Four-time Tour de France stage winner Romain Bardet (Factor Racing - RCC) has won four of his six gravel races so far this season, but the former WorldTour pro emphasised that he is really 'retired' and not chasing results.
He was intrigued by all the tales and mounting prestige of Unbound Gravel 200 in Kansas, so added the race to his calendar this year, his first full season focused on dirt. The 207-mile racing adventure on Saturday will be his longest one-day race, but he's also added up the miles this month driving, 4,000 miles so far, on a one-month family adventure on US soil, taking in eight states with his wife Amandine and son Angus.
"We are on holiday here in the US, a one-month road trip. The highlight I would say has been Bentonville [Arkansas]. There was a trail around the city, it's amazing," Bardet told Cyclingnews on Thursday, saying they had one Factor bike each to ride at various stops.
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The end of the vacation comes this week in Emporia, Kansas, where Angus will compete in the six-year-old children's race on Friday and his father will then line up for his first Unbound Gravel 200.
"Unbound is so popular, and they call it the biggest event of the year. Why? So I want to figure it out, now I have more time. It's a good year to ride it now that I can, a nice timing."
Bardet explained his gravel pursuits are done as a privateer, even though he is part of the Factor Bikes Racing collection of riders. But the 'team' is just that, a collection of independent athletes.
"You know, I'm lucky. I have very amazing sponsors. I have Factor for bikes, Rapha for clothing, and Michelin for tyres. I'm like a privateer. I have some friends with Rapha, like Cam Jones [2025 Unbound Gravel 200 champion] and we have been riding quite a lot together," he said, stopping to sign an autograph and pose for a photo with several fans who recognised him in downtown Emporia.
"I'm not chasing results or anything. I just like to ride my bike as hard as I can, and if I end up winning, like it's been the case this year, it's good. If it's not the case, then I don't mind. It's gonna be a good day anyway."
He raced 14 years in the professional peloton, making the 2025 Giro d'Italia this time last year his final Grand Tour, and then concluded his road career on home roads at the Critérium du Dauphinè (now Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes). He said retired is retired, and gravel is his way to have fun and stay fit.
"If I wanted to chase all the results and stuff, I would have stayed on the road longer. Gravel is more about community and sharing experience," he explained.
"Now it's a bit strange, for me, this environment, because it looks like some people are trying to put into gravel what's happening with road racing, you know, with teams, equipment, teamwork, and everything. Things are starting to get more and more competitive and close to what we can see on road racing.
He said what he liked the most about gravel, which was evident at Rule of Three in Arkansas and in the lead to Unbound in Kansas, was that any person could line up in the same event and become friends. But at the same time, there were mixed messages when pro fields mix with amateur fields and roads are still open to traffic.
"What I find a bit strange now is that, maybe the top 5% of the athletes, they are really professional, in terms of training, liberation, matching the standards of some World Tour athletes. But they are still racing on some amateur levels, no disrespect. In gravel, sometimes you'll be sharing roads with open traffic and everything," he said.
"When you come to a WorldTour race, you know what to expect. It should be safe. There is a lot at stake now. [Gravel] makes a career now.
"Almost everyone can line up, you know, but to reach the very top now, there is more on the table, more at stake. It's taking a direction that I don't know how it will be in four or five years."
At Girona, before the family trip, Bardet finished fifth at The Traka 360, but he didn't mention his placement, as that wasn't the point. In two days, he will discover what all the hype is about for Unbound Gravel, and he is fine to go along for the ride with some fast friends.
"I'm not looking to shine here, I'm here for fun."
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