Report from Unbound
If anybody had doubts whether gravel is still growing, this year’s Unbound answered that question with a definitive “Yes!” Never before has Unbound seen so many top-level racers, so many product launches, so much media coverage. The race itself is one of the most fascinating on the calendar, too, because it’s so unpredictable. (This year’s Giro d’Italia also didn’t disappoint in that respect!)
Unbound is challenging for many reasons: The rough terrain means that luck always plays a huge role. Not just luck to avoid crashes, slashed tires, or other mechanicals. But also the luck of being in the right place when an attack happens. In road races on pavement, you can (usually) move to the front of the peloton simply by putting in a large effort. On many of the ‘roads’ in the Flint Hills, there are only one or two lines that are rideable. Get off those lines, and your speed drops, your risk of punctures increases…
It’s impossible to be at the front all the time, especially if more than 100 riders are vying for the same position. This also makes Unbound a race of individuals. Even when there are several riders from the same team, it’s rare to see them riding together.
All that comes down to this: There are 50 or more potential winners in each field. Who stands on the podium at the end of the day comes down to the best legs, the best strategy, but also a huge dose of luck.
This year, with one exception, none of the eventual winners were favorites when they rolled out of Emporia, yet they all won their races in commanding fashion. That exception may have been Karolina Migoń, the champion of the women’s 200-mile race. She’s already won The Traka 360 in Spain, Europe’s biggest gravel race, both in 2024 and 2025.
In the men’s 200-mile event, Cam Jones, a mountain biker from New Zealand, took the honors unexpectedly, after making an early two-man break (at Mile 50) stick to the finish. It was a remarkable performance that left all the favorites chasing after various misfortunes.
In the 350-mile XL, Lachlan Morton, who won the Unbound 200 last year, was the clear favorite. He led the race until the finish line was almost in sight. During the last hours of the race, Rob Britton caught and then passed Lachlan. This was so unexpected that updates from the race reported Lachlan as the winner (above). The winning time of 17:49 translates to an average speed of 20.13 mph (32.4 km/h)—over 350 miles (565 km) of gravel, including riding through the night. I still remember when 20 mph was the benchmark for the 200. Now that speed has been surpassed even in the XL.
Among the women, Heather Jackson, a triathlete and ultra-runner, took the lead early on and never relinquished it. She smashed the record and won the XL by a wide margin, in just under 21 hours.
They say bike racing can be a cruel sport, and that’s especially true at Unbound. It’s not just the terrain, but also the weather. From a chilly pre-dawn start, race-day temperatures heat up quickly in Kansas. That was the undoing of Brennan Wertz (in the stars-and-stripes jersey above). He reported: “I suffered with stomach problems in the second half of the race and couldn’t get in the fuel I needed. Dialed fueling is a key part of the game, and I have some work to do to get that issue sorted out.”
Brennan finished 50th of the 115 riders who made it back to Emporia. He averaged 21.26 mph over 200 miles of rough gravel roads. To put this into perspective, just four years ago, that speed would have won Unbound and set a new overall record. Such is the evolution of gravel racing!
Jenna Rinehart lived through all the drama that Unbound is famous for. Here is her report: “My legs were there, but unfortunately my luck was not. Taken down in a crash less than 5 miles into the race made for a very rough 200 miles. When I got up from the crash, I went to find my bike, and it was buried under several riders. I got moving again and quickly realized my front rotor was severely bent. I chased back to the back of the peloton and then pulled out my phone to call Justin to tell him I would need a new front wheel at the 1st aid station. I ended up riding the next 65 miles with basically my front brake on. With this extra effort, I lost the front group and found just one other rider to work with.
“After my wheel change, I started to pick off riders and was feeling pretty good. I found a nice group to work with to the last aid station. It was really heating up, and I took a few seconds too long at the aid and missed getting back in the group. I chased hard and almost made it back, but the efforts earlier in the day were taking a toll. I spent the last 54 miles solo and completely fell apart during the last 20 miles. I crept to the finish line, not sure I was going to make it.”
At the finish, the wobbly disc rotor hadn’t just worn away the brake pad, but worn a groove into the brake caliper itself! Despite all this, Jenna finished 30th, averaging 18.25 mph over the 200 miles of Flint Hills (and that includes the wheel change). We’re proud of Jenna for never giving up and for pushing through adversity.
Unbound has also become the unofficial trade show of gravel cycling. Almost a dozen new bikes were launched or teased at this year’s race. That included a new gravel bike from Factor, which was ridden by Factor’s brand director, David Millar, in the elite men’s race. If Millar’s name sounds familiar, that’s because he won a dozen stages in the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España during the early 2000s. It’s always interesting to see what former pros ride on, so we were surprised to see that Millar chose Rene Herse 700×48 Oracle Ridge tires for his ride in Unbound.
Millar (above in orange vest at the start) could get any tires he wants. Rene Herse isn’t a supplier of Factor, so it’s not like they have our tires lying around. So we’re especially honored that Millar chose Rene Herse tires for his first foray to Kansas. After the race, he commented on Instagram: “I thought it was going to be flat. It was very much not flat.”
Unbound 2025 cemented the race’s reputation as one of the world’s greatest races. Like Paris-Roubaix, it’s fast, competitive, tough, even cruel. It carries the same fascination, but in a uniquely American way.
Further Reading:
- In an age of news articles written with artificial intelligence, the reports by Anne-Marije Rook and her team at Cycling Weekly stand out. ‘Rook’ writes with insight—she’s raced Unbound herself—and heart. Read her stories at the links below:
- Women’s 200
- Men’s 200
- Women’s XL
- Men’s XL
- If you’re curious about the new Factor Aluto that Millar rode, check out the story on Cyclingnews.com. It sounds like a fun bike, and I’ve contacted Millar to see whether they will send us a bike for a test in Bicycle Quarterly.
Photo credits: Marc Arjol Rodriguez / Velophoto.tx
