Racing aside, Unbound Gravel is where bike tech earns its stripes. It is as much a test of the equipment as it is of the rider’s fitness and bike handling skills. Unlike road racing, every piece of gear at Unbound reflects the rider’s personal preferences, smart setup choices, and the need for equipment tough enough to survive hundreds of punishing miles.
From the 200-mile Elite race to the gruelling 350-mile XL, here are the battle-tested rigs that crossed the line first. See if you can spot the commonalities.
Cameron Jones’ Scott Addict Gravel RC
(Image credit: Scott)
New Zealander Cameron Jones won the men’s elite race after a 150-mile / 240-km breakaway together with Simon Pellaud (Tudor Pro Cycling). The unlikely duo broke free after just 50 miles of racing and consequently spent the majority of the day working together as teammates. But as the gravel turned to pavement in the final miles of the race, Jones took control of the outcome, riding Pellaud off his wheel and powering to victory on his own.
His bike setup is a bit of a hodgepodge of components. He built up a standard (but very cool) colourway Scott Addict Gravel RC frame with a deda stem and Enve SES Aero bars, Syncros Capitol 1.0S wheels and a drivetrain consisting of Ultegra, Dura Ace and GRX components. Even his tyres are mix-matched (more on that later) with a 50mm Schwalbe G-One RS in the front and a 45mm G-One RX Pro in the rear.
Note his tyre choice. While it's increasingly common to see riders opt for a bigger, knobbier tyre in the front, Jones opted to have more tread in the back.
Karolina Migoń’s Rose Backroad FF
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook)
Back-to-back Traka 360 champion Karolina Migoń (PAS Racing) has been making quite a name for herself on the European gravel circuit, but until this season, we hadn’t seen much of the Polish rider on US soil. At her Unbound debut last year, she suffered mechanicals that kept her from the pointy end of the race. This year, however, no flat tyre could hold her back.
Migoń launched a bold move early in the race, forming a select trio with PAS teammate Cecily Decker and U.S. national gravel champion Lauren Stephens. The trio worked well together at first, but when Stephens stopped taking turns and Decker, too, started to fatigue, Migoń decided to go it alone, despite the fact that 130 miles were still to go.
Migoń’s victory marks back-to-back Unbound wins for German bike manufacturer Rose in the women's elite race, with Rosa Kloser winning aboard a Rose Backroad FF last year. Here’s the machine that carried her through a dominating solo performance.
Bar: Enve SES AR Road IN-Route Handlebar in 35 cm.
Tyres: Schwalbe Thunder Burt 2.10 front and 45mm Schwalbe G-One RS in the back. (Pre ride: G-One RX in the front)
Migoń told Cycling Weekly that after her tyre fiasco in 2024, she opted to run her tubless tyres without inserts this time around. While she nurses a slowly leaking puncture during her long solo, the sealant eventually did its job, allowing her to forgo a wheel swap and continue motoring on.
While Morton took the lead early, Britton, a former Canadian national time trial champion, was never far behind. The two entered the final 60 kilometres together, with a margin so thin that it remained anyone's race to win. But Morton ran out of steam and ultimately, it was the 40-year-old Canadian who rolled into Emporia first, with Morton arriving six minutes later.
Instead of the brand-new Factor gravel bike that broke cover at Unbound, Britton rode the same bike he’s been riding for more than a year: a custom-painted Factor Ostro Gravel with a Fox 32 TC suspension fork swapped out for the regular, rigid, fork. That 40mm of cushioning did a good job ‘taking the edge off,’ said Britton.
Britton was wearing a prototype Castelli skinsuit with a built-in hydration bladder pocket, three full-size pockets on the back of the jersey and pockets also on the thighs of each leg – presumably for gels.
Britton was wearing a prototype Castelli skinsuit with a built-in hydration bladder pocket, three full-size pockets on the back of the jersey and pockets also on the thighs of each leg – presumably for gels.
Heather Jackson’s Canyon Grail
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook)
Heather Jackson’s past life as one of the best American triathletes of her time paid dividends at Unbound XL on May 31. The 41-year-old New Hampshire native took to the front of the XL peloton, settled into her tri bars, and simply stayed there, motoring along at more than 17 miles per hour. While she led the race for nearly 21 relentless hours, it was far from smooth sailing. She crashed. She feared her bike had been broken. The mud clogged her derailleur, and she couldn’t shift. Her headlamp died. But she persevered, and her determination paid off.
Going into the race, she leaned on her time trialling expertise and set her bike up accordingly, telling Cycling Weekly: “I would say I am a TTer at heart. We set my Canyon Grail up just like my TT bike and I was just TTing all day. It was awesome.”
Gravel might love 1x groupsets, but this year’s Unbound results told a different story: Shimano and 2x drivetrains dominated the top step. When it came to rubber, Schwalbe led the pack, with the G-One RX and RS combo being the preferred choice.
Cycling Weekly'sNorth American Editor, Anne-Marije Rook is old school. She holds a degree in journalism and started out as a newspaper reporter — in print! She can even be seen bringing a pen and notepad to the press conference.
Originally from the Netherlands, she grew up a bike commuter and didn't find bike racing until her early twenties when living in Seattle, Washington. Strengthened by the many miles spent darting around Seattle's hilly streets on a steel single speed, Rook's progression in the sport was a quick one. As she competed at the elite level, her journalism career followed, and soon, she became a full-time cycling journalist. She's now been a journalist for two decades, including 12 years in cycling.
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