The Garmin Unbound Gravel presented by Craft returns the first Saturday in June with five racing distances, including the signature 200-mile event with a mass-start for men and women in downtown Emporia, Kansas. All the routes take in the rugged roads in the Flint Hills of Kansas, defined with sharp rocks and hilly terrain across the Tallgrass Prairie in the middle of the US.
Unbound Gravel 100 is a competitive, shorter-distance option, designed to serve as a “stepping stone” towards the Unbound Gravel 200.
Unique aspects to these races include the remote roads used for routes through vast prairie lands, the checkpoints participants must locate to follow the correct course, and a “do not call us” policy for breakdowns and injuries.
The Unbound Gravel 200 on June 3, is the first of four gravel races in the Life Time Grand Prix and the second stop in the series. The series will be contested by an invitation-only field of 35 women and 35 men for an equally-split prize purse of $250,000, paid to the top 10 riders with the most points accumulated from five of the seven events.
Last year, Sofia Gomez Villafane won the women’s division of Unbound Gravel 200 with a solo effort across the final 80 miles, her overall time 10 hours, 27 minutes, 40 seconds. Lauren De Crescenzo, the 2021 champion, trailed 9 minutes later for second place, and Emily Newsom was third for the second year in a row, another 13 minutes down.
Ivar Slik won the men’s 200-mile race with five riders contesting the sprint in downtown Emporia, Kansas. Silk clocked a time of 9 hours, 22 minutes, 4 seconds to win the 2022 Unbound Gravel 200. In a photo finish for the final two spots on the podium, Keegan Swenson took second with 2021 champion Ian Boswell taking third.
In the Unbound Gravel 100, Marisa Boaz finished 22nd overall and took the women’s title, while Ethan Oveson won the men’s division.
Join Cyclingnews' coverage of the 2023 Unbound Gravel with race reports, results, photo galleries, news and race analysis.
Unbound Gravel route
The route for Unbound Gravel 200 begins and ends on the pavement in downtown Emporia. All Unbound Gravel event distances utilize a single-loop format, with the vast majority of the course on gravel and dirt roads
From the start in front of the historic Granada Theatre, riders will head in a southbound direction, with constant ups and downs that add up to 9,100 feet of elevation gain on the 205.5-mile route. That route has two checkpoints at Eureka (mile 79) and Madison (mile 167), where riders can receive outside support and a pair of neutral ‘water oasis’ stops, Texaco Hill (mile 42) and Hamilton (mile 124).
