Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) today revealed that he's headed to Emporia, Kansas, to tackle the 100-mile gravel race at Unbound Gravel.
Formerly named Dirty Kanza, Unbound Gravel is considered the world's premier gravel event with thousands of amateur lining up alongside World Tour roadies, gravel privateers and professional mountain bikers.
While the 200-mile course through the Flint Hills is the perhaps the most famous, the 100-miler has grown increasingly competitive with the likes of cyclocrosser Stephen Hyde, World Champion trackie Ashton Lambie, WorldTour roadie Lauren Stephens and Rebecca "the Queen of Pain" Rusch take the top step of the podium at past events.
Sagan, a three-time former world champion will be lining up alongside his Italian teammate, Daniel Oss. This break from his road season is tied to his long-time sponsor, Specialized, with whom he helped develop its flagship gravel bike, the Diverge.
"Daniel Oss, our friends from Specialized, and I look forward to seeing all of you at the Unbound Gravel and having fun together on the 100-mile ride!" the 32-year-old Slovakian said on social media.
"I'm happy to be back in the USA to meet and have a good time with all my American friends and fans!"
Sagan, one of the most powerful and versatile riders in the peloton, began his cycling career in mountain biking as junior, and returned to XC mountain biking for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
He has long expressed a desire to do more off-road racing, and hosts his own gravel
event alongside the Sagan Fondo, in Truckee, California.
Now in its 15th year, the Garmin Unbound Gravel will see nearly 4,000 riders compete across five distances on June 4th. The 200-mile event is also part of the inaugural LifeTime Grand Prix series, In which a cast of 60 handpicked WorldTour roadies, track world champions and MTB Olympians are competing for the $250,000 prize purse across six gravel and mountain bike races.
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