Unbound Gravel 2026 [FULL RACE]

May 30, 2026

Unbound Gravel 2026 – Flint Hills around Emporia, Kansas, United States 🇺🇸 : 322 KM

Unbound Gravel is a gravel cycling event classified outside the traditional UCI system, existing as one of the most iconic and grueling tests of endurance in the gravel racing calendar. The course unfolds across the vast, rolling Flint Hills of Kansas, where riders confront a relentless expanse of rough, unpaved roads that stretch across open prairies, through dense woodlands, and over undulating terrain. The route is characterized by its long, grinding climbs and fast, technical descents, with gradients often reaching 10–15% on loose, uneven surfaces that demand both power and precision. The roads themselves are a mix of crushed limestone, chunky gravel, and deep, loose dirt, with sections of washboard, deep ruts, and sudden changes in surface texture that test a rider’s ability to adapt and maintain control.

The race dynamics are defined by the sheer distance and the unpredictable conditions, with riders facing everything from scorching heat and relentless sun to sudden thunderstorms that turn the roads into muddy quagmires. The open terrain leaves riders exposed to crosswinds, which can split the field into smaller groups or echelons, while the technical sections require constant focus to avoid crashes or mechanical issues. The final miles often see a solo rider or a small group of survivors battling it out for the finish, with the outcome hinging on both physical endurance and tactical savvy. Unbound Gravel is a race that rewards resilience, bike-handling skill, and the ability to suffer, embodying the raw, unfiltered challenge of gravel racing at its most demanding.

Mads Würtz Schmidt (Specialized Off-Road) rode away to victory in the men’s Unbound Gravel 200, escaping with teammate Keegan Swenson midway through a race battered by heavy rain, wind and mud.

The European champion had over five minutes on his nearest rival, with Matt Beers (Specialized Off-Road) riding ahead of Tobias Kongstad (PAS Racing) at the last checkpoint.

“I was on a really good day, and it was quite a ride. But in the end I couldn’t have done it without Keegan. He’s a champion,” said Würtz Schmidt on the race live cover.

The Danish rider suffered a serious mechanical in the second half of the race when riding with teammate Keegan Swenson almost 10 minutes ahead of the chasers, but Würtz Schmidt suffered a gash to his rear tyre.

Swenson stopped to help him fix the issue.

“And then Keegan, he was quick to say that you need my wheel, because it was, it was clear that I was the strongest, and the best chance for a win between me and Keegan was me, so he sacrificed his race and his Grand Prix, and everything for me,” said the European champion.

After that Würtz Schmidt continued to build on his advantage over the chasers.

How it unfolded
All the riders and bikes were coated with a layer of mud after the first 13 miles, as overnight storms dropped pockets of heavy rain in eastern Kansas. The ‘D Hill’ three-mile climb after mile 10 was not as vicious as the 2023 race edition, but several riders had to dismount and dislodge mud from derailleurs and cogs, including former Unbound 200 winner Keegan Swenson (Specialized Off-road).

With some separation after early mud, the lead group contained Mads Würtz Schmidt and Matt Beers of Specialized Off-road, Cobe Freeburn, Daxton Mock and Torbjørn Andre Røed of Trek Driftless, Romain Bardet (Factor Racing), Nils Brun, John Borstelmann, Daan Seote and Frederick Raßmann.

Thirty-seconds back were a solid group of chasers, Lachlan Morton (EF Educatiion-EasyPost), Brendan Johnson (Giant), Arno van den Broeck, Caleb Botcher (ENVE), defending champion Cameron Jones (Scott Sports USA-RCC), Simon Pellaud (Cervelo-Assos-Maxxis) and Adne Koster (Seka Bikes).

Thomas De Gendt (Power Plus Gravel Team) was in the lead into the first feed zone, at mile 43.5, and seemed to accelerate through the area while a few others slowed down. There was a regrouping across the next few miles and Mock attacked from the front group, which had grown to 21 riders.

On Texaco Hill, the lead group began to split with mud beginning to be an issue. Beers, Vermeulen and Pellaud all seemed to have some issues but worked back to the group.

After mile 62, having passed over Texaco Hill’, three riders moved away with a serious acceleration – Wurtz Schmidt, Swenson and Freeburn. They opened a 25-second gap on the chasing group of about 16 riders across the next seven miles.

The second Feed Zone, 82 miles done, had mechanics and pro support crews positioned on the right side of a very narrow dirt road with trees on one side and farmland on the other, saw all three leaders stop, all getting hosed down by support crews to clear bikes and bodies of mud.

Once the chasers came through, only a few riders stopped for bottles or other nutrition, and no one took a pressure wash. Would this be an advantage later for the breakaway? The trio opened a two-minute gap to the chasers when everyone was through the area, 124 miles to go.

At mile 98, almost the halfway point, the trio charged on averaging 23 mph and extending their lead to more than six minutes, clouds dropping more rain on the western side of the course.

Just a few miles later on a long drag of farm road, the Specialized Off-road duo moved away from Freeburn, quickly opening a 30-second gap. A dozen riders remained together for a solid chase, but were eight minutes back.

With 75 miles to go the two leaders opened a nine-minute advantage.

Then disaster struck. Würtz Schmidt suffered a rear flat and the two stopped. Swenson attempted to help his teammate repair the tyre, but then opted to give his teammate his back wheel, the European Champion taking off solo. Swenson then went to work to put a tube in the repurposed tyre.

But the mechanical proved a challenge even for Swenson, who struggled to reattach the freehub which had fallen off. The chasers of Beers, Herzog, Jones, Freeburn, Johnston and Kongstad flew by Swenson.

After 151 miles of racing, Würtz Schmidt charged on with seven minutes on his side ahead of chasers Jones, Kongstad and Beers, and Brendan Johnston (Giant) another two minutes back. Freeburn rode alone four-and-a-half minutes behind Johnston, while Swenson joined forces with Emil Herzog (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) another two-and-a-half minutes back.

Jones, however, began to slow, and drifted backwards, leaving Beers and Kongstad as the main chasers going through Council Grove, the northernmost section of the course.

Heading to chunky gravel and rolling miles before Lake Kahola, the European Champion had increased his average race speed to 22.95 mph, the road on the northern section of the course dry, the sun back out but lingering humidity making temperatures feel warmer than high 70s. Beers and Konstad held steady at seven-and-a-half minutes back.

After a string of riders behind these three – still Jones, Johnston, Freeburn – Swenson now rode with five other riders 21 minutes back – Adne Koster, Piotr Havik, Herzog and Daan Soete.

Würtz Schmidt wasn’t gaining significant time as he passed Kahola Lake, but he wasn’t letting the two chasers get closer to his virtual hold of the win either, as they still had 7:30 to make up.

Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road) claimed her second victory at Unbound Gravel 200, emerging victorious from a muddy elite women’s race after topping her rivals in a five-way sprint.

A mud-caked Villafañe finished the race in 10:31:37, celebrating in the sunshine with the earlier rain and brutal mud now just a memory. Teammate Geerike Schreurs was second, a second back, while Cecily Decker (PAS Racing) took third.

“The plan was for Gee to try to go solo and put in attacks and then I would help her in any way I could with that,” said Villafañe in the post-race interview on the live stream. “But then if it came to the sprint, we were going all in on my sprint, and to go one two is unreal.”

It became clear well before the race was coming into Emporia that the battle for the podium would be down to the leading group, which took shape in the first half of the race.

Try as they might to reel those riders in, the chasers couldn’t make the junction with Villafañe, Decker, Schreurs, Rosa Klöser (Canyon-SRAM-MAAP) and Paige Onweller (Trek Driftless), who lost contact at times but just kept coming back.

The group of five came into the final climb all together and then Schreurs attacked, but 2024 winner Klöser was quick to react and they all came into the barriers together. Villafañe made her move within sight of the line and there was little any of her rivals could do to stop the 2022 champion adding another title to her tally and continuing her gravel winning streak in 2026, which earlier this month also included claiming victory at The Traka 200.

After Schreurs and Decker crossed the line, Onweller claimed fourth while 2024 winner Klöser was fifth.

How it unfolded
Fifteen minutes after the pro men took the start from Commercial Street in Emporia, the first gleams of sunlight brought the pro women into view. After the opening 2.5 miles of neutral pavement, the field hit dirt roads, which had turned to mud from overnight rain.

US riders Laurel Quinones and Emma Langley (Ventum) were the first to try an attack, which seemed to be just a test for the legs. A large puddle along Road D caused some chaos, and a few riders went down, Michaela Thompson appearing to have a rear puncture in that area.

Coming out of the muddy mess, 12 riders went clear at the front: Danni Shrosbree (Rapha-Argon 18), Cecily Decker (PAS Racing), Nicole Frain (Factor Racing), Lauren Stephens (Aegis x LOE), Geerike Schreurs (Specialized Off-road), Carolin Schiff (Canyon x DT Swiss ATR), Samara Sheppard, Rosa Klöser Canyon-SRAM-MAAP) and Paige Onweller (Trek Driftless). All the riders were already covered in mud from head to toe.

Frain dropped out of the group before the first Feed Zone as she crashed hard and struggled to straighten her handlebars. On the Life Time livestream camera, Frain was seen rubbing her left leg, with a considerable amount of blood on her leg and wound on her left shoulder.

After the first Feed Zone at mile 43.5, the women’s lead group saw Onweller, Schreurs, Klöser, Decker, Schiff joined now by Haley Preen (Factor Racing), Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road), Sarah Lange (Kenda), Nele Laing (Canyon x DT Swiss ATR) and Cecile Lejeune (Trek Driftless).

Closing to the second Feed Zone, on a long straight stretch of dirt after Texaco Hill, Morgan Aguirre (PAS Racing) chased solo, three minutes back, and not far behind her were Stephens, Stella Hobbs, Langley, and then a small group of Jade Treffeisen (Canyon x DT Swiss All-Terrain), Clara Koppenburg (Tudor), Alexis Skarda (Q36.5 – Scott), Nathalie Eklund, Hartog and Frain.

A paved stretch led to the second Feed Zone, 82 miles done, had mechanics and pro support crews positioned on the right side of a very narrow dirt road with trees on one side and farmland on the other.

A group of four entered together at the front – Specialized duo Schreurs and Villafañe with Decker and Klöser. Only 18 seconds behind were Lejeune, Lange, Schiff, Onweller, Sheppard, Laing and Preen, the South African struggling with her stop to grab a water bottle.

When Frain pulled into the Feed Zone, she took a longer stop than the others, taking off her gloves and cleaning the road rash from her wrists and arms. Shrosbree pulled into the area, and the two rode off together, as more rain started to fall.

Rolling terrain rolled north 16 more miles and passed through Matfield, Kansas, with Onweller making inroads to the four leaders, and made the catch at the halfway point of the race.

More rain fell, which in turn just splattered the mud on the leaders as they kicked on at an average of 20.5 mph.

Through mile 115, the leading quintet of Schreurs, Villafañe, Decker, Klöser and Onweller marched on and carved out an advantage of nearly six minutes on their closest rival, Mieke Kröger (Rose Racing), the World and Olympic Team Pursuit champion riding solo. A trio of chasers were 30 seconds behind the German – Lange, Laing and Preen.

Riding through Chase County to the north, passing just east of the famous Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, the group charged on. They handled the minimum maintenance road, W Road, handily, the one-mile stretch just grass and rocks, not gravel. Schreurs, Villafane, Decker and Kloser stayed on the gas, while Onweller, who had fallen off the pace, rejoined.

The third and final Feed Zone at mile 149 was dry, but the wind was blowing hard. Onweller stopped for some supplies while the other grabbed bottles on the fly, and Onweller rejoins. Krõger was still on a solo sortie.

Apparently, other riders had to stop and wait for a train to pass, which allowed Lauren De Crescenzo to join the second group with Preen and Lange. Stephens was another two minutes back. Laing had dropped well back.

With 75% of the route done and just 55 miles to go, the five leaders continued to work together, now under sunny skies and dry dirt, but the wind was making all the flat roads like liquid hills. Urgency behind saw De Crescenzo and Lange try to wipe away a portion of a 14-minute gap.

The table was set for a wide-angle podium.

Onweller may have been yo-yoing but she continued to fight her way back, and the five headed into the final 15 miles together. There had been some shifts behind, however, with De Crescenzo now the leading pursuer, and while she held sixth, the gap proved insurmountable.

It was over ten hours of racing when the attacks in the lead group started with Schreurs, and though that initial effort didn’t stick, all of a sudden everyone was casting a wary eye behind. It all, however, came down to a sprint.

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