Unbound Gravel is turning 20 this year! In the words of co-director Kristi Mohn, it is 'the race that everyone loves to hate.” And she’s not wrong. Every year, without fail, the moment the first tyres cross the finish line in Emporia, Kansas, the critiques start rolling in. Too muddy. Too dangerous. Too big. Too corporate. Too... something. And yet, despite the noise, or maybe partly because of it, Unbound remains the gravel race. The one that changed everything. The one that helped turn gravel from a ragtag subculture into an international phenomenon with its own pros, its own economy, and its own set of controversies.
It’s no exaggeration to say that Unbound shaped what professional gravel cycling looks like today. And for some riders, it’s done something even bigger: it’s changed their lives.
