Ted and Amanda inducted into Gravel Hall of Fame

Posted by: Jan Heine Category: Uncategorized

Ted and Amanda inducted into Gravel Hall of Fame

Amanda Naumann Sheek and Ted King will join the Gravel Hall of Fame in 2025. The selection committee couldn’t have made a better choice! Both Amanda and Ted not only have won the 200-mile Unbound twice (in addition to numerous other races), they’ve also been the face of gravel for years. Their podcasts—Amanda’s Groadio and Ted’s King of the Ride—have inspired many riders to add gravel to their cycling repertoire.

Leading by example, Ted and Amanda have ventured beyond their own comfort zones in ultra-distance events. They have put exploring and touring on equal footing with all-out racing. And perhaps not coincidentally, both Amanda and Ted have been among the first top-tier gravel racers to choose Rene Herse tires, long before our tires became a recognized force in gravel racing. In fact, their R&D input has helped make Rene Herse tires what they are today.

Coming from a cyclocross background, Amanda was an early convert to gravel. She won the DK200 in 2015 and 2016, long before it became known as Unbound. Later she raced in the 350-mile Unbound XL, where she placed second to Lael Wilcox in 2021. (Above, she’s leading Lael during the long ride across the Flint Hills of Kansas.)

Amanda’s influence extends far beyond her inspirational racing career. In addition to her popular Groadio podcast, she organizes the Mammoth Tuff gravel race in the Sierra Nevada of California, together with her partner Dave Sheek. Above, she’s leading Dave and another rider while exploring the route. Combining challenging courses with amazing scenery, Mamooth Tuff was awarded a new status as part of the UCI Gravel World Series for 2025.

Ted King does not need an introduction. After a successful UCI World Tour career that included rides in the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, Ted turned to gravel after returning from Europe. Winning gravel’s biggest race, the DK200, in 2016 and 2018, Ted became known as the King of Gravel. It’s fair to say that he paved the way for other professional racers to venture into gravel.

Despite the new competition, Ted has continued to ride at the front in the biggest races, with wins in SBT Gravel, Grinduro, Rasputitsa, Vermont Overland, and UnPAved, among others. He (and his partner Laura) also represented the U.S. at the UCI Gravel World Championships last autumn. Racing at the top level hasn’t kept Ted from exploring ultra-distance events, whether the VTXL bikepacking route in his home state of Vermont or the Arkansas High Country Race, where he set an FKT on the full course in 2020. Ted’s King of the Ride podcast combines his insights from two decades at the front of the peloton with his unique wit and humor to make for a truly engaging experience.

Joining Amanda and Ted as this year’s inductees in the Gravel Hall of Fame are LeLan Dains—one of the pioneer organizers of the DK200—and John Hobbs—whose Kansas Death Ride was one of the first gravel races in the 1980s and inspired a group in Emporia, KS to create the DK200/Unbound Gravel in 2005. Congratulations to all four for this well-deserved honor!

Further Reading:

Image credits: Jason Ebberts (Amanda, top), Ansel Dickey (Ted, top), Kevin Fickling/Shimano (Amanda and Lael), Mammoth Tuff (Amanda, Dave), Andy Chasteen (Ted at Unbound), Jan Heine (Ted in the Cascades)

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