'Being a good gravel racer is problem-solving' - Sarah Sturm on Unbound preparation, challenges in women's race

A year ago, Sarah Sturm (Specialized) finished third in the elite women’s category at Life Time Unbound Gravel 200, referring with high sarcasm her 12-plus hour adventure as “Funbound”. She said she was pleasantly surprised by her podium spot in the 200-mile, mud-soaked race, which actually came in at 205 miles, and “for me, that’s as good as winning”.

Two weeks prior to her third start at the giant of gravel gets underway on June 1, Sturm has already landed in Kansas and pre-ridden much of the north course, territory covered only twice before and last in 2021. She’s fresh off a podium at The Traka Gravel, the 360km distance, and ready to tackle the second round of the Life Time Grand Prix on another 11-plus hour adventure, where the unexpected is always to be expected - thunderstorms in the forecast, 2,000 more feet of elevation gain and a new test with a wider gap at the start between elite women and amateur racers.

“I'm kind of excited for the luck of the north course. I had a chance to go ride a lot of those [new] sections. And I don't know if it's helping with my gear selection or making more questions,” Sturm told a select group media, including Cyclingnews, in a pre-race virtual press conference this week. “But we have gone back and forth of what bike, what tires, to ride for the north. Pre-riding it is different than racing it.”

One of the talking points for Unbound Gravel 200 is the return to a northern journey across the undulating and unforgiving prairie of Kansas, approximately 92% of the 203-mile route comprised of rough roads strewn with tyre-slicing flint rocks plus elevation gain surpassing 11,000 feet. But what makes this even more challenging is the inevitable percolation with rain storms and winds across wide-open grasslands.

“I'm a fan of the mud and the elements and whatever Unbound has to bring. I like the problem-solving of gravel racing,” Sturm said, showing a wry smile as she explained why she loves the sport she adopted in 2019.

“I think some people think that it's because I'm trying to hide fitness or whatever, but I just think it's a huge part of being a good gravel racer is problem-solving and knowing how to fix a flat. You have to be really efficient at thinking through every single little detail. I've never raced pro road, but we can't put a hand up and ask for a bottle and ask for a new bike or a wheel.”

She has a diverse background in cycling, having competed as an amateur on the road, in mountain biking and cyclocross and a little on the track during her collegiate years at Fort Lewis College, where she intended to play soccer. A two-time US Single Speed Cyclocross National Champion (2018, 2019), she found herself standing on the podium at numerous gravel races in 2019, including a win at Belgian Waffle Ride California and third at SBT GRVL.

This season will be Sturm’s third campaign on the Life Time Grand Prix, her consistency rewarded with third overall in 2022 and fourth overall last year. She finished eighth in the opening event of the series, the 67-mile mountain bike race Sea Otter Classic Fuego XL. She mixed in a seventh at The Mid South gravel race and third at The Growler, a 140-mile, Classics-style road race in northern California.

Sturm said she expects the strongest field for any gravel race at this year’s Unbound, and she got an indication of the international talent headed to Kansas at The Traka 360 (228 miles) in Spain. After placing second in the women’s category with an effort just under 16 hours in the saddle last year, she returned in early May for the 360 again, which was modified the night before to 340km because of four days of heavy rain in advance of the race, and placed third. 

“This year in the 360, it was a much deeper, a more competitive field than the 200 [for the women] but unintentionally, it gave me sort of a sneak preview into what the competition for Unbound in the women's field is going to look like coming from Europe. I think the women's field is going to be one of the most competitive of Unbound that we've had. 

“The start of Traka started as quickly as Unbound will start. So I think that that's helpful. And knowing how riders do at the 11th hour, for me, that was helpful to see, like who has that extra kick.”

At The Traka, the distance and elevation gain of the long route was similar to what is on the menu for Unbound, moreso than any of the large, one-day gravel races on the calendar. Was it a good preparation for Kansas?

“The 360 at Traka was similar in elevation as Unbound will be, which is kind of wild to think about. The rolling hills at Unbound definitely stack up. There's a lot more singletrack and technical riding and diversity at Traka. I’m not a geologist, but there’s a lot of different types of rocks at Traka, and it seems there are fewer types at Unbound,” she said. 

“I definitely was surprised with the north course and its beauty and I just don't think that there's that same variation in type terrain, it's Kansas versus Gerona. The course does a good job of really testing the limits of everything.”

Separate race for women

Sturm said it is “a completely different landscape” in 2024 than when she switched to a gravel focus five years ago. While she was disappointed that Unbound did not implement drafting rules for the elite riders, related to riders from other categories, Life Time did modify the start of Unbound 200 to give the elite women a longer gap from the amateurs behind them on the start grid. 

Last year the amateurs started only 8 minutes after the elite women, and by the time the elites were slogging through the muddy climb at mile 11, the fields were mixed, so women-only tactics disappeared. 

“To be totally honest, it was a little disappointing to see that there was the no drafting policy that we thought was going to happen, not happen. It's a much more expensive, more logistically challenging discussion than just ‘OK, no drafting of men’. You know? I do think they’ll figure it out, hopefully, for next year,” Sturm said.

“At the end of the day, we just kind of want to see a deeper, more competitive women's field. And with that, I think team tactics could potentially be something in the future. I would love to be a part of that.”

On June 1, with the sun barely illuminating the throng of thousands gathered for multiple categories of races that begin on Commercial Street in downtown Emporia, the elite women will start at 6:05 a.m. CDT, five minutes after the elite men, and the amateur riders sett off 25 minutes later at 6:30 a.m. local time.

“The folks at Life Time and Unbound are helping us move closer and closer to get a fair race for women. It's a really tricky component of women's gravel racing, making it an extremely fair race for women. And right now we're not, we are just not quite there yet, but we're getting closer.

“But unfortunately, it'll probably be kind of going down to what group of dudes some of the women get into, just because that's how it always plays out, regardless of a separate start. But I mean, at the end of the day, that's the race that we have. So you play the game.”