Jumping for joy. Sofia Gomez Villafane celebrates her win at the Unbound finish line.(Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)
Sofia Gomez Villafane and Lauren De Crescenco congratulate one another after they both finish.(Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)
A joyous Whitney Allison chats with friends at the finish line about her forth place finish.(Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)
The start of the 200 mile race was delayed by 7 minutes because of an incoveniently timed freight train moving through Emporia.(Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)
With 6" of rain falling earlier in the week, and more rain forcast for race day, the roads were saturated and streams crossings were full. Isabel King (Los Angeles, CA) makes her way across the first major crossing at mile 28.(Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)
Riders got to experience a full range of Great Plains novelties including riding through an open range and having to dodge beef cattle.(Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)
Lauren De Crescenzo (Cinch Rise) spent a large portion of the day in second place in the women's field behind Sofia Gomez Villafane an Argentinian living in Heber City, UT.(Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)
A racer in the 100 mile event changes a flat tire brought on by the sharp flint rocks scattered throughout the course.(Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)
Emily Newsom (EF Education Tibco SVB) found time to smile for the camera as she rode herself into 3rd place on the day.(Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)
Melisa Rolins (Salt Lake City, UT) was all business as a fourth place in the Unbound Gravel event lifted her into 3rd in the Lifetime Grand Prix(Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)
Sofia Gomez Villafane uses her mountain bike skill set to easily naviagte a muddy descent.(Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)
Riders used paint stirrer stick to clean the heavy, sticky mud off of their bikes.(Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)
Lauren De Crescenzo descends a muddy potion of the course on foot after dealing with 3 seperate crashes.(Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)
Some riders chose to trudge through the wet swamp grass instead of risking getting their deraileurs clogged with the thick Emporia mud.(Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)
Sofia Gomez Villafane rode solo for over 80 miles to win the women’s 200-mile race of Garmin Unbound Gravel presented by Craft. Defending champion Lauren De Crescenzo finished in second place a little over nine minutes later, having endured three crashes during the event. Emily Newsom was third, another 12 minutes after De Crescenzo.
Gomez's winning time of 10:27:41 on a new southern route across the Flint Hills of Kansas was an hour and 33 minutes quicker than the 2021 winning time posted by De Crescenzo. After crossing the finish, she had time to walk backwards on the finish chute, covered in mud, to high-five fans in downtown Emporia, Kansas.
Gomez, who won the eight-day Cape Epic with teammate Haley Batten, used a smooth and super-quick 30-second transition at the first checkpoint 77 miles into the 200-mile event to take the lead in the women’s division for good.
"I was here to definitely prove a point. I wanted to show that mountain bikers can go fast and go long," Gomez said at the finish line. "I was going to be stoked to just to win a Life Time Grand Prix race, but to come out with the overall... it's a true testament to the hard work I have put in."
With the win Gomez took over the women’s lead in the Life Time Grand Prix series, as she placed second in the opening round at Sea Otter Classic in the Fuego XC 80K. The early lead had been held by Fuego winner Moriah Wilson, who was killed in a shooting three weeks ago in Austin, Texas, her murder still under investigation.
“I honestly barely rode any gravel in this off season. I have been training on TT bars on the road and never trained over five hours, so to put it together was really special. When you have your coach telling you that you are absolutely ready, you’ve done everything you can, [it helps]. I just have such a good team around me. So many people have been encouraging. I think this proved quite a lot. It was a good day and I’m definitely glad we were under 11 hours," Gomez said after completing her inaugural Unbound Gravel for the victory.
De Crescenzo said she had closed the gap to Gomez to under two minutes, but three falls in a muddy section around mile 125 ended her challenge for a close finish.
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“Today was a lot different than it was last year. The muddy sections were crazy, I crashed a couple of times because I’m a roadie, and I’m just happy with the result. It was a really fast course. The field continues to get deeper and deeper every year and it’s getting faster and faster,” De Crescenzo said.
How it unfolded
The mass start for all 200-mile riders began in downtown Emporia, Kansas and after a section of pavement began the trudge on a course oaked from heavy rainss earlier in the week, prompting organisers to modify the far southern section to eliminate a few miles of impassable roads due to flooding.
After 20 miles of racing, mountain bike specialists Lea Davison and Kaysee Armstrong rode together with a 30-second advantage over Gomez. Chasing just 10 seconds behind Gomez was Heather Jackson, then Sarah Sturm and Heidi Franz another nine seconds back. Lauren Stephens was among a small group of riders with Emily Newsom, Whitney Allison and Amber Neben to round out the top 10, 1:30 behind the leading duo.
At the first of two checkpoints on the 200-mile route at Eureka, at mile 77.3, Gomez rode at the front of the women’s field by several minutes. Jackson had moved into second place ahead of De Crescenzo in third, with Sarah Max, Whitney Allison, Katie Kantzes and Neben in close proximity. Heavy rains came down mid-way through the race.
On. the backside of Teeter Hill, with about 70 miles to go, Gomez continued in lead with two male riders, Jacob Rathe and Theo Gilbertson, for company, as the rain stopped on the course. By the time Gomez reach checkpoint two in Madison, with 35 miles to go, she had more than four minutes on second-placed De Crescenzo. She was riding solo on the muddy roads at this point, with more than seven hours in the saddle.
The Argentinian was off her bike and walking in the heavy mud on one of the long climbs between prairie fields of grass with 30 miles to go. She remounted for the tricky descent, falling off the bike twice in the water and mud on the rugged surface. Despite the miscues, she was able to extend her margin over second-placed De Crescenzo by 10 minutes. Behind, Newsom made a move to ride into third place
Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. On the bike, she has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast), and spends time on gravel around horse farms in north Georgia.
