It's nearly time for Unbound Gravel this weekend in Emporia, Kansas, and whilst most eyes will be on the 200-mile race which attracts most of the elite and professional gravel riders, several big names are opting for the ultra-distance Unbound XL race, totaling 356.5 miles (573km).
Mirroring the 360 race at The Traka, Unbound XL is the longest event on offer in Emporia, alongside Unbound 25, 50, 100 and 200 (which come in at 44km, 79km, 171km and 333km respectively in 2026).
This year, Unbound XL heads south out of Emporia like Unbound 200 and follows a clock-wise path farther to the east, and then returns from the north, the ride unmarked and unsupported.
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The epic race is essentially a gravel ultra, starting on Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. CDT and riding through the night, taking the fastest male riders around 18 hours to complete, and closer to 21 for the fastest women. Many riders will be out there for well over 24 hours, with last year's final rider finishing in 35 hours and 57 minutes.
Unbound 200 is often viewed as the most important race of the weekend, with most elite riders opting for that course, but the XL always attracts some well-known names, too.
This year, 2025 champion Rob Britton (Factor Racing) will headline the men's field, hoping to make it back-to-back wins, and his chances look good, seeing as he'll be down one key rival: last year's runner-up Lachlan Morton (EF Education-EasyPost), who is opting for the 200 this year.
Another big name to join the start list is Peter Stetina (Canyon), in his final year of racing before retirement. He's won The Traka 360 once and finished on the Unbound 200 podium twice. This is his first ride at the longest distance in Kansas.
"I'd never explored the ultra space in gravel, not battled sleep fatigue. WIth all my gravel experience I was still incomplete," Stetina wrote on Instagram, confirming he'd decided to enter the XL just two days before the cut-off.
"I decided if not now then I'll just be older and slower when I do. After racing pro for 20ish years, this is a new and scary thing."
In the women's field, many eyes will be on Great Britain's Maddy Nutt, who recently won The Traka 560 on debut, beating the women's course record in the process. She finished the 525km Traka in 27 hours and 27 minutes.
With the Unbound XL course actually over the 560km distance, whereas The Traka was under, Nutt initially planned to stick to the Unbound 200, where she was part of the wildcard process for entry into the Life Time Grand Prix. Instead, she swapped her entry for the XL after all.
"Unbound is like that on steroids so I fear that, like, you don't get [anything] exciting, it would just be counting down kilometres, and I think I'm mentally strong, but maybe not that strong," she told Cyclingnews after The Traka, but clearly changed her mind in the last couple of weeks, and will be tacking the 573km course this weekend.
She will be up against 2025 winner Heather Jackson, as well as former winner Svenja Betz. Former Brit and Ironman triathlete Ruth Astle will also race the XL.
And Nutt isn't the only Traka 560 winner on the XL start list, with Victor Bosoni lining up in the men's field. Former XL winner Taylor Lideen returns and retired road pro Ted King is also riding the XL. Men's Traka 560 runner-up Max Agut and third-placed Ole Bjørn Smisethjell are also both riding.
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