The two days leading up to the world's premier gravel race, Unbound Gravel, are filled with shakedown rides, a trade show and community events. It's a good opportunity for riders to test their gear setup and brands to showcase the latest and greatest.
When it comes to the bikes and gear setups, Unbound is an interesting event because riders might ride as little as 25 miles all the way up to 350 miles. All race distances require the riders to be completely self-sufficient and riders might be out on course for as long as 35 hours in one go.
It's true test of endurance, self-reliance and equipment. In addition to needing to fuel oneself for the many hours of riding, the sharp flint rocks are notorious for slicing tires and dashing podium aspirations. Along the way, riders also need to content with the undulating terrain, exposed roads, headwinds and, if at all wet, tire-sucking mud.
Weather has been a big concern in the lead-up to this year's Unbound with a fair bit of rain in the days prior to the race start and more rain as well as thunderstorms predicted on race day. Tire choice, tire clearance and tire pressure seemed to be all people were talking about. On a wet course, the mud will destroy groupsets and grind you to a halt. It became such a buzz that paint sticks were being handed out to help clear the mud off the bikes should it come to that.
With some 4,000 professional and amateur riders descending upon the small town of Emporia, Kansas, we saw the following trends:
These little paw prints symbolize Stetina's spirit animal: a raccoon(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Like many riders, Stetina had tribute for Mo Wilson. His was a Ride Like Mo bottle(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Stetina and his bike(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Former WorldTour roadie turned gravel privateer, Peter Stetina, shows off his Canyon Grizl with a Shimano GRX drivetrain and carbon GRX wheels.
Ian Boswell's Specialized Diverge
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Ian Boswell's Specialized Diverge(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Ian Boswell's SRAM Eagle drivetrain(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Ian Boswell's Specialized Diverge(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Ian Boswell's Specialized Diverge with Roval Terre CLX wheels and 42mm Pathfinder Pro tires(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Ian Boswell added some cushion to his handlebars (Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Ian Boswell's Specialized Mirror Saddle(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Ian Boswell's tribute to Mo Wilson(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Ian Boswell(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Defending Unbound 2022 winner Ian Boswell's Specialized Diverge with SRAM AXS. Many of the Specialized supported athletes are on a limited edition pink colorway Diverge, inspired by the 1984 Specialized Team Stumpjumper
Brooke Goudy's Lauf True Grit
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Brooke Goudy with her Lauf True Grit(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Hydration is key. Goudy carried a water in her top tube bag and slung the hose over the front end of her bike for easy access(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
WTB Riddler was the tire of choice for Brooke Goudy(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
NOT a chain catcher. Bonus accessory on Brooke Goudy's Lauf True Grit(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
The Lauf fork on Brooke Goudy's True Grit offers 30mm of front suspension(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Mountain biker and advocate Brooke Goudy's Lauf True Grit will let her ride to the 100-mile finish in comfort with 30mm front suspension, some cushioning tires and even a beer opener for that post-race beer.
Sarah Sturm's Specialized Crux
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Sarah Sturm's Specialized Crux in stock colors and a very stock build(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Sarah Sturm's wheels of choice: Zipp 303(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Sarah Sturm's wheels of choice: Zipp 303(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Zipp 303s wrapped in 38mm Pathfinder Pro tires(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
A layer of protection against scuffs from the top tube bag(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
A custom wahoo wrap for Sarah Sturm(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Sarah Sturm, two-time national cx champion and Life Time Grand Prix racer prefer the Specialized Crux over the Diverge.
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Matt Hornland's Allied Able
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Matt Hornland of the Easton Overland team and his team edition Allied Able(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Matt Hornland's Allied Able with the Easton Overland paint scheme(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Easton EC90 AX wheels wrapped in the all-new Schwalbe G-ONE RS tires.(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Dropper post for when the gravel riding gets rowdy(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Easton cockpit stocked with a bar bag, a Garmin and even, a Spurcycle bell(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Easton cockpit stocked with a bar bag, a Garmin and even, a Spurcycle bell(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Bars are equipped with a dropper post thumb lever(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Matt Hornland of the Easton Overland team was showing off his team edition Allied Able with Easton wheels, cranks, seatpost, cockpit and even, a dropper post.
Ashton Lambie's Lauf Steigla
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(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Spotted from afar: World track champion Ashton Lambie's Lauf Steigla complete with the third-generation Lauf Grit SL fork, clearance for tires up to a beefy 2.25 inches, and a rainbow colorway.
The 31-year-old, famously mustachioed American became the first person to break the four-minute barrier in the four-kilometer Individual pursuit in August of last year, after having previously broken the IP record twice before. When not riding the smooth wooden boards of the velodrome, Lambie is an accomplished gravel racer as well having won the 100-mile Unbound race in 2019 and previously held the Trans-Kansas world record when he completed the 400-mile ride in just 23 hours and 53 minutes in 2015.
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Heidi Franz's Van Dessel(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Heidi Franz's Van Dessel(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Full Tilt Boogie(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Full Tilt Franzie(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
2x Easton cranks paired with an 11-speed SRAM Red eTap drivetrain(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook // Future)
Insatfund's Heidi Franz had a hell of a time getting her bike ready for the race. When her bike arrived with broken parts, friends scrambled to make her Van Dessel CX bike race-able. In the end, she ended up with a loaner 11-speed SRAM Red eTap drivetrain and 38mm tires — the biggest the frame will hold.
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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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