Unbound Gravel 200: Cameron Jones moves away from Simon Pellaud on Highland Hill for solo victory

Cameron Jones (Scott-Shimano) accelerated away from breakaway companion Simon Pellaud (Tudor Pro Cycling) with two miles to go and won Unbound Gravel 200 in Emporia, Kansas.

The New Zealander, who punched his ticket for a wildcard spot in the Life Time Grand Prix with the win, crossed the line in 8:37:09. Pellaud finished 42 seconds later. Both finished in record time, with Jones taking the top spot for the course record speed of 23.49 mph.

The duo went clear of the elite men's field 50 miles into the 202.4-mile course. Chase groups splintered and suffered from the attrition as the miles accumulated and heat built in the Flint Hills of the central US, leaving Mads Würtz-Schmidt (PAS Racing) and Torbjørn Røed (Trek Driftless) five minutes back to battle for the final spot on the podium. Røed earned third place in the final sprint, two seconds faster than this year's Traka 200 winner.

"I always go out and race like there's nothing to lose. It worked out this time," Jones said in the media mix zone after winning the race. 

"It's a course that suits me. So much came together. It's always fun to be leading a race, and so leading a race for six hours, it's made for a [great] day."

Once on the Highland Hill paved climb in the final mile, Jones was free at the front, and Pellaud could not respond. The Swiss rider who lives at altitude in Colombia admitted he made a nutrition mistake that cost him the race.

"When he went, I could not even jump. I really run out of sugar. The body really didn't respond anymore, and was out of sugar, so no power left in the legs," he admitted, saying that he lost a supply of his gels from the last aid station when the bottle they were in fell off his bike. 

"I had a lot of fun until the last 50k's. I'm disappointed on one side, but second here for me, it's fantastic for my gravel project, for my future. Unbound Gravel is 'the race' that if you win it, it will change your career. I've been close. I think [second] is a massive result."

Late in the race a main chase group of just six riders trailed by eight minutes. From that bunch, recent Devil's Cardigan winner Brendan Johnston rode solo across the line for fifth, followed by Gravel Locos winner Ramon Sinkeldam. While several in the chase faded from fatigue, former Unbound 200 winners Keegan Swenson and Ian Boswell faced off in a two-man sprint on Commercial Street, Swenson taking seventh place ahead of Boswell. 

Swenson continues as the men's overall leader in the Life Time Grand Prix, as he was the fourth series rider across the finish line in Emporia. Pellaud now sits joint second in the men’s competition with Johnston.

How it unfolded

The 2025 Unbound Gravel 200 delivered another epic showdown and this time under the Kansas sun on Saturday. The elite men's field was packed with WorldTour veterans, gravel specialists and eager newcomers looking to etch their names into the final results of the race known as the Super Bowl of gravel.

The men rolled out of Emporia at 5:50 a.m. CDT under clear skies, greeted by warm temperatures and a light breeze from the west. The course, a brutal 202-mile north route through the Flint Hills, was dry in places but retained patches of mud from recent rains, making for unpredictable conditions. Early on, Arno van den Broeck (Classified x Rose) set the pace, while Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz-SRAM) launched the first attack.

The race quickly fragmented, with a breakaway of 14 that included Kyle Kalish, Tim McBirney, and Julie Gagne at the front, but it wasn’t long before the day’s decisive move materialised. By the time the leaders hit the rough gravel of Divide Road just 41 miles in, the front group had splintered. A pair or opportunistic riders, Jones and  Pellaud seized their moment and went clear over the next 10 miles.

Behind them, chaos ensued. Mechanical issues affected several contenders: Mattia de Marchi (Enough Cycling) broke a chain early and ultimately abandoned the race, while Magnus Bak Klaris (PAS Racing) had a puncture and fell out of contention. Keegan Swenson (Santa Cruz) crashed in the chase group, but clawed his way back, briefly animating the chase group with aggressive pulls, though there was little cohesion.

As the miles ticked by, Jones and Pellaud’s gap grew. By the Alma aid station, 70 miles in, the duo held a commanding lead of over seven minutes on the chasers, which featured Brendan Johnston (Giant), Ian Boswell (Specialized Wahoo), Joris Nieuwenhuis, Andrew L’Esperance (FWD Racing Off-Road) and Jasper Ockeloen (Canyon). With the chase so disorganised and the front two working smoothly, the race increasingly looked like a two-man battle for the win.

The rising Kansas heat and hard pace took their toll. The leading duo skipped aid stations to keep their momentum, pushing a pace that would have them finish the race in just over 8 hours and 30 minutes; far faster than last year’s winning time of 9:11:47, posted by Lachlan Morton. The chasers, unable to match that speed, watched their chances of victory slip away.

With 53km remaining, attrition was evident. The leaders, Pellaud and Jones, kept their seven-minute gap as they tackled Kahola Hill, the longest climb of the day. The chasers behind - Würtz Schmidt, Røed and Johnston - formed a slimmed-down pursuit, about two minutes clear of a second chase group featuring Boswell, L’Esperance, and Nieuwenhuis. A further two minutes back were Swenson, Ramon Sinkeldam, and Tobias Kongstad.

As the race entered its final phase, Jones and Pellaud continued to share the work over the rollers, their cooperation keeping the dream alive. But with the finish looming, questions remained: Would the chasers mount a last-minute charge, or was the race for first already decided?

Around mile 175 at the Kahola Lake dam, the chase duo of Würtz Schmidt and Røed managed to cut the gap to the two leaders to five minutes. 

However, the pace took its toll as Johnston was dropped from the main chase but battled on for a place in the wide-angle podium, just ahead of Sinkeldam. Nieuwenhuis suffered a mechanical in the third group, losing ground. Boswell continued his steady solo effort, shedding L’Esperance, but now surrounded by Swenson and Ockeloen.

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