Unbound, that 200-mile slog around the Flint Hills of Kansas…
1. It’s the world’s biggest gravel event
There are hundreds of the world’s best gravel pros, countless media outlets, and a helicopter live streaming the race to thousands around the world. There is no doubt that Unbound is the world’s biggest gravel event and a modern-day classic.
I say event deliberately. Because just as important as the pros are the thousands of amateurs who make the trip to Emporia for their own battle with the Flint Hills. If you love riding bikes, road, MTB, or whatever, put Unbound on your bucket list.
2. Emporia is a great host
From the cafes and bars on Commercial Street, to the strangers handing out water in the middle of nowhere, thank you.
Unbound may have become this commercialised beast owned by corporate America, but it has still managed to keep its roots. There are many host-towns that come to odds with us riders, and honestly I get it. Emporia embraces us with open arms.
When dusk falls, Commercial Street is completely closed down, and it’s packed full of riders, family, and supporters. There’s street food, beers, and music blaring. If you look to the left, there’s a rider who’s stretched out after just finishing; if you look to your right, there’s a group of pros exchanging war stories over a beer.
Bike race, meet music festival, meet country fare.
3. Midwest weather can change fast.
On Tuesday afternoon, we were digging our truck out of a bog. By Wednesday, the mud was so deep I managed to wrap my derailleur around my cassette. Come Saturday morning, it was dry and stupid fast.
Tyre talk swung like a pendulum. MTB tyres for the chunk, back to 45s for the mud clearance and then once more back to MTB tyres. In my final pre race ride on Friday I was wearing tights, gloves, and a cap, by Saturday afternoon I had what felt like heatstroke and was dying a million deaths.
Midwest weather is nonsensical.
4. The livestream worked
I was in the race, so I can’t comment on how the livestream felt in real time. However, my Instagram and YouTube feeds have been full of very professional-looking highlights. LifeTime took a bit of a hit after Sea Otter, as their coverage there was dreadful, but with Unbound, they showed what they could do.
At the time of writing, the livestream has 330,000 views on YouTube. Those are some good numbers, but I doubt that any of the other Grand Prix events would pull the same crowd. It begs the question of “what next?”.
LifeTime’s series has six races on the calendar, but in terms of global attention, Unbound is the sun, and the other five are in orbit.
5. Cam fcking Jones.
I don’t know Cam all that well, he’s just one of those friendly faces you see around the races and gradually get to know. But let me say this: he’s one of the best guys I’ve met in bike racing.
When I heard he’d won, my mood shifted from dejection to genuine happiness.
If I could have chosen a winner, he’d be pretty high on the list. It’s nice to have an Unbound winner where the result changes something - Cam’s life changed on Saturday, and honestly I think he could be the man to take Keegn’s Grand Prix crown one day.
For the record, I did call him as my Underdog.
6. Respect the Race
The Unbound gods don’t care how big your training block was, how many carbs you planned to eat, or which tyres you chose. They don’t care how many Instagram followers you have, how fast your pit stop was, or what shakeout ride you did.
Unbound might reward meticulous planning, or it might laugh in your face and tear it all apart.
The final 100km wasn’t a race. It was purgatory. A silent pact between riders: get back to Emporia, as quickly as possible.
Unbound is the one race each year that no matter how deeply fucked I am, I always push through to finish. Respect it, and maybe, just maybe, one year it will respect you back.
7. I’ll probably be back.
Unbound, you’re a dumb race. The week itself is great, it’s a celebration of cycling mixed with the world’s biggest gravel race. But, the race itself is proper dumb. 200-miles in the Flint Hills is rough, whatever way you look at it.
This was my third Unbound, and the first time where I stepped back and said ‘shit, that was grim - maybe I don’t come back.’
I will come back. I don’t know why, probably because I’m a stupid bike racer who has a selective memory and essentially suffers for a living. Or, maybe because Unbound is like that one mate who’s an absolute nightmare but somehow still gets invited to every party.
All photos are by @danhutchinsonphotoinc
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Kudos on a nice summary and for finishing that brutal race. For context I did catch quite a bit of the livestream on and off during the day and it was really good. Very few video bugs and excellent commentary (Payson’s Sea Otter injury a win for us as it put him behind the mic 🎤).