Unbound Gravel 2025

About Unbound Gravel 2025

Life Time Unbound Gravel presented by Shimano returns for its 18th edition in 2025,  now with five route distances held across May 30-31 through the rugged, rural terrain of the Flint Hills of eastern Kansas. The signature 200-mile event, which is part of the Life Time Grand Prix off-road series, will take place on Saturday, May 31.

Referred to now as just Unbound, the original ride in 2006 featured 34 riders covering 200 miles from the small town of Emporia. In 2013, shorter distances of 25, 50 and 100 miles were added, then five years later the 350-mile Unbound XL ultra-endurance category was added, still using Emporia as the anchor for a start and finish. 

From a one-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the event re-emerged with new Life Time ownership and boomed in global popularity as gravel soared in popularity. Unbound Gravel is now considered the world's most prestigious gravel event, attracting top professionals for racing and seeing registration numbers as high as 5,000 participants across the five distances. 

Unbound Gravel 100 has become the most popular of the five distances, with close to 1,900 participants, 28% more than Unbound 200, and a lottery system is used for the coveted entry process in all distances.

Germany's Rosa Klöser won the 2024 Unbound Gravel 200 elite women's race, which was defined by a nine-rider sprint after almost 10 and a half hours of racing. Australia's Lachlan Morton won a two-up sprint against USA's Chad Haga in the men's elite race, winning in a record time of 9:11:47 in dry conditions.

All the routes roll through farmland and an 'extremely remote area' of the Flint Hills region using an extensive network of dirt roads strewn with a crystalized, sharp-edged rock called chert, or flint. The relentless hills, valleys and washouts add up to nearly 12,000 vertical feet of climbing on the 200-mile route. The three shorter courses use much of the same path as Unbound 200, which will head to the north for a second consecutive year in 2025.

A unique aspect to Unbound events is that the course is unmarked, so riders must download maps. Outside support is only allowed at designated checkpoints on the courses, and a “do not call us” policy for breakdowns and injuries.

All riders who finish Unbound Gravel 200 will receive a custom Unbound Gravel Finisher’s Award and “200” window sticker. The top five finishers in each class, there are a total of 30 divisions, receive a custom podium award, while the overall male, overall female and overall non-binary winners receive custom belt buckles. The top five pros, men and women, will share in a new $30,000 cash purse.

Join Cyclingnews' coverage of the 2025 Unbound Gravel with race reports, news and analysis.

Unbound Gravel 2025 route

Each spring the course reveal for Unbound Gravel signals the time for participants to begin planning for tyre sizes and other equipment selections. The courses change each year, making adjustments to roads used in previous years that lead to the south or north from Emporia. 

In 2025, the single-loop format will retrace much of the northerly route used in 2024. This direction from Emporia, in a counter-clockwise direction, traditionally has more climbing than the southerly direction, and some rougher roads before the first checkpoint the 200-mile race. 

All rides start in front of the historic Granada Theatre in downtown Emporia, with the elite men and elite women in Unbound 200 having separate corrals and starts well before the amateur fields. The 200-mile route will have two official checkpoints, where participants are allowed to meet their support crews to re-supply and repair equipment - the first at mile 70 in Alma and the second at mile 148 in Council Grove. There are also two 'oasis' points on the route for water only - mile 40 at Eskeridge and mile 112 at Alta Vista.

See the 2025 Unbound Gravel route details.

Unbound Gravel 2025 top stories

Like last year, the elite fields in Unbound 200 will have separate starts for men and women, as well as a dedicated finish chute. This led to the front pack of leaders in the elite women's race having a dedicated race, without impact from a large number of elite men or the amateur division of riders. For the first time, the elite field of women went toe-to-toe on the return to pavement on Commercial Street for a sprint finish, Rosa Klöser sprinting ahead of Geerike Schreurs and Paige Onweller for the win. 

Lachlan Morton had finished third and fourth in previous editions of Unbound Gravel 200, and finally took the title last year. It was a challenging day for the Australian, who had a wrong turn on the course that could have spelled disaster.

A number of riders had crashes or mechanicals last year, ending their chances of top finishes. On the women's side, Australian champion Justin Barrow crashed in the first 15 miles. USA's Emily Newsom had a mechanical during her time on an attack, while former Unbound champion Sofia Gomez Villafañe had two punctures that derailed her day. 

WorldTour pro and former UCI Gravel world champion Matej Mohorič had a DNF due to a cracked rim, and 2023 Unbound runner-up Petr Vakoč suffered a sliced rear tyre. Even defending Unbound champion Keegan Swenson had a bad outing due to a crash.

This year the story lines began when Life Time announced the elite fields will see new rules to eliminate drafting. The pro women have lobbied for regulations with drafting for a number of years, to prohibit the interaction of elite men or other divisional riders among their field. The new rules for all the Life Time Grand Prix events were introduced at the season opener, Sea Otter Classic Gravel. Enforcement of the non-drafting rule will be an interesting one to follow at Unbound Gravel.

For the first time in 2025, prize money will be on offer at Unbound Gravel 200, with pros sharing in a $30,000 cash purse, which pays five deep for the top men and women.

Unbound Gravel 2025 schedule