yet have a name and it is still in the development process, but Factor's engineers tell me that after Unbound concludes and the feedback is analysed, it will be one crucial step closer to fruition.

We had a sneak peek at this prototype in Emporia before the racing got underway.

The bike, as it exists currently, reflects features that top gravel athletes are demanding in their quest for more speed. The rear end and saddle are pulled forward, and there is ample tyre clearance to say the least.

The most eye-catching aspect of the bike is the fork and head tube. I'm told more traditional designs were tested, but the current shapes have proven to be the most aerodynamic on the part of the bike where their effects are most felt.

In what ended up being a wet and muddy day of racing at South Australia's Ponderosa Pines, Tiffany Cromwell rode away from her rivals early to claim a second elite women's Australian gravel title.

Defending champion Cromwell took off solo early in the 123km elite women's race at the AusCycling National Gravel Championships on Saturday, pulling out the gap to three minutes with 70 km to go, and by the finish line, she had stretched the gap to her nearest rival to 20 minutes, crossing the line in 4:53:21.

Flora Johnson was second, with Victoria Barry taking third at just a minute-and-a-half further back. Sophie Edwards was another ten minutes behind in fourth while Megan Chapple claimed fifth spot.

“Muddy, tired, but happy I can take the stripes for another year," said Cromwell after claiming the win.

"I didn’t anticipate to spend that much time off the front, but just kind of happened, and you know I was having to do all the work anyway, so I thought, why not give it a crack.

“It was super hard conditions out there. It was just that it was getting muddier as the day went on."

The women's races this year were given their own slot on Saturday, with the small field of elite riders starting out at 11:30 local time, with the various women's age group riders starting out in waves afterwards.

The course was 100% gravel with approximately 1,600m of elevation gain and the elite women took on one lap of the 17.5km Western Loop and two laps of the main course.

The elite men's title race, where Mark O'Brien will be lining up as defending champion, will be run on Sunday, along with the men's age group races.

Unbound Gravel 2026 - Everything you need to know

Unbound Gravel 2026 - Route

Who will win 2026 Unbound Gravel 200? - Contenders

How to watch 2026 Unbound Gravel 200

Final results - Elite Women

Final results - Elite Men

The 200 mile/333km race is the one that starts very soon. However, yesterday saw the start of Unbound XL, a 300 mile epic that is still racing now after an all nighter on the brutal gravel. They set off 3pm local time and are due to finish in around four to five hours time.

Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews' live updates of the 2026 Life Time Unbound Gravel presented by Shimano.

The race has upped it's prize pot for this year with $60,000 being split between the top five riders in both the men's and women's races.

The startlist is a blend of former and current road riders, gravel specialists and the odd full blown all-rounders in both the men's and women's lineups.

A mechanics job isn't an easy one at the best of times, but for gravel mechanics, it is a whole other ball game as it is just you against the terrain with no big team of mechanics around you. Cyclingnews spoke to mechanics of Alexey Vermeulen, Carolin Schiff and more.

>>> 'Mechanics dread excitement' – Meet the people who navigate pit-stop chaos to keep the pros rolling at Unbound Gravel

There have been changes made to the way the support stations work with the pros and amateurs with the elite riders getting their own areas to avoid the chaos of previous years.

Last year's winner, Cameron Jones, is for the changes and told Cyclingnews: "The first year out at the feed zones really opened my eyes – just how many people were at the feed zones, it was like a whole city long, four or five blocks, and you're trying to watch out for your people," He said.

"So, last year was a lot less stressful being in a small group. I think it's a good call that they've split them up from the amateurs, because we're coming through with a lot more urgency than the age groupers. It's nice to have a bit less going on, less distractions."

>>> Unbound Gravel organisers rein in support station chaos, adding feed zones for elite fields only

The riders are all lined up in Emporia. It is currently dry but there was apparently a big storm in the night with mud looking like it could be a real issue.

Men's Race

The men set off on their neutral zone in the dawn light. The neutralised section is around 3 miles long to just get them out of Emporia before they race.

If you are new to gravel racing, Cam Jones won last year with Matthew Beers, Keegan Swenson, Torbjørn Røed, Alexey Vermeulen, Lachlan Morton are all big names to look out for with former WorldTour road riders like Romain Bardet, Thomas De Gendt, Simon Pellaud and Mads Würtz Schmidt all racing with the last two being big favourites for this race.

Women's race

The women set off in their neutral start. The same 3 mile neutralised zone as the men.

Men's race

Racing begins for the men with over 200 miles/333km of racing on the menu with moves off the front already.

Men's race

Straight onto the gravel and it looks very dry despite that storm. The riders are pushing hard on this early part of the race as they look to make the selection early.

Women's race

In the women's side of things, Gomez, Lance, De Crescenzo, Kloser, Frain, Decker, Hartog, Schreurs and defending champion Migoń all among the big contendors.

Men's race attack

John Borstelmann
Connor Sens

They have a small gap on the bunch.

67 riders in the women's peloton and 133 riders in the men's peloton.

Women's race

Racing begins with a steady start on the first bits of gravel. It is a very dusty start but mud may be an issue later in the day.

It is interesting to see the difference in riders. Some wearing vests and some just having the jerseys. There's a real split.

Men's race

There is a group chasing the leaders of Borstelmann and Sens that includes Nathan Spratt. No word on the size of that group yet or the timings.

Men's race

The riders are onto the first climb and the gravel is more mud than anything else. It doesn't look awful but a little bit slippy and difficult to navigate. Some riders already losing contact with a long way to go.

Women's race

The peloton is just rolling along as the riders settle into the racing.

Men's race

In the break today is Connor Sens who is from Bendigo in Australia. He was the 2023 Australian national gravel champion winning the title at Devils Cardigan on Tasmania where the prize includes a homemade cardigan with the name of each winner sewn in as well as a sack of local potatoes. Obvious prizes, of course.

Women's race attack/crash

The first moves go off the front as a crash sees Stella Hobbs and Peta Mullins go down. Both back riding, though.

Women's race

Attackers

Laurel Quinones
Emma Langley

They have a decent gap growing as they hit the first climb of the day as they will hit the mud the men have recently rolled over soon.

Men's race

Borstelmann and Sens have lost a lot of time and are now about 30" ahead of the peloton that are strung out.

Men's race

Riders having to ride through a huge puddle that covers the entire track. Some have had to come off and push through as the peloton bunch up through it and several riders have to stop on the mud straight afterwards and it sees Sens and Borstelmann get caught as they are completely clogged their bikes with mud.

Men's race

Keegan Swenson and Emil Herzog are a couple of riders having issues with mud clogging the wheels and cogs. So many riders left behind to try and get the mud out.

Women's race

Michaela Thompson with a rear puncture. She is left fixing the wheel. It is taking her a while as she is struggling to pump it back up. She is being passed by some of the amateur riders, she has been there for a while.

Men's race

The front of the race sees about 10 to 12 riders well ahead of the rest of the groups as the riders who made it through the mud unscathed are taking a real advantage early doors.

Women's race

The women's peloton comes back together but they hit the huge puddle as a rider goes down and the riders who made it through are now getting caught up by the mud just like the men.

Men's race

Lead group

Mads Würtz Schmidt
Cobe Freeburn
Torbjørn Andre Røed
Romain Bardet
Nils Brun
Matthew Beers
Daxton Mock
John Borstelmann
Daan Seote
Frederick Raßmann

Chase +27"

Lachlan Morton
Brendan Johnson
Arno van den Broeck
Caleb Botcher
Cameron Jones
Simon Pellaud
Adne Koster

Peloton +1'15"

Men's race

The two groups come together to form a group of 17 but a few issues for riders sees the group drop to 14.

Men's race

All the riders who were on the podium last year, Jones, Pellaud and Røed are all in the lead group.

The mud appears to have compacted down a bit more with both the men and women settling into the race now as the groups have been formed thanks to that chaotic mud section.

Women's race

About 12 riders clear out front as the mud becomes much more rideable.

All the riders are already completely covered in mud from head to toe.

Women's race

Leaders:

Danni Shrosbree
Cecily Decker
Nicole Fraine
Lauren Stephens
Geerike Schreurs
Carolin Schiff
Samara Sheppard
Rosa Klöser
Paige Onweller

Men's race attack

Simon Pellaud bridging to two attackers but Matt Beers closes things down again.

Men's race

Swenson, Morton and Herzog are all over a minute out of the back.

Men's race

Mechanical for Andreas Seewald who has dropped his chain. He was trying to keep riding while also pulling his chain back on but it isn't working.

Men's race

Simon Pellaud is off the back of the lead group. Something has happened to last year's runner up.

It isn't going to plan for Tour de France stage winner Michael Woods...

>>> 'Into the unknown' – Michael Woods steps into first Unbound with finishing as primary goal but top 10 would be 'super cool'

Men's race

Thomas De Gendt leads the front group into the first feed zone

Women's race

Klöser has been distanced by the leaders. Unsure what happened but she is fighting to get back in.

Men's race

Various issues for the men going through a deep ford of water before a steep climb with a crash and a few mechanicals.

Simon Pellaud said on the event pre-race show The Leadout

"My season started not the way I would have like it to because I've been injured for more than two months. I hit my knee against a car door and, yeah, it's been pretty rough. I had to skip a couple of races and I'm still not quite 100 percent recovered now so it's also still pretty rough mentally. I didn't have the preparation that I would have loved to so yeah, its a bit messed up but I trust the process and I know that at some point everything will just stick and roll further."

Teams impact

"It will depend on the weather forecast too I would say because if at mile 15 we already are all running around its going to be a different situation but I'm quite sure that its going to be the first real different Unbound this year with so many teams around and ready to help each other to reach the victory."

"Even if the weather is not so good, there are not so many really muddy section and still if we have 20km lets say of mud, its still 315km of fast riding so for sure there will be some team tactics."

Men's race

Attack

Daxton Mock

He has about 5" on 21 rider strong group.

Men's race

Mock is flying here and has 30" on the peloton as he flies through a very rough and rocky section.

Women's race

Klöser is riding hard to try and get back on. She has passed a few dropped riders from the lead group and is riding well.

Men's race

Mock sits up as the group behind him looks as if it is splitting up.

Women's race

Cecille Lejeune goes down in the deep ford crossing and is now off the back of the chase group.

Men's race

The men's group sits up and the chasers regain contact with a group of about 25 to 30 riders now lead the race with just inside 150 miles left to go.

Men's race

On Texaco Hill the lead group is getting split up with mud beginning to be an issue as Matt Beers coming back from a problem. Vermeulen and Pellaud also working hard to come back too.

Women's race

Crash

Nicole Frain goes down. The former Australian national road champion looks like she is in a lot of pain and is struggling to straighten her bars.

Haley Smith, 2022 LTGP overall women's winner, told Cyclingnews in the Unbound Expo this week:

"This has been a good year so far. I have raced far less, and I wasn't able to race Sea Otter just with the parasite I picked up from Cape Epic, but that's all resolved now. I had like a season and a half that were quite a bit tougher dealing with the repercussions of long COVID, and I was pretty ill for a while. So I'm through that, and I'm feeling strong and healthy, and just enjoying the racing opportunities I have had, so I'm looking forward to the weekend."

Men's race

Lachlan Morton is rumoured to have abandoned the race at about mile 50. Not confirmed yet, though.

Women's race

Frain is back racing but has blood pouring down her left leg, her fingers and left shoulder. She looks in a heck of a lot of pain.

Women's race

Around nine riders out front after the race broke down on a muddier section.

The sun is out on the riders for the moment but the rain is falling at the finish as the junior 50 mile race sets off.

Men's race (138 miles to go)

Attack

Würtz Schmidt
Swenson
Freeburn

They have 25" on the chasing group of about 16 riders.

Keegan Swenson told Cyclingnews at Specialized product launch on Thursday:

"It's kind of been the trend every year. It seems like it gets faster and faster, and guys are more willing to gamble on early attacks and early moves and breakaways, and yeah, no one really. I think we've learned we can push hard all day, you know, and no one really respects a distance anymore. We just ride flat out from the start, so yeah, we'll see how it goes."

Women's race

Lejeune makes it back to the front group with former WorldTour rider Mieke Kroger also in this group.

Winning Unbound 200 last year may have set the rider from New Zealand up for a career in gravel but "there's lots to gain by getting another one".

>>> Proof, prototypes and dreams of mud – The makings of an Unbound Gravel title defence for Cameron Jones

In the Unbound XL men's race the leader, Robin Gemperle has covered 297 miles with Alex McCormack close behind him.

Men's race (130 miles to go)

Würtz Schmidt, Swenson and Freeburn have dragged out their lead to 1'45" on the chasing group.

Men's race

Second service zone

Würtz Schmidt, Swenson and Freeburn all stop for technical support, fuel and a pressure wash to get the mud off.

Men's race (124 miles to go)

The leading trio have over two minutes on the chase group led by Bardet who has rejoined that group.

The sun is out for the men but it is raining on the women's race.

Women's race (roughly 150 miles to go)

The 11 rider lead group are rolling along at a decent tempo but nothing is really pushing as the race seems to be in a bit of a settled point.

Men's race (113 miles to go)

Würtz Schmidt and Swenson riding for Specialized as well as Freeburn for Trek have over three minutes on the chasing group.

Men's race

Chase group

Bardet
Kongstad
Beers
Taylor
Johnston
Botcher
Soete
Havik
Wild
Koster
Herzog
Jones
Røed
Voß

They are at 3'15" from the leading trio.

Women's race

Leaders:

Onweller
Schreurs
Klöser
Decker
Schiff
Preen
Gómez Villafañe
Lange
Laing
Lejeune

Women's race

Attack

Gómez Villafañe
Schreurs
Klöser
Decker

They go clear of the lead group and are gaining a good gap with the second aid station.

Women's race

Klöser stops in the second aid station for a chain clean with Gómez Villafañe getting a mussette. The Specialized duo of Schreurs and Decker both missed their feed grabs and Schreurs looked very frustrated. Potentially vital for later in the race.

Women's race (second aid station)

Frain spent a long time in the aid station to clean her wounds and get her bike sorted as well as taking on new fuel. Her teammate Schrosbree joined her and they both rode off together. Possibly the difference between them finishing and not.

The weather has closed in again after a sunny spell but now it is very dark with heavy rain, thunder and lightning. The men's race have just over 100 miles to go as they pass the halfway point. The women have just left the second aid station and are settling back into the pace after slowing to work together as they go clear.

Men's race (100 miles to go)

Specialized duo of Swenson and Würtz Schmidt have dropped Freeburn on a little drag.

Men's race

Würtz Schmidt and Swenson now have a gigantic gap on the chasing group of well over seven minutes. Freeburn is fading fast and was 30" down at the first check.

The tracks are now extremely wet and the riders are getting coated in mud. Horrible conditions for the riders.

The men are 114 miles into the day with the women just under 100 miles in. The four leaders in the women's race look to be getting further clear of the chase as the two Specialized riders of Würtz Schmidt and Swenson go further and further clear of Freeburn in the men's race.

The weather has really descended on the riders with the rain so heavy and the clouds so thick that they can hardly see 100 metres up the road.

Women's race (100 miles ridden)

The four riders clear, Gómez Villafañe, Schreurs, Klöser, and Decker are riding together well. No gap given as of yet.

Men's race (93 miles to go)

Swenson and Würtz Schmidt have 1'24" on Freeburn and 8'14" on the 12 man chase group.

Men's race

Freeburn now almost five minutes off Würtz Schmidt and Swenson. He's either sat up or is having an issue.

Men's race (85 miles to go)

Würtz Schmidt and Swenson have a little chat and a fist bump. The European champion had been drilling a tough pace and his Specialized teammate Swenson looked to be hurting so they may be easing things as they have the winning gap at the moment.

Women's race (roughly 100 miles to go)

Paige Onweller was said to be at 30" at the last time check and got so close to bridging but may now be fading again.

Men's average speed so far is at 23mph and the women are at 20.5mph. They are flying considering the brutal conditions.

It looks as though the rain may have eased or even stopped for both lead groups in the men's and women's races. However, they are all absolutely caked in mud at the front from the top of their helmet to the bottom of their shoes.

Women's race

Onweller is about to catch the leading group of four riders. An absolutely superb ride by her as the rider from Arkansas is about to make the bridge.

Women's race

Leaders

Paige Onweller
Sofia Gómez Villafañe
Rosa Klöser
Cecily Decker
Geerike Schreurs

Women's race

Onweller is now working with the other four leaders after a period briefly on the back.

Women's race (at mile 106 time check)

The five leaders had a gap of over six minutes and it is still growing.

Take a look at what happened earlier on in the day with the riders facing difficult thick and gloopy mud that caused various crashes as well as completely clogging up the bikes.

>>> The mud mayhem arrives again early at Unbound 200 with fields shattered early

Men's race (75 miles to go)

Swenson and Würtz Schmidt have 9'00" on the chase group that have now caught Freeburn. They have a huge gap.

Some biggest names crashed out of the 200 and the XL with rainstorms causing havoc in the various pelotons...

>>> 'Rainstorm came in and changed everything' - Peter Stetina and Ted King crash out of Unbound XL while Lachlan Morton is the first casualty in 200-mile race

The leaders in the men's race have 72 miles to go whereas the women's leading group of five have 93 miles to go.

Women's race

Onweller was briefly gapped and the leaders pushed hard to try and drop her but she has made it back on again.

Men's race (68 miles)

Puncture

Mads Würtz Schmidt with a major impact puncture and it is taking a long time to get it sorted. Swenson has stopped with him as the gap will be coming down but they are being very calm about this.

Swenson is giving his wheel to Würtz Schmidt. This is major drama. The Specialized squad clearly have Würtz Schmidt as the leader with Swenson struggling.

Men's race

This is a very long change for Würtz Schmidt and Swenson but now the Dane is on his way after losing about half the gap with Swenson waving bye to the motorbike camera.

Men's race

Romain Bardet abandons the race after being in the chase group. Meanwhile, Keegan Swenson is STILL working on this punctured wheel.

Men's race

Swenson has been caught and passed by the chase group as he still tries to sort things. He finally gets riding again.

The chasers of Beers, Herzog, Jones, Freeburn, Johnston and Kongstad fly by with Swenson stopping again! He has lost some key parts from his cassette. Absolute nightmare for the man who was a certainty for at least second and now won't even get a top seven.

Men's race

Swenson is finally back riding again. That took a huge amount of time and has wrecked his race.

Unbound XL finish

Robin Gemperle has crossed the line and wins the 2026 Unbound XL in 21 hours and 16 minutes. He set off at 3pm yesterday. Incredible ride in awful conditions.

Women's race

The leaders head onto the brand new MMR section of W Road. It is a 1 mile mess, really. Just grass and rocks, not gravel at all as Schreurs goes to the front.

Women's race

The two Specialized rider make it through the first ford crossing but everyone else comes down in the water and are now struggling to get going again.

Men's race

Würtz Schmidt has stopped in the third and final aid station and is now riding again after getting a new back wheel. He has 7'00" on Jones, Beers, Johnston and Kongstad.

Women's race

The chasers have been caught at a level crossing as a train passes them. Absolutely massive freight train.

Unbound XL

Gimperle says he was throwing up in the night and ran/walked roughly a half marathon due to the mud.

Women's Race

Coming out W Road, Gomez Villafañe and Decker pulled briefly away but Klöser was able to catch back on while Onweller is chasing.

Men's race - 56 miles to go

After 151 miles of racing, Würtz Schmidt has around 7 minutes on chase group of Jones, Kongstad and Beers.

Johnston is a further 2 minutes back

Würtz Schmidt is crossing Council Grove, racing on approximately 10 miles of paved roads in this area.

He is heading towards Flint Hill trails which is may provide 5 miles of recovery.

Jones has drifted off of the chase group, doesn’t seem to be a mechanical.

Chase group is now down to 2 riders: Beers and Kongstad

Chase duo is going through Council Grove, the northernmost section of this year's course

Jones has lost one minute in one kilometre. No visible mechanical issue to be seen,

Women's race - 79 miles to go

After 128 miles, three riders in the lead group: Gomez Villafañe, Schreurs, Decker

Klöser was 20 seconds back, a few seconds ahead of Onweller

Kroger is 7 minutes behind.

The course passes to the east of the famous Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, established in 1996 to protect a significant remnant of the once vast tallgrass prairie ecosystem - many rare plants and rare species of birds and other animals. Tallgrass prairie once covered 170 million acres of North America in what is now the US and Canada, but now only 4% remains.

Mile 136 is beyond the Preserve and the course bends back to the west to the third and final Feed Zone for pros - at approximately mile 149.6 - approximately 57 miles to go.

Klöser is back with the front group with Onweller 11 seconds back after 140 miles.

Onweller catches back onto the lead group, after being dropped on W road. Again. Back to five riders in the lead group.

Report that winds are impacting the race with strong headwind.

Interesting combination in the lead group as team tactics will come into play with teammates Gomez Villafañe and Schreurs vs solo riders.

Reminder that the group also includes two previous winners Klöser (2024) and Gomez Villafañe (2022).

Women see 63 miles to go, and on their way to the third feedzone which is on a road between farms, not in a town.

At mile 140 out of 200, the women’s lead group was averaging 20.10mph

Mieke Kröger is chasing solo, is more than 7 minutes back.

Behind her, Lauren De Crescenzo is another further 7 minutes, then Hayley Preen and Sarah Lange together.

Women are now going through third feedzone. Onweller stops, gets what she needs and up and going fairly quickly. As the other riders grabbed bottles and musette bags on the fly.

Klöser had to turn back after dropping a bottle, making a small split.

After a small split was created when Klöser had to go back to grab a bottle, Gomez Villafañe drilled it at the front right after the feedzone, with Schreurs on her wheel.

Klöser chases back on and Decker also manages to connect back onto the group.

2 miles north of the exit of the Feed Zone, the course begins a turn to the northeast, headed for Council Grove. That is the third Checkpoint for age-group riders. There are approximately 10 miles of paved roads in this area, which will be a nice respite for the riders.

Men's race

Würtz Schmidt is on DD Avenue, a rolling, rocky section with goat heads.

Women's race

Women's chase group now goes through the feedzone Lange also had to turn to grab her bottles. These riders had to stop at a level crossing as a massive freight train passes them.

Men's race

From earlier in the race. Keegan Swenson gave his back wheel to send Mads Wurtz Schmidt on his solo lead

Würtz Schmidt is on the 2.6-mile descent to Lake Kahola. There is some pavement along the lake and a return to gravel marks a big climb about to come at Kahola Dam, and threats of high winds. There is a steep climb right after the dam, and about 25.8 miles to go.

Update on 'Chase the Race': 2013 Unbound 200 winner Yuri Hauswauld has now passed 1041 racers over 115 miles of racing.

Hauswauld made his annual pilgrimage to Emporia for a 13th edition of the race this year, this time lining up at the back of the field for Life Time Foundation's 'Chase the Race', raising funds for a bike skills park for a local Emporia youth mountain bike team.

Read more: 'Tectonic shift' with technology, horsepower of WorldTour riders a game-changer at Unbound Gravel 200 for 2015 champion Yuri Hauswald

Würtz Schmidt is fighting a headwind as races on Lake Kahola making the long open stretch past the dam a foe for tired legs.

He has averaged 22.71mph over 180 miles, in almost 8 hours of racing.

Kongstad and Beers are still together in the chase group.

If the race ended right now, Beers would take the lead in the LifeTime Grand Prix which explains why is pulling through in the chase group even though his teammate is solo up the road. And of course, Würtz Schmidt has a commanding lead of over 6 minutes.

Yowza. Gusts of 35mph wind on Kahola Lake.

Beers is now solo in the chase group.

Würtz Schmidt is heading back to Emporia with about one hour left of racing. The finishing stretch from Lake Kahola back to the finish line is the same as past years, almost dead flat to town with a finale push up short climb of Highland Road.

Women's race

Women's lead group are on Flint Hill trails, a respite before the 3-mile climb on Dd Avenue.

After 160 miles, and almost eight hours of racing, the five in the lead group have averaged around 20mph.

Kröger is chasing solo, 10 minutes back.

Also solo in seventh spot, De Crescenzo is a further five minutes.

Tour Divide record holder Robin Gemperle crushed Unbound XL

Read more: Unbound Gravel XL: Robin Gemperle claims victory in horrible conditions, forced to walk for 21km

Women's race

The five riders are still together in the lead group as they are going downhill, being blasted by the winds on the exposed road.

Coming up, Dd road followed byclimb of Kahola Lake and its headwind may force a selection.

Men's race - 15 miles to go

Würtz Schmidt just flew through Americus, and heading towards the win barring any major mechanicals.

His teammate Beers is solo in second, 6 minutes back. Kongstad, also solo, is a further 3 minutes down.

Johnston caught and dropped defending champion Jones for fourth spot.

Würtz Schmidt keeps looking back. The strain of the day is starting to show, as his shoulders are rocking and he stretches his back as he continues to pedal on.

After he gave his wheel to Würtz Schmidt, Swenson is now in a further chase group with Herzog, Havik, Koster and Soete. That group is around 7 minutes behind Jones.

Women's race

With 34.5 miles to go, the lead quintet made a sharp right turn, and a climb for the next three miles on Dd Avenue.

Riders were trying to cram into a smoothed-over lane in the gravel but there's not enough room for all of them.

Men's race

Würtz Schmidt keeps looking back. He took a right-hand turn very gingerly, it is unclear what is happening. Does he have a rear wheel puncture?

But everything looks back to normal as he goes over the I35 overpass.

The sun has come out, and so has the humidity after all the rain overnight and earlier in the day. Brutal conditions after hours of racing.

The Traka 360 winner, Würtz Schmidt, is dropping his head, suffering after such a long time solo.

He also made a right-hand turn that puts him on the same road as the Unbound 100 riders.

Seeing other riders on Road M, after being solo so long, seems to have energised Würtz Schmidt, as he stood up to pass the Unbound 100 riders.

Women's race

The lead group is down to four riders on the descent towards Kahola Lake, straight into a massive headwind.

Onweller seems to have been dropped again.

Men's race

Würtz Schmidt, looking as if he got a second wind, is on Burlingame Road, before making a right-hand turn for the last stretch of gravel, then a pedestrian tunnel to the campus of Emporia State University.

Beers is still about 6 minutes back, with Kongstad a further 3 minutes in arrears.

Women's race

The front group is keeping the pace steady as Onweller is dangling off the back, trying to bridge across the 12-second lead.

Men's race

European gravel champion Mads Würtz Schmidt (Specialized Off-road) wins the 20th edition of Unbound 200 with an unofficial time of 9:14:51

Beers takes second, five minutes back.

Tobias Mørch Kongstad (PAS Racing) takes third, 10 minutes after the winner.

Women's race - 25 miles to go

Five riders in the lead group - Gomez Villafañe, Klöser, Decker, Schreurs and Onweller who caught back on- are still together as they crested the Kahola Lake climb.

Everyone is still working together, putting in good pulls, in the lead group.

Will the attack come on Highland Hill?

Kröger is holding on to sixth, 15 minutes back. with De Crescenzo another minute behind.

Preen and Lange are together, battling for 8th place.

Men's race

Brendan Johnston (Giant) finished fourth. Keegan Swenson (Specialized Off-road) jumped from the chase to take fifth.

Daan Soete (Ridley Racing) took the sprint for sixth place ahead of Adne Koster, Emil Herzog, Piotr Havik (Castelli SOG x Colgnago) and Cameron Jones (Scott Sports USA - RCC).

Cyclingnews provides you with comprehensive coverage of the 2026 Unbound Gravel directly from the Flint Hills of Kansas. Subscribe today for unlimited access to all the breaking news, live reports, in-depth tech coverage, and analysis from the biggest gravel race of the season. Find out more.

Women's race - 15 miles to go

Five riders are still locked together as they head towards the finish line. They are on the last stretch of gravel arrives, then a pedestrian tunnel to the campus of Emporia State University.

Riders in the lead group are spread across the road, wind coming off their right-hand shoulder. They are still eating to make sure they can handle the upcoming sprint.

Pace has definitely decreased, as they get ready for the final accelerations.

Lead group takes the right-hand turn onto M Road, the last stretch of really tough cross-headwind. 7 miles to go.

Schreurs attacks, seconds after Gomez Villafañe was seen to be texting on her phone.

Klöser jumps on the wheel.

Klöser immediately goes to the front, pushing the pace with Schreurs on her wheel, but the rest of the group catches back on.

Klöser is stuck at the front of the group, keeps looking over her shoulder as Onweller mans the back of the quintet.

The lead group takes a right-hand turn onto Burlingame which should give a reprieve with the headwind. Klöser is still at the front, followed by Schreurs, Decker, Gomez Villafañe and Onweller.

Klöser seems comfortable at the front of the group. She has not tried to move aside, and is giving a draft to the riders behind her.

After passing some of the age group athletes, the lead 5-rider group enters the tunnel, still Klöser at the front.

A quick left-hand turn after the tunnel will bring pavement and one mile to the finish. There is a short 7% climb of Highland Road and then a quick right, then left and 2 city blocks to the finish line on Commercial Street.

Schreurs and Gomez Villafañe are chatting, planning the attacks on the approach of Highland Hill.

Schreurs makes the first attack on top of the climb, Klöser closes it down. No counter, and now Schreurs is at the front.

Klöser is back at the front, followed by Schreurs and Gomez Villafañe. Decker is not giving up Schreurs' wheel.

Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road) accelerates first after the turn on Commercial Road and takes the win. Her teammate Geerike Schreurs took second and Cecily Decker (PAS Racing) was third.

Paige Onweller (Trek Driftless) took fourth and Rosa Klöser (Canyon-SRAM-MAAP) was fifth in the five-rider sprint to the line.

Gomez Villafañe clocked - unofficially - 10:31:37 on the 207-mile course.

Lauren De Crescenzo (The Feed-Argonaut-Castelli-Maxxis) crosses the line about 15 minutes later for sixth place.

Hayley Preen (Factor Racing) takes 7th out of the chase sprint ahead of Cecile Lejeune (Trek Driftless), Danni Shrosbree (Rapha-Argon 18), Morgan Aguirre (PAS Racing-Orbea) and Sarah Lange.

Mieke Kröger (Rose Racing Circle), who chased solo for a long time, ultimately finished in 12th place.

‘Chase the race’ update: After starting last, Yuri Hauswauld, 2013 Unbound 200, has passed 1053 racers so far after 160.7 miles of racing.

Let’s hear from the Unbound Gravel 200 men winner Mads Würtz Schmidt (Specialized Off-road)

“The plan was to be aggressive on Texaco Hill. Maybe I got a little bit too excited, but me and Keegan got away with Cobe [Freeburn], I think, and we went for it. We sent it, and I was on a really good day, and it was quite a ride, but in the end, I couldn't have done it without Keegan. He's a champion.”

“I think we got up to eight plugs [trying to fix the puncture] and it still wouldn't, …., and then Keegan, he was quick to say that you need my wheel, because it was clear that I was the strongest, and the chance for a win between me and Keegan was with me, so he sacrificed his race and his grand prix and everything for for me, and yeah, incredible.”

“I felt like I was flying for an hour after that. It gave me some adrenaline, and it gave me a kick. And then I gotta say, the headwind on the way back, I think it took eight years out of my life. It was terrible, but the new Crux, it was flying, and new Crux 123, today. it's amazing.”

Nervous about the group catching you? “Yeah, because my legs, they started to hurt more and more, and I was slowing down more and more. And then, …. I didn't bring my phone, I had no time gap, so in the end, when I started to lose the pace, then of course I get nervous that they will come from behind.”

Unbound Gravel 200 men second place Matt Beers (Specialized Off-road),

“Texaco Hill was where we really wanted to push it. Obviously, the mud and stuff thinned a bunch out a lot in the beginning, and then it all kind of swelled back. My chain somehow jumped off, the only time in the whole day at the bottom of the hill, and I just saw Mads and them just hammering it, and I was like, ‘okay, there's nothing I can do’.”

“I just started jumping groups and had to do it tactically, because I'm obviously not wanting to bring my teammates back. So, about the whole day, just kind of when I felt the group dynamic was fading, went and just kept going, and eventually got in second. But it's really difficult because I want to pull through, but then I need to be very conscious of Mads, so I'm just constantly shouting at people for time gaps, and that way I can judge how much I need to pull, and how much I must have said.”

Unbound Gravel 200 men third place Tobias Mørch Kongstad (PAS Racing)

“After Texaco Hill, when the three guys attacked with Keegan and Mads, the team tactic started, but I'm pretty proud thatI just kept believing in it, and didn't give that much if about the team tactics, and I just wanted to do my best, because, of course, they need to do that, but I will also say that Matthew Pierce is also riding pretty well, super cool that even though he has mess out there, he still wanted to take the pulls at the end, so kudos to him. I think that was super, super cool.”

“Actually after Texaco Hill we were a pretty big group, but I really felt [I was] flying. There's like 22 kilometers with rolling hills, I think. If people have seen the videos and photos of me, I have pretty narrow shoulders. I have a kid's handlebar on, and I'm super, super old.I really, really feel good at that moment, but I might spend a little bit too much energy, but because I think a lot of people, they just wanted to ride on a little bit, but at that moment I kind of believed in it, but I also spent kind of too much in it there, but then yeah, the back door was opened entirely, and then we were 10, 9, 8 , 7, and then we were not that many guys left.”

“Those [last] 40 kilometers, they were long in the headwind, I was just alone, I didn't have any motorbikes or anything, and I was cycling a little bit around here, Kansas, enjoying it, and so I, at one moment, I thought I didn't even know if I was on a the right route, because I couldn't see anything, but that I had my computer, but sometimes you don't know, you're just cycling a little bit around, but yeah, luckily there was nobody behind me.”

Let’s hear from the Unbound Gravel 200 women’s winner Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road)

“I had no pressure. I was kind of actually talking with my mechanic Brad about how I'm like, I don't know if it's just that I don't care or that I've done it, and I know what to expect at this race, that like you could be the fittest, but it might not relate to a result on the result sheet. That being said, I think I probably had the smallest FTP , so me getting away was really not going to be a thing. The plan was for Gee [Geerike Schreurs] to try to go solo and put in attacks, and then I would help her in any way I could with that, but then if it came to the sprint, we were going all in on my sprint. To go one, two, is unreal.”

“I got tiny watts, but I do have a good kick, and I when I see that finish line, I go for it, and I'm really excited, I get to take time off.”

Let’s hear from the Unbound Gravel 200 women’s second-place Geerike Schreurs (Specialized Off-road)

“We decided that if it comes down to a sprint, we would go for Sofia. I think in the end, I should have maybe made it a little bit longer myself, but it was a little bit boxed in with Rosa [Klöser] and Page [Onweller], but I think bringing it home for specialized with one and two is truly amazing. And I’m overall happy with how I raced, and on every point what was important in the race, I was up front, and I think it was me who made the move on that long stretch, and I'm very proud of how I raced, and of course, it's my dream to win one day, but might never come true, but we never know,”

“I crashed a couple of times, but I have no idea what happened after me behind me on that MMR road at kilometre 205. I had no idea what happened, but anyways, it was kind of fun in a weird way as well. Even that I crashed, and then after that, my shifter was the rest of the ride ready forward in which wasn't ideal, so I had to be constantly on a drop, which isn't my favourite position, but okay, that's what it is. I mean, we all go through a lot of things, it's a challenge, and yeah, I'm happy that I think I can be proud of how I raced.”

Let’s hear from the Unbound Gravel 200 women’s third-place Cecily Decker (PAS Racing)

“I feel happy, but I also feel terrible because I just did Unbound.”

“I never like go into a race with full confidence, but I don't know, I kind of feel like sometimes when I go in like with something to prove a little bit, I have a better race, but I felt really good right away.”

“I kind of was very comfortable with my mud setup, and I had like a couple things I was using to clear mud that worked really well. I have like this mud scraper that I sort of made myself, and it's like a putty scraper with like a U shape carved out of it, and so, as I'm riding, I'm reaching down, scooping the mud, and then fling it, and then once we were through that first mud section, my bike was like almost clean, and everyone else's had just so much mud.”

Read more in our Unbound Gravel XL race report: Robin Gemperle claims victory in horrible conditions, forced to walk for 21km

While the first half of Unbound Gravel 200 was defined by the mud, the weather conditions of blustery wind, heat and humidity were the factor in the second half.

Team tactics also came into play today. Mads Würtz Schmidt got a wheel from his teammate Keegan Swenson following a puncture and went on to take a solo victory, while from the lead group, Sofia Gomez Villafañe and teammate Geerike Schreurs adjusted their plan to match the scenario.

Mads Würtz Schmidt (Specialized Off-Road) rode away to victory in the men's Unbound Gravel 200, after escaping with teammate Keegan Swenson midway through a race battered by heavy rain, wind and mud.

Read more in our race report: European Champion Mads Würtz Schmidt wins rainy, windy, muddy edition with epic solo

Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road) claimed her second victory at Unbound Gravel 200, emerging victorious from a muddy elite women's race after topping her rivals in a five-way sprint.

Read more in our race report: Sofia Gomez Villafañe emerges from the mud to win gruelling 20th anniversary edition from five-way sprint

Thanks for joining us, for a thrilling day of racing at Unbound Gravel!

This time last year, Michael Woods was preparing to race his final Tour de France, but despite now being retired from professional road racing, he certainly isn't putting his feet up this year either. The Canadian is embracing a new test, racing more than 200 miles across the Flint Hills of Kansas at Unbound Gravel.

"I raced pro for ten years on the road, but I've been following the sport of gravel for a long time now and I've always been really interested in it, and this is the biggest gravel event in the world, so that's why I'm here," Woods told Cyclingnews in Emporia ahead of taking to the start line on Saturday.

"I want to see what it's all about, test myself. I'm a bit nervous for it. I haven't done a race or a ride this long ever in my life, so I'm excited to just go into the unknown a bit."

It is not the first gravel race that Woods has taken on, with his efforts in the discipline this year including the 111km long UCI Gravel World Series event The Gralloch, where he came seventh, and The Traka 200, which is around 200km, not 200 miles like the Unbound 200.

"I feel like I'm woefully underprepared, but I'm trending in the right direction. I'm game fitter with every race," said Woods when asked about his form.

"I didn't have a cycling-specific build-up to the start of this year. I was SkiMo racing [Ski Mountaineering], and I've been also trying to focus on being a bit of a better dad, so I'm not on the bike as much as I'd like to be from a performance perspective. But I'm having a blast doing the training that I'm doing and doing the racing that I'm doing."

"It'll be interesting to see how I hold up for this race, the longest race. The longest ride I've done is The Traka this year, which was for me just over six hours, not the nine plus or 10 hours that this is going to be, so definitely those final three hours will be a big test of endurance, but you never know – hopefully I can do well."

Despite his cycling pedigree on the road, the rider, with three Vuelta a España stage victories to his name and 13 Grand Tour starts, isn't taking anything for granted.

When asked what he would deem a success at the event, his response was, "finishing – I'm serious".

"I mean, I've done some of the biggest races, but this is a long race," said Woods. "I've heard about so many mechanicals. I have a lot of friends who've flown out here from Europe and done this race and never finished just because of breaking a derailleur or having a flat, so for me the big objective is first to finish."

Though that doesn't mean he still doesn't have an eye to results beyond that overriding primary goal.

"Getting a top 10 would be super cool too," said Woods.

Cyclingnews provides you with comprehensive coverage of the 2026 Unbound Gravel directly from the Flint Hills of Kansas. Subscribe today for unlimited access to all the breaking news, live reports, in-depth tech coverage, and analysis from the biggest gravel race of the season. Find out more.

Ten years after riding his first Unbound Gravel 200 in 2013, Yuri Hauswald (Giant) was inducted into the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame. The California native had two solo wins at the 24-Hours of Adrenaline and at top 10 at the 2006 24-Hour World Championships, so was looking for new challenges, but admitted "I went out there from Northern California, having absolutely no idea what gravel was".

He etched his name into the Unbound Gravel history books on his third ride with the elite men's victory, nailing a two-rider sprint at the finish to stop the clock at 13:01:17. The average speed was 15.44 mph (24.84 kph). By 2022, elite men had broken the 10-hour mark and in 2025 Cameron Jones (Scott Sports USA-RCC) blazed a new mark riding to the win in 8:37:09, an average of 23.49 mph (37.80 kph).

He makes his annual pilgrimage to Emporia for a 13th edition of the race this year, this time lining up at the back of the field for Life Time Foundation's 'Chase the Race', raising funds for a bike skills park for a local Emporia youth mountain bike team. He called it a 'no-brainer' to ride for a cause rather than just a placing, and this way there's no need to be concerned with an average speed.

"It was a different dynamic. You know, in my time we were all blue-collar folks that had day jobs," Hauswald, a former teacher, told Cyclingnews about the changes in gravel racing across a dozen years. "The horsepower, truly, was like a tectonic shift when Ted King showed up, and it was great.

"The first human that really changed the race with Ted King, Peter Stetina and Ian Boswell helped for sure. On the women's side, it was Rebecca Rusch and Amanda Naumann. It's great for the sport. I have nothing but love for the growth and change that I've seen with Unbound."

The technological changes have experienced warp speeds just like the efforts of elite riders. Hauswald has a role with Gu Energy Labs and is a part-owner of Merchant Cycles, the investment just three years ago confirming him as an honorary Emporian. He sees the technology side blossoming as quickly as the outputs of human horsepower.

"Gravel basically created its own separate, niche industry with gravel bikes, gravel tyres, gravel shoes, gravel kits, all these things. Specifically, gravel bikes have changed. I did my first Unbound on a carbon cyclo-cross bike that I could barely fit 38 tyres on it. Now, people would laugh if you showed up with 38s," Hauswald noted, and laughed.

"So all bikes now have massive tyre clearance now. One of the biggest technological changes you're seeing these days, particularly in the last couple years, are aerodynamic tube shaping, which is trickling down from time trialling. You're seeing like one piece carbon cockpits, where the bar and stem are all one in frame storage units. And in the last two years, you have the UDH universal derailleur hanger.

"You have wider rims, and tyre technology has been trying to keep up with the demand. So there are all these technological changes that have happened, and I'm probably missing a few."

What does all this mean? Riders are fast, can make a solid living on gravel and Hauswald's bike shop thrives on "the biggest week of the year" with Unbound Gravel, and the 5,000-plus amateurs and pros in town for the event.

'Chase the Race'

Hauswald turned pro as a mountain bike racer at the age of 36. He won Unbound Gravel 200 at the age of 45. He is still quite fit and passionate about riding a bike, but his priorities to reach the finish line have a new perspective.

This year he lines up at the back of the age-group field in the back, and for every rider he passes, it translates into raising funds for the Life Time Foundation, specifically a facility for local youth in Emporia, many on the Coyotes mountain team with a high school league. It was inspired by the NorCal Interscholastic Cycling League, where Hauswald's wife, Vanessa, was the executive director for many years.

"It's actually way more than just the challenge for me. I taught elementary school for 12 years while I was chasing the dream of being a pro racer, and so anything that I can do to help kids move is great, because I've seen the power of movement," Hauswald told Cyclingnews.

"My pedal strokes this year will help build a bike skills park in a town that has changed the trajectory of my career and enhanced my life in so many ways. It was a no-brainer for me to say yes. What I'm doing this year is, you know, the most impactful thing I think I could do as a rider, so I'm really, really motivated."

He's already had individuals hand him $20-$100 for the cause, GU has set up a $3,000 matching challenge and one company pledged $10,000. The goal of $50,000 had passed the 50% mark before race day, with the Life Time Foundation accepting online donations through the early June.

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The difference between a great race and a good race at Unbound Gravel 200, or even simple survival, can often come down to a missed gel, a dropped bottle or a flat tyre. To be fast and successful on dirt, or mud, is all about clean precision at the mid-race Feed Zones for elite riders.

Yes, weather is probably the hottest topic at Unbound Gravel every year, but it's not just the dust versus mud for the conversation, with showers Thursday night and into Saturday morning a good bet this year. Temperature and humidity also impact decision-making for how much nutrition to carry and hydration needed.

That's where the Feed Zones are critical, and the strategies designed by support crews and mechanics. Each athlete, on a mega-squad or a privateer, have a staff behind the scenes. Their work begins weeks in advance and continues through the NASCAR-like service areas, formerly only two called Checkpoints and now three Feed Zones on the course. New separation from the age-group zones, still called Checkpoints, was implemented by Life Time for safety and a more fair playing field for the elite riders.

No longer 'rest stops', these are for hydration hand-offs and equipment pit stops. It can make or break a rider's chance to finish without bonking or riding inoperable equipment like a deflated tyre or broken derailleur.

The stakes are high to stay at the front of the race for prize money and prestige. A 10-hour ride can be disrupted in a matter of minutes. So how does it work in the middle of the race with support crews to stay out front?

Cyclingnews asked some of the best mechanics three questions each: what has worked in the past, what issues create nightmares, and what will be most critical this year? Here is an Unbound Gravel roundtable from the mechanics themselves.

Wayne Smith, Canyon x DT Swiss ATR

Key riders in 2026: Carolin Schiff, Larissa Hartog, Nele Laing, Bradyn Lange, Mathijs Loman, and Peter Stetina in advance of Unbound XL (Thursday)

The biggest 'win' you have had at Unbound 200:

The biggest win is just a simple smooth aid station. Simply saying, the athlete comes in, gets what they need, and heads out. This doesn't always mean just a hand-up, or a quick hydration pack. Sometimes this means a speedy wheel change, quick wash and lube. It's always nice when you can surprise the athlete with the speed of a repair, or a fix, and get them going again.

What keeps you up at night pre-race?

Being unprepared keeps me up at night. I typically start my planning as soon as the course is released. Checking street view, looking for the best spot, then having some alternatives. I want to make sure we have cold drinks if it's hot, and wash supplies, and a dry towel if it's muddy. I try to run through every scenario in my head, and make sure we're prepared for it.

Will one of the three Checkpoints be most critical this year?

I think aid 2 will be the most crucial (for the pros). Athletes will have almost 70 miles between aid 2 and aid 3, and that's a lot of nutrition to prepare for. If there's a miscalculation on nutrition at aid 2, it can create quite an uncomfortable race for the rest of the race. I also believe this will be more of a big deal for first timers. The athletes who have ridden Unbound previously will be familiar with the long distance between aid stations.

Derek Jensen, ENVE

Key riders in 2026: Alexey Vermeulen

The biggest 'win' you have had at Unbound 200:

I would say not having any major mechanicals so far at this race. A lot can happen in 200 miles. Especially my first year there wrenching for Alexey, they had some super bad mud that was ripping people's deraileurs off. So being able to make it through that race with no mechanicals was important to me.

What keeps you up at night pre-race?

Just making sure the bike is fully dialed in. I always wake up and have to go and double check different things on the bike even though I know I did it, just to put my mind at ease. To me, this is how Alexey makes his living, so it can get stressful on race day, just hoping everything is running smooth. It's always a sign of relief at the end when he tells me the bike ran perfectly.

Will one of the three Checkpoints be most critical this year?

To me there are two critical checkpoints. First is mile 42 - you can see how the field is doing and how the bike has been holding up. Second would be mile 154 - the race is almost done, but a lot of people either are broken, or they have the mentality to do that final push a lot can happen in that last push.

Deb Kocourek, independent tech specialist

Key riders in 2026: Lauren De Crescenzo

The biggest 'win' you have had at Unbound 200:

This will be my third year working the pro level 200. The biggest success I've had for check points at Unbound is when I'm able to just tell the rider time splits and hand them a fresh bottle. No work is good work at a check point.

What keeps you up at night pre-race?

The things that keep me up at night before Unbound are the sudden weather changes, which can lead to creating new tire set-ups and race plans.

Will one of the three Checkpoints be most critical this year?

The fact there are three checkpoints and it looks like it's going to be a mudder makes it logistically a nightmare. We now need more staff to ensure a successful feed at each check point, because, being able to reach each aid station poses some difficulty.

Cole Weldon, Factor Bikes

Key riders in 2026: Romain Bardet, Haley Smith

The biggest 'win' you have had at Unbound 200:

Paradoxically, as a mechanic, our wins are measured by the absence, not the presence, of excitement. We pray and prepare so that our athletes come through each checkpoint, demonstrating poise against the elements, their bikes in sound mechanical shape despite the conditions and that we are ready for any unknowns. If our athletes enter and exit the checkpoint without so much as a bit of drama, we know we did our job well.

The alternative, the presence of excitement, a flat tyre, a botched wheel change, a missed bottle hand-up, seconds lost, are all examples of mistakes that can lead to a death-by-a-thousand-cuts scenario as every minutiae contributes to the sum total. Mechanics dread excitement.

What keeps you up at night pre-race?

Simply put: RAIN. Torrential downpours, sweeping thunderstorms, and sudden tornado warnings. While the event has been spared from inclement weather the past couple of years, rain always remains a high concern. Having personally grown up and ridden extensively in a plains state not too dissimilar from Kansas, a single black cloud on the horizon can suddenly envelop a beautiful, warm, sun-drenched day with a cold, dark curtain of misery. Worse still, beyond the potential for hypothermia for those unlucky riders who can't find cover, is the MUD.

We all know the destructive capacity the Kansas plains' mud carries. Its unrelenting, viscous, tar-like consistency instantly hinders those who encounter it, a potentially Sisyphean task even to trudge. It is guaranteed to destroy your equipment and even you if not quickly addressed. The rain and subsequent mud, like any forces of nature, have no biases. These phenomena do not care how fit you are or how good your odds were the morning you started the race; they must simply be reckoned with. As a result, we will obsessively check every weather app like madmen until this upcoming Saturday.

Will one of the three Checkpoints be most critical this year?

It might be cliché, but all the checkpoints are CRITICAL in our opinion. However, if we have to pick one, the third checkpoint is the most important. It is the make-or-break point. With the longest distance between stops, athletes will be the most exposed and vulnerable arriving at the third checkpoint from the second. This stretch is where fatigue, hunger, and dehydration can potentially set in, making it easy to lose hope and for the mind to wander. Additionally, some of the roughest portions of the course are often located here, increasing the odds of mechanical issues as riders continue to push through.

The third checkpoint is an oasis from all that. A brief reprieve and a bit of reassurance that you can not only make it to the finish but might find some glory at the end. Given this, our crew will be paying extra attention to the third checkpoint.

James Sullivan, Trek Driftless

Key riders in 2026: Toby Røed, Paige Onweller, Cobe Freeburn, Daxton Mock, Cécile Lejeune

The biggest 'win' you have had at Unbound 200:

The biggest win I have had in past editions may not be the fastest feeds but clean and consistent feeds. Getting everyone what they need with no drops and smoothly. Smooth is fast.

What keeps you up at night pre-race?

Rain and mud are what keeps me up at night for planning the race. This could change bike, gearing, and tire choice. In years past, it was unknown until the race started. In addition, if it is muddy and we need to clean bikes in feed zones this can really change our staff and riders treat each feed zone, ready to wash or ready for fast feed.

Will one of the three Checkpoints be most critical this year?

I think Feed Zone 1 will be the most critical. As there are potentially muddy sections prior, and MMR soon after. Also the pace will most likely be high and still large groups. So a good feed is critical here, and if it is muddy we will need to be prepared to wash bikes.

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Unbound Gravel is just around the corner, with the racing kicking off tomorrow. Rain is threatening, and there are already videos surfacing online of riders' bikes covered with the infamous Unbound mud.

The latest fresh gravel tech of the year has appeared today in the shape of a prototype Giant gravel bike, which has been teased on the brand's Instagram page.

This new tech follows on from Scott's 32" prototype RC gravel bike, which will be ridden in the 200 event by Cameron Jones and Robin Gemperle.

The brand teased a collection of images and mentioned 'prototypes we've been working on' in its post, and Cyclingnews went to the expo to get a closer look.

For gravel race bikes, the direction of travel currently is faster and more aerodynamic, with a focus on boosted tyre clearance to lower rolling resistance. It doesn't look like Giant has gone crazy here, but the machines shown certainly look more racy, and a little more purposeful.

The tease - what are we looking at?

Giant currently offers a single gravel-specific model, which is the Revolt; it sits adjacent to the TCX cyclocross bike in the brand's off-road drop-bar range.

Similarities in the bikes' frames and online speculation point to this being an updated version of the Revolt.

A handy comparison can be found by looking at Brendan Johnston's Instagram post below from last month. Johnston rode an existing Revolt frame, and it makes for an easy way to look at potential changes, based on the assumption that this mystery machine is some kind of new Revolt model.

The changes to the frame itself look relatively small, though when official news does come from Giant, it may be the case that a lot of tube shapes themselves are different.

The head tube of the bike looks slightly deeper and shorter; this is where comparing the same riders' bikes is handy.

The top tube and seat tube junction is clearly different, with a more standard shape being used; a different scalloped seatpost has been fitted, likely to boost comfort.

At the back end, it also seems the frame has received a UDH compatibility update, a must-have these days for any up-to-date gravel machine.

Giant's adjustable 'flip chip', which gives riders the ability to lengthen the bike's wheelbase (and increase tyre clearance), also appears to have been removed. This is something of a rare feature amongst gravel machines.

Tyre clearance for the current Revolt is 53mm in the long flip chip setting and 45mm in the short. It's probably fair to assume the new machine can handle at least a 50mm tyre.

That's the bike's frame, but Giant threw us another bone when it mentioned 'prototypes', which tells us there is more that's new.

The mystery bike's wheels and handlebar could be new components as well. It's difficult to be sure, but the wheels fitted to the bike could be a new gravel-specific model.

While they look similar to the Cadex Ultra wheels and share similar-looking bladed carbon spokes and a 16-spoke front wheel spoke count, Cadex officially only has a single, less racy-looking AR 35 wheelset that is gravel-specific.

A closer look at the bikes

After seeing the posts, we headed for a look at prototype Giant and Liv gravel race bikes ahead of the racing starting.

Riders who will be on the prototype frames include Brendan Johnston, Cole Paton, and Matteo Fontana on the men's side and Peta Mullens, Tessa Neefjes and Melisa Rollins on the women's.

Staff from either brand would not answer any specific questions about them. But we took shots of the bikes below which provide a good insight into what they are about - speed.

The AusCycling National Gravel Championships is set to unfold in South Australia this weekend, positioned in a slot in the calendar which means some of Australia's more decorated gravel cyclists have had to make a difficult choice this year – race the world's most revered gravel event, Unbound, or chase the green and gold stripes.

Defending champions Mark O'Brien and Tiffany Cromwell – a repeat winner at Unbound 100 – will be lining up in Ponderosa Pines this weekend, though 2024 victors Courtney Sherwell and Brendan Johnston – who just added another UCI Gravel World Series victory to his tally at SEVEN in Nannup earlier this month – will both be in Kansas.

So will 2023 victor Connor Sens and that's also the case for Oceania champion Nicole Frain, who has also had a run of three UCI Gravel World Series wins and, along with Cromwell, is likely to be one of the nation's top cards for a home UCI Gravel World Championships in Western Australia in October.

A number of those names were also missing last year as even though there was no direct clash with Unbound the end of April date still meant some were already overseas, particularly as Europe's top gravel event, The Traka, came just a week after the Australian title race.

Regardless of the fact that some key riders have their attention elsewhere, there will still be a number of strong riders on the start list, including those that more commonly race across other disciplines.

Cyclingnews requested a comment on the decision making behind the timing of the National Gravel Championships, AusCycling declined to comment.

A standalone women's race

The women's field includes Sophie Edwards, who set a new national Individual Pursuit record on the track in March on her way to another national title and finished second overall in the nation's top tier road series, the ProVelo Super League. Then there is also Victoria Barry, who came fourth in Ponderosa last year.

They will be lining up this year in their own race on Saturday, with the distance also increased to be equal to the men's at 123km.

"It’s great to see the event take on the feedback from last year and create a bigger and better event this year over two days," said Cromwell in a release from AusCycling. "It’s nice that the elite women’s race is a longer race too on our own day separate from the men’s races. It should be a fun battle out there.

"It’s a draining course and that extra 17km, although it doesn’t sound like a lot, it will be an extra 45mins of racing and I think it’s going to make for a bit more of a race of attrition and a heavy sprint up the little climb to the finish."

The elite races will play out on a 123km course, which is 100% gravel with approximately 1,600m of elevation gain.

The elite men and women will both take on one lap of the 17.5km Western Loop and two laps of the main course, with the longest climb being High Noon at 2km but the toughest being Tombstone HIll which has a challenging surface and reaches a gradient of up to 20%.

The men's contenders

In Sunday's men's event O'Brien will be lining up to defend his title against riders including Cameron Scott, who mainly races on the road but has long taken the opportunity to duck into the discipline of gravel as well.

Last year the rider who races with Li Ning Star on the road, and was formerly with WorldTour team Bahrain Victorious, came second in the title race, with Johnston clinching the third spot on the podium behind him.

The men's field also includes Tasman Nankervis, a strong player on the gravel, winning RADL GRVL in 2024, and then there is Kane Richards who came tenth at the National Championships road race this year.

"I know I’m going well enough physically to defend this Sunday, but I’ve learnt thousands of times over that being one of the strongest provides no guarantees of a high result with my horrific sprint finish," said O'Brien, who has a habit of flying solo.

"I’m looking forward to giving it a crack and will be happy with whatever result comes, as long as I do my best and have good mechanical luck."