It may have been somewhat of a surprise when the debuting Rosa Klöser claimed victory at Unbound 200 in 2024, though now that she has worn the crown, the German rider certainly isn’t planning on giving it up easily.
Plenty may have changed in the intervening year, with Klöser going from full-time PhD student to Women’s WorldTour professional with Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto as well as gravel privateer with Canyon-SRAM-MAAP.
Still, her eye has not shifted from the biggest prize in gravel.
“I'm a WorldTour rider, but for me, I come from gravel,” said Klöser in a pre-Unbound media conference. “That was also really important for me to stick with it, because this is really my passion, and I just really enjoy being on the gravel.
“So for sure, yeah, I have a packed calendar, so right off of Unbound I will be heading to the Tour de Suisse and competing there,” said Klöser, though there was certainly never any thought of leaving her Kansas record at one for one.
“I think as a defending champion, you should definitely give your competitors their money's worth and try to make their life as hard as possible and not let them take the crown without a fight.”
There are plenty fronting up for a battle royale on Saturday, with Klöser having proven she’s not letting her road pursuits get in the way of her gravel power, having taken second at The Traka 200 to Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized) earlier this month. The defending champion, however, is not underestimating the scale of the task at hand.
“The start list is getting bigger and better,” said Klöser. “For sure, there's always more and more talent and for sure a deeper field right now, so I think I could name at least 10 or 15 people that I do think all have a really good shot at going for the win.
“I think that's actually super exciting to see, and I also think that with more strong people showing up that the race dynamics will definitely be impacted by that.”
Last year, unusually, ended with an exciting nine-rider sprint, and while it was a formula that led Klöser to victory, it is not necessarily a scenario that she wants to see repeated.
“I think a sprint is always legendary, but it also always brings risks,” she said. “You could always be out of position, so I guess arriving solo is always the nicest. I think most people would agree on that.”
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