The countdown has begun for the biggest event in gravel as thousands board planes and pack into vans bound for Emporia, Kansas. Typically home to 24,000 residents, Emporia’s population will explode over the next week as gravel riders, sponsors, fans and media converge on the Kansan town in the middle of nowhere.
On Saturday, May 30, some 5,000 cyclists will line up in the dark, staring down hundreds of miles of tyre-shredding Flint Hills gravel. Some riders will take on shorter distances, while the premier event remains the Unbound 200 (which is 207 miles long, this year). The biggest event in gravel turns 20 this year, and Life Time is not being subtle about it. As part of the Life Time Grand Prix, the 2026 Unbound course pulls from two decades of race history, threading iconic sectors from past editions into a single route that begins by heading south from Emporia.
