Gravel season's top event, the 200-mile Unbound Gravel race, is just a week away and both the competition and the race course are slated to be tougher than ever before
Following the mud-bogged mayhem of the 2023 event, this year's edition promises a challenge of a different kind. The course is headed north, a direction it has only ventured twice before, where a "relentless onslaught of rough, rocky paths" awaits the riders.
In the past few years, Unbound has seen an increasing amount of non-American riders making the trek to Kansas to see what all the fuss is about, and competition is fiercer than ever before. In 2022, Dutchman Ivar Slik became the first non-American to win Unbound 200 as part of a Dutch contingent of racers led by Laurens ten Dam. A year later, Carolin Schiff from Germany became the first non-American winner of the women's 200-mile race. These days, the start line is filled with former WorldTour roadies, mountain bike Olympians, former professional rowers and triathletes, all drawn to the long-distance challenge and adventure of gravel racing.
"It's the deepest field we've had," comments Peter Stetina, who was among the first to ditch the WorldTour for the burgeoning gravel discipline.
Three years into the Life Time Grand Prix, a lot of the North American competitors are "known quantities," he says. "There are no surprises there. I think the big question is the influx of European riders."
New among the European contingent at Unbound Gravel is none other than Olympic champion and Paris-Roubaix winner Greg van Avermaet.
Just like other thousands of Unbound hopefuls, the Belgian entered the race lottery and waited for his name to be drawn. Now, just days away from the big "adventure," as he calls it, Van Avermaet admits that he's a tad scared of both the distance and the technical nature of the course.
"I'm still scared of the distance," he says. "And you have to organize a lot of things, learn and be ready for everything. Also material-wise, it's very important. I underestimated it a little bit. But I will be ready and I will do my best and keep an open mind."
After 17 seasons at the top, Van Avermaet retired as a legend from the WorldTour peloton at the end of 2023. Never far from the pointy end of races, Van Avermaet enjoyed a fruitful career with wins at some of the biggest Spring Classics, including Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, E3 Harelbeke, Gent-Wevelgem and, of course, the prestigious Paris-Roubaix in 2017 when he entered the velodrome part of a group of five riders and came out on top.
Further career highlights include Olympic gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, winning Tirreno-Adriatico, the GC at the Belgium Tour, and clinching two stages of the Tour de France (where he also racked up a total of 11 days in the yellow jersey).
Doing 'adventure stuff,' some triathlons and 'other things he couldn't do' while racing on the WorldTour was on the Belgian's mind for a while, he admits, and he eagerly jumped in before he'd even raced his last road race. He finished fourth overall at the first official UCI Gravel World Championships and won the Spanish gravel triathlon SGRAIL 100.
At the start of 2024, he was swept up by Team Last Dance, a pro gravel team created by apparel brand Isadore, which also includes fellow WorldTour pro--turned-gravel rider Petr Vakoč from the Czech Republic and Douwe Doorduin, a Dutch filmmaker and racer. His calendar includes the Gravel Earth Series, some UCI gravel races and championships when possible, and, of course, the 200-mile Unbound.
Despite his cobblestone pedigree and thirst for adventure, life as a gravel racer hasn't come easy, however.
"I'm enjoying life but it is quite hard," Van Avermaet says.
The so-called privateer hustle sees riders plan their own season –race registrations and travel logistics included–, test and prepare their own equipment, scout the courses and, of course, train for the long-distance events.
"You have to admit, I was quite spoiled riding with a big team," the 39-year-old acknowledges. "It takes a lot of time – almost 20 hours a week, which is close to my professional cycling life. But I have a lot of things going on on the side for the moment, so it makes it quite challenging to be at a good level."
And then there's the technical aspect of the terrain to consider as well. Gravel racing in America is as much a test of fitness as it is equipment and bike handling.
"The course, from what I have seen from the pictures, has some really big rocks and it scares me a little bit," Van Avermaet admits. "You have to be careful with your bike. On the road bike, I could handle my bike quite well on the cobblestones. I was really careful to not flat. Roubaix, I did it 12-15 times, and I only have one time a flat tire. But yeah, gravel racing is more about luck also."
Van Avermaet has been seeking insights and advice from those who have done it before, and won't be going it alone in Emporia. New teammate Petr Vakoč, fresh off his win at the Traka 200, will tackle the Unbound adventure alongside the Belgian, though the two did not devise a team strategy, Van Avermaet says.
Former BMC Racing teammate Stetina certainly considers Van Avermaet a threat and will want to avoid bringing the Belgian with him to the line.
"He knows the U. S. style and the lifestyle, so he'll be totally comfortable here. But I don't know how much practice Greg has – you know, plugging his tires and all the homework before, but if it comes down to legs, I mean, everyone's got to have to be looking at Greg," he says.
"I think it will be more interesting to see how the firepower at the front changes things. Gravel is almost a completely different sport than even in 2021, the last time we went north, so that'll be really interesting, and I think it's going to be a record-breaking year here regardless."
