2025 Unbound Gravel: What is Unbound, who's racing and where to watch the world's premier gravel event

In just a week, all eyes will once again turn to the rough, unpaved and windswept roads of middle-of-nowhere Kansas, where thousands of amateurs and pros will chase glory at the world’s premier gravel race, Unbound Gravel.

Now in its 19th year, Unbound Gravel has grown into the world’s marquee gravel event, offering five race distances and drawing more than 5,000 registered riders, along with thousands more in support, media, and spectators. This is a far cry from its humble beginnings of just 34 riders in 2006.

The event distances range from 25 miles to 350 miles, and while competition is fierce in every distance, the 200-mile race is the celebrated flagship event where cycling careers are forged (or extended) and winners become legends.

The race is a true test of endurance, self-sufficiency and equipment. In addition to needing to fuel oneself for 10+ hours of riding, the sharp flint rocks are notorious for slicing tyres and dashing podium aspirations. Along the way, riders also need to contend with the undulating terrain and the weather.

The Midwest is notorious for its unpredictable weather. The end of May brings a dynamic mix of thunderstorms with heavy rain and hail, sudden temperature swings from unseasonable heat waves to chilly spells, and even the occasional tornado, meaning that riders must be prepared for anything.

Yet despite its tough conditions, the race attracts amateurs and elite pros alike, including Grand Tour winners, world champions, Classics victors and Olympians from around the globe, all chasing glory in the infamous Flint Hills.

Organisers added a 350-mile option in 2018 for those seeking the ultimate challenge. This epic, named the Unbound XL, sees riders suffering for more than 20 hours, sometimes even double that. The race has been growing fiercer every year, with this year's contenders including Laurens ten Dam and Lachlan Morton on the men's side and former winners Lael Wilcox and Serena Bishop Gordon in the women's category.

Unbound Gravel: Riders to watch

This year's all-star cast of competitors in the 200-mile race includes America's best off-road racers, such as the dominant Keegan Swenson, Alexey Vermeulen and former winners Ian Boswell and Pete Stetina. The ever-growing international presence has never been stronger with the likes of Olympic and Roubaix champion Greg van Avermaet returning for a second attempt, former Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix winner Niki Terpstra, Grand Tour stage winner Thomas De Gendt and of course, the so-called Dutch Mafia with 2022 Unbound winner Ivar Slik among them, all taking to the start on May 31.

In the women’s Unbound 200 field, many champions from past editions will be returning, including Carolin Schiff, Sofia Gomez Villafane, Lauren De Crescenzo and Rosa Kloser. But competition will be stiff. Among the list of favourites said to be present are Traka 360 winner Karolina Migoń, past podium finishers Sarah Sturm and Paige Onweller.

Those racing the 100-mile event may rub elbows with Tiffany Cromwell (Canyon-SRAM), the newly crowned Australian gravel champion, and retired Giro d'Italia Champion and World Time Trial Champion Tom Dumoulin, who's making his Unbound debut.

Unbound, like many gravel races , is a mass-start event, meaning various race categories—men and women, professionals and amateurs—tackle the course at around the same time. This format has led to several issues and controversies, particularly within the women’s professional field. Firstly, the starting frenzy and mingling of fields force riders to navigate heavy traffic before they can race on their own terms. Secondly, some female riders have capitalised on the presence of male riders to gain an advantage. To minimise conflict, Life Time Grand Prix events like Unbound now feature separate race starts for the men's and women's elite fields. Unbound has introduced a dedicated finishing chute, and as of this year, inter-field drafting is no longer legal. This means that elite riders will not be permitted to draft off those who aren't competing in the same category.

Also new in 2025 is a prize purse. Up until now, winning Unbound 200 yielded little more than a wooden trophy but this May, the pros will be splitting a $30,000 cash purse, which pays five deep for the top men and women.

Contributing to the stacked fields of the 200-mile event is the fact that Unbound is also the second stop of the Life Time Grand Prix series, in which a cast of 60 handpicked WorldTour roadies, cyclocrossers, gravel pros and MTB Olympians compete for a $250,000 prize purse over the course of the U.S.'s hardest gravel and mountain bike races.

Unbound Gravel: The 200-mile Course

The Unbound courses change every year, utilising the many less-travelled roads north or south of Emporia.

Following the mud-bogged mayhem of the 2023 event, characterised by ripped-off derailleurs and broken frames, the 2024 edition promised a challenge of a different kind with its chunkiest and most technical Northern course yet. But while Matej Mohoric was among the unlucky ones who scratched due to mechanical issues, the course actually delivered its fastest finishing time yet. Winner Lachlan Morton's completed the course in 9:11:47 with an average speed 22 miles per hour.

This year, the course again heads north, retracing much of the roads used in 2024. The northern courses traditionally feature rougher roads and more climbing than the southern courses. This year, participants will tackle 10,122 feet of climbing over the 202.4-mile route. There are two checkpoints along the way where riders' support crews will help them resupply their nutrition and check their equipment. There are two additional neutral water supply stops, called oases.

See the courses here.

How to follow Unbound Gravel live

For the first time ever, the elite men’s and women’s 200-mile Unbound Gravel races will be broadcast live, in full, to a global audience without paywalls or georestrictions.

The event’s producer, Life Time, has announced it will stream seven full hours of live coverage of the 2025 Unbound Gravel presented by Shimano exclusively on the Life Time Grand Prix YouTube channel. The coverage kicks off at 10:00 a.m. CT on Saturday, May 31, with a pre-show before jumping into uninterrupted race action and post-race interviews.

Commentary will be provided by Life Time Grand Prix athlete Payson McElveen, who’s currently sidelined due to an injury he sustained at the series’ opening round at Sea Otter, and Meredith Miller, a former U.S. road and cyclocross pro. Longstanding cycling announcer Bill Elliston will join the two athletes in the commentary box, while Mountain Bike Hall of Famer Nat Ross and former pro Lauren Hall will be providing live updates from the course.

For those unable to watch the full broadcast, extended highlights of both the men’s and women’s elite races will be posted on the Life Time Grand Prix YouTube channel in the days following the event.

Elite Start Lists

Latest Unbound Gravel 2025 News

• 'I’ve already won the 200, so what else could I do?' — Lachlan Morton takes on 350-mile XL at Unbound Gravel
• Grand Tour winner Tom Dumoulin to race Unbound Gravel and Sea Otter Classic — 'I’m not unfit but I’m not racing for the prizes'
• 'It's really extreme': How hard is Unbound, really? Greg van Avermaet and other Euro pros give perspective
• Is Unbound too 'epic'? Legends of gravel race defend its difficulty and revisit its gnarliest editions
• Two Dutch ex-pros say they were arrested and jailed for 'indecent behaviour' ahead of Unbound Gravel