Unbound Gravel reveals 2026 route with south and north features combined to include 'potentially muddy' sections

Just a little over two weeks before the 20th anniversary edition of Life Time Unbound Gravel presented by Shimano unfolds, routes have been revealed. The signature Unbound 200 race will deviate from a largely northern or southern loop from heading out from Emporia and into the Flint Hills of Kansas and mix the two past routes as in a hybrid clockwise pattern with a new third checkpoint.

The showcase event on May 30, which provides points in the Life Time Grand Prix, racks up 207 miles (333km) with over 9,000 feet (2,743m) of climbing.

“This year’s route rolls south out of Emporia before looping back in from the north, combining iconic sectors from both directions with new roads that add a fresh challenge. It’s a course that brings together some of the most memorable terrain from the past 20 years into one truly special edition of Unbound Gravel," Michelle Duffy, director of the Life Time Grand Prix, said in a press release.

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"With free live coverage on the Life Time Grand Prix YouTube channel, fans around the world will be able to follow every mile of this historic edition of Life Time Unbound Gravel presented by Shimano.”

The race headed out of Emporia into the north the last two editions, but in 2026 will run south from the start with a similar opening section of the route to the last one that ran south, the notoriously tough, peanut butter mud edition of 2023, but cuts out a slightly altered path. Riders will hit Yy road at 15 miles in for a rolling uphill section towards what locals know as the 'Towers climb' with chunky gravel, creek crossings and perhaps mud if it rains.

After that the route of Unbound 200 heads toward the first checkpoint in Madison, with amateurs and elites having separate, although nearby, stops this year.

A challenge awaits between mile 59 to 63 for Texaco Hill, this climb a become a staple of the southern courses in the past.

"This hill is notorious," said organisers in a course description video on YouTube. "It's been featured on many Unbound Gravel courses, what you can look for this year is a mile to a mile and half of steady 2-5% grades and once you get to the top you get a little bit of flat, steady, even riding before you bomb down the other side."

That means time for riders to take in the views from the ridge will quickly be over, as the loose and twisty descent requires concentration, and hopefully the water bottles will still be in the holder by the end. After that it's straight into Teter hill, a 1-mile climb with gradients of over 10%.

Now heading to the north again, Matfield Green delivers the second checkpoint at mile 98.9 and then heads toward a rolling section on Sharps Creek Rd, which hasn't been used in the race since 2015. Up next is a completely new section which lies to the west of Emporia, W road, with organisers saying "it is chunky, it is rocky, it has got a creek crossing, it has got grass, it has got everything you could ever want".

The second half of the race sees the course navigate W Road at mile 130, which is a new section for Unbound 200, then enters Council Grove at mile 163, the northernmost section of this year's course. This is also the third checkpoint of the race.

After that there is DD Avenue with its rolling, rocky and, what organisers warned, could be "potentially muddy" terrain at mile 174.

Lake Kahola, where riders cross the dam wall, signals mile marker 178 and 30 miles to go. There is one last climb of the day to follow, the paved Highland Hill at Emporia State University before the final charge to on Commercial Street, where last year Karolina Migoń and Cameron Jones claimed victory.

Unbound 100 mile carves out a similar path at the beginning to the 200 but once at Madison heads to the north-east instead, before winding its way back to Emporia. The XL, on the other hand, heads west when it starts on Friday May 29 before heading down to Madison, dropping as far south as Eureka and then also working its way up beyond Council Grove in the north before heading back toward the Emporia finish line to complete the 357 mile challenge.

Checkpoints / Elite Feed Zones

• #1 - Madison, mile 43.5
• #2 - Matfield, mile 98.9
• #3 - Council Grove, mile 163

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