Indubitably, Unbound Gravel has grow to be the premier gravel race for skilled cyclists around the globe. Elite fields for the 200-mile occasion quantity within the a whole bunch, with athletes committing to extremely particular preparation and coaching for a shot at Unbound glory. Gone are the times of self-supported journey racing with paper maps, gas-station snack stops and embracing no matter obstacles the unpredictable Flint Hills of Kansas may throw at racers.
However because the 200 turns into extra professionalised, extra skilled gravel athletes are turning away from it and to the 350-mile XL as an alternative. Has the 200-miler grow to be too quick and aggressive, or are athletes turning to the 350-mile XL in a pursuit of the unique gravel spirit?
“The road of journey distance retains getting redrawn,” says Yuri Hauswald. Hauswald, who received Unbound 200 in 2015, was a part of the inaugural group of 34 riders who tackled the XL in 2018. This 12 months, greater than 200 riders are signed up for the XL, together with nearly a dozen skilled women and men searching for one thing completely different.
“It’s extra in regards to the expertise,” says Laurens ten Dam. “It’s extra in regards to the journey now, as an alternative of attempting to win races. I did that already for greater than 20 years as knowledgeable, and now it’s time to actually do the journey stuff.” Ten Dam first raced Unbound in 2021 and, for 3 years, by no means completed exterior the highest 5. Nonetheless, in 2023—arguably probably the most aggressive 12 months for Unbound 200—he completed fiftieth. “To be sincere, I believe the youthful guys are simply too robust for me,” he provides.
Like Lachlan Morton, final 12 months’s 200-mile winner, ten Dam is prepared for a change. As well as, a number of different former WorldTour professionals, every having competed within the Unbound 200 not less than thrice, are additionally registered for the XL. Ted King, who tried the 350 in 2023, is again for redemption, whereas Rob Britton, who has leaned into ultra-distance racing over the previous 12 months, can be testing his luck.
“Gravel racing for me may be very a lot half two of my profession and was by no means meant to be a continuation of street racing,” Britton explains. “I nonetheless get your hands on the brand new races, ones that get me excited and which can be completely different than what I did for 15 years [racing on the road]— one thing rather less severe and worrying.”
Whereas ten Dam, Morton, and Britton all say they’re in it for the journey, the entrance finish of the XL discipline will nonetheless be extremely quick and thrilling.
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“I believe the longer occasions get, the extra you have to put together a bit extra meticulously,” Morton says. With no exterior help allowed and better probability of issues going mistaken over the course of 350 miles (563km), psychological preparation is simply as necessary as bodily.
“I’ve spent the final couple of weeks dialling in what baggage to hold, what lights, how a lot diet I’m going to take, after which [figuring out] the shop stops,” explains Heather Jackson, knowledgeable triathlete turned gravel racer who’s additionally racing the XL this 12 months. “I’ve been going over the course—the place am I stopping, what am I getting there, am I carrying a bunch of hydration powder and simply getting water?”
Final 12 months, Jackson was a part of the lead group of ladies within the historic Unbound 200, finally ending fifth—a profession spotlight. However like her male friends, she sees the XL as a possibility to check her private limits in a brand new manner. “At this level in my profession, I’m attempting to discover my private limits and simply go on these adventures,” Jackson says. And whereas she’s making ready for the XL with the identical precision and willpower she brings to all her athletic pursuits, it’s additionally a stepping stone towards her subsequent main objective: the Western States 100 ultra-trail race.
“It’s form of a bizarre factor that we’ve got to go longer to get again to the origins of gravel, due to the professionalisation of the game,” says Serena Bishop Gordon, who shall be lining up for the XL at her first Unbound. “I used to be by no means very excited in regards to the 200, as a result of it felt—particularly because it acquired greater—such as you needed to have the perfect pit crew, the perfect gear. One of many causes I gravitated towards gravel, and I believe lots of people did, was the journey, the unknown, the ingredient of being self-supported and self-sufficient on the market.”
Because the 200 turns into extra like a street race, it is smart that many execs, particularly these with backgrounds in different disciplines that, till just lately, had stricter guidelines, are trying to find a race that also embodies the true spirit of gravel. “I really like the thought of the unknown, and in addition recognising that each one I can give attention to is having the perfect efficiency I can, and all the opposite elements and variables will fall as they might,” Gordon says.
Lael Wilcox comes throughout the end line of the 350-mile Unbound XL race in 2021
(Picture credit score: Life Time)
In the end, what drew individuals to gravel within the first place was the will to do one thing completely different and tough. The historical past of Unbound is rooted within the spirit of journey and self-discovery. It wasn’t about outcomes, sponsorships, or energy numbers. And now, greater than ever, the 350 miles of the XL could higher replicate that narrative than the 200 does.
It’s an journey race, stuffed with unknowns—simply the type of occasion that draws ultra-endurance athletes like Lael Wilcox, who has constructed a profession on quickest identified time (FKT) rides in a number of the world’s harshest circumstances. “[Unbound XL is] at all times been aggressive, I simply suppose nobody cared about it earlier than,” Wilcox says. “I’ve raced unbound XL twice earlier than– in 2019 and 2021– and it’ll be cool to see the way it’s modified. The factor in regards to the XL is it’s at all times laborious, it doesn’t matter what.”
Gravel racing is evolving. The 2024 version of Unbound 200 confirmed simply how aggressive and professionalised the self-discipline has grow to be. It’s a constructive factor: it’s creating new alternatives in biking and serving to foster a brand new era {of professional} athletes. However some execs haven’t forgotten why they turned to gravel within the first place: the journey, the problem, the unknown.