Unpredictable and epic, the Garmin Unbound Gravel presented by Craft Sportswear returns June 2-3 to Emporia, Kansas and is set to be a pursuit of prairie pain on a scale not seen before. The 17th edition of the endurance event in the heart of the US Midwest features a record-breaking 4,000 amateur and professional athletes across six riding distances, varying from 25 to 250 miles.
The signature event is the Unbound Gravel 200, a 200-mile (322 km) escapade across the Flint Hills of Kansas which is known for its hilly, tire-shredding, sun-baked terrain. Unbound Gravel 200, run on Saturday, is also the second stop on the seven-race schedule of the 2023 Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda.
Leading the list of international contenders are last year’s winners. Dutch rider Ivar Slik (Wilier Factory Racing) and Argentinian Sofía Gómez Villafañe (Specialized). The defending champion in the women’s race comes in with impressive form, Villafañe having won the Belgian Waffle Ride Scottsdale, Fuego MTB XL at Sea Otter Classic and Whiskey 50 while Slik has been building, with a fifth at The Traka and third at Gravel Locos.
Unbound Gravel has grown from a startline of 34 North American riders in 2006 to thousands who represent all 50 states and 38 countries. The majority score entry through a lottery process and seek to reach the finish for personal satisfaction and a custom Muck Insulated bottle with a limited-edition map graphic. There is a special ‘Gravel Grail’ custom glass chalice awarded to any participant who reaches the 1,000-mile club – five Unbound Gravel 200 finishes. And in keeping with the ‘spirit of gravel’, participants who finish before sundown become members of the “Race the Sun Club”.
New rules were adopted by organisers for the men’s and women’s elite fields in the 200-mile event this year. For the first time elite males, elite females and age group athletes will start in three separate waves, with the pro men taking the course at 5:50 a.m. followed by the pro women two minutes later. The balance of Unbound 200 riders will begin at 6 a.m. on the same start line on Commercial Street in downtown Emporia.
Aerobars, bar extensions or clip-on attachments will no longer be permitted for the elite riders. Last year both winners, Slik and Villafañe, as well as a large number of competitors used some type of “comfort” bars on their bikes. The other prominent rule change is that all elite riders will be subject to random drug…
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