'Get to the finish line with least amount of watts' - Sofia Gomez Villafañe salvages third at Unbound 200 with second-half tactics

The prediction for another sprint involving past Unbound Gravel 200 champions Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road) and Rosa Klöser (Canyon-SRAM-MAAP) to settle podium spots in another elite women's finish in Emporia, Kansas turned out to be true, but this time not able to reach the top spot. 

Their decisive sprint this year played out with Villafañe edging most-recent champion Klöser for third place, then Cecile Lejeune in fifth and 2021 winner Lauren De Crescenzo in sixth. 

Well ahead of a four-rider duel at the finish line, two-time Traka 360 winner Karolina Migoń (PAS Racing) stole the show with a solo victory ahead of her teammate Cecily Decker. Last year was a historic finish for the elite women's race in the 200-mile distance, Klöser won from a hotly-contested nine-rider sprint.

The winner in the 200-mile endurance test in 2022, Villafañe now has a sweep of the medals at Unbound Gravel 200, adding third place to the runner-up spot she took in 2023. Last year, two flat tyres snarled her momentum, and she finished 15th. Going in with a debut victory at The Traka 200 and a third-time win at Belgian Waffle Ride California, Villafañe was a favourite in Kansas. 

"You know, from winning to second to I don't even know where I finished last year, to get back on the podium, [also] managed to now be tied with Cecily on the Grand Prix points, it's pretty sweet," Villafañe said after the finish to race organisers.

"An amazing, amazing race for those girls that kind of took the race by the horns and just challenged it. It was just impressive. I would get updates on my Karoo Hammerhead, and I was like, wow, they're on one. Super impressive for them, and happy to salvage third."

While Gabby Traxler carried an early solo lead across the first 50 miles of the race and two groups chased, it was on Divide Road just beyond mile 40, on the first major section of rough gravel, where Migoń made a decisive move with her teammate Decker and US gravel champion Lauren Stephens. Many of the other favourites from that bunch did not react in time, and the trio was off.

"On Divide Road, it was pretty muddy, and there was just a lot of carnage - crash after crash after crash, and that kind of made these selections," Villafañe recounted.

"I remember on a kicker, I was behind Melisa Rollins, and Cecily [Decker] was like, five bike lengths ahead, and I'm like, 'Oh, she's got this. She's gonna close it.' And then next thing I know, Cecily is gone. 

"And then once you kind of get onto that big road [headed to Alma], you had Rosa [Klöser] saying [Carolin] Schiff isn't here, I'm not working. Paige saying Haley's [Smith] up the road, I'm not working. You couldn't get a cohesive group together."

As much as heat and fatigue factored into the back half of the 200-mile race, teamwork and tactics made the biggest noise in a decisive move in the first half of the race.

By the time Villafañe's bunch made it through Alma at mile 70 for the first aid station, the trio of Migoń, Decker and Stephens had passed Haley Smith, Kirstine Frida Rysbjerg and Ann-Christine Allik as well as lone leader Traxler, and they had more than five minutes to their advantage. Later, Stephens would drop back, and even Decker was distanced from the front.

Not only was time an advantage for Migoń and Decker, but also being teammates. Villafañe said the Specialized riders could depend on each other as well, especially when she couldn't push on her own, and others around helped her dig deeper. One of those was Annika Langvad, with whom she paired at Cape Epic for the overall title.

"This race is so long, it's 200 miles. You'll feel great in one minute, and then you feel not good on another. So it's actually when you're feeling good that's kind of when you need to hide, unless you're really willing to go for those attacks.

"I also had Annika [Langvad], a super strong teammate. We tried to go, got reeled back real quick. I had Gee [Schreurs], a pseudo-teammate. It was super impressive ride from her after fracturing her elbow," she said. Schreurs and Langvad would finish five and half minutes behind their fellow Specialized rider, seventh and eighth, respectively.

"I don't come from a road background, so I've come a really long way and I'm really proud of my tactics. It's sometimes about who can get to the finish line with the least amount of watts, and I think I played it super conservative, and was really smart. I salvaged third."

Along with third place, Villafañe remains at the top of the women's standings in the Life Time Grand Prix, however, now tied with Decker, who moved up as the top Grand Prix finisher in the field. 

Villafañe can also take consolation on her performance, as her average speed, 19.52 mph, was faster than Klöser's winning average of 19.44 mph a year ago. However, the new best average speed of 20.12 mph, and title, belong to Migoń, at least for one year.