Unbound Gravel may not have been a familiar event for many cycling fans before this year, but the 2021 event appears to have captured the imaginations of a whole new audience.
This year’s Unbound Gravel, previously called Dirty Kanza before the name change due to its links to a Native American tribe, attracted a star-studded field as former WorldTour riders reinvent themselves as off-road specialists.
After more than 300km of racing through the Flint Hills of Kansas Ian Boswell, a former Team Sky and Katusha-Alpecin rider, emerged victorious ahead of another former top tier pro rider, Laurens ten Dam.
The women’s race was won by Lauren De Crescenzo after 12 hours of racing.
But how tough was the race? Strava stats might just offer some insight.
Ian Boswell, who raced in the WorldTour from 2013 until his retirement from road racing in 2019, completed the gruelling 331km race in 10 hours, 17 minutes, and 24 seconds, with Ten Dam finishing right behind on the same time.
(Image credit: Strava)
According to his Strava file, Boswell put out a staggering 246 watts during the 10 hours, averaging a mind-blowing 20.04 miles per hour (32km/h) for the whole ride.
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Ten Dam, 40, who also retired from the WorldTour at the end of 2019, pushed 285w only to be beaten at the line by his US rival.
(Image credit: Strava)
Boswell climbed around 3,386 metres during his ride and claimed three Strava KoMs along the way.
Other notable rides from the men’s event came from Peter Stetina (formerly Trek-Segafredo), who pushed 235w to finish third, while Ted King came fourth with an average power of 266w, and an average heart-rate of 143 beats per minute.
Unfortunately, the winner of the women’s race hasn’t shared her data on Strava, but second place finisher Amity Rockwell did share her file.
(Image credit: Strava)
After De Crescenzo won the race after 12 hours and six minutes, with an average speed of 17.02mph (27kp/h), Rockwell was next across the line with a time of 12 hours and 22 minutes.
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Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
