At the start of the 2025 season, Cameron “Cam” Jones was a known rider on the gravel circuit, but only by those who raced him.
Fans were in the dark about the would-be Unbound champion. Yet many of the top professional gravel riders—and the locals in Oregon, Colorado, and Virginia who got to witness the power of the Kiwi first-hand—were on notice.
“I sort of dreamt that I could be up on the podium at a lot of these races at the start of the year, but I’ve gone far beyond any of the expectations I even had,” Jones told Cycling Weekly from his pre-Leadville altitude base in Durango, Colorado.
“The Unbound result gives me so many choices. All my supporters and sponsors came to me saying, ‘What do you want to do,’ rather than, ‘we would like you to do this and that,’ so that was a cool change and a really good thing about this gravel privateer thing.
“It’s all up to you. As long as you’re having fun, making some cool content, and getting on some good podiums, no one cares exactly what races you do.”
For the most part, Jones is right. When you win Unbound 200, the choice is yours of what you do next. Still, his rising status as one of the sport’s top names—while also being the youngest of the true professionals—means many people care what races he does, especially because he has the power to win many of them.
The gravel world is his oyster
(Image credit: Scott Bikes)
The big question bubbling under the surface since Jones won Unbound and ascended into the Life Time Grand Prix was what the long-term prospects were for someone with his profile. Would he stay with gravel racing beyond 2025, or could road teams try and pry him away from the North American scene?
Nothing was confirmed, but considering Colin Strickland famously drew WorldTour offers after his 2021 Unbound victory, it seemed only logical that Cam Jones might attract similar interest. Unbound has only become faster and more competitive since then, and Jones not only has youth on his side but…