10 contenders at Unbound Gravel – Can Swenson or Schiff make it two in a row?

Once a year, the gravel community turns all eyes with a laser-like focus to Emporia, Kansas. Winning Unbound Gravel is a coveted prize, whether the signature 200-mile event or one of the other four distances. The race started out in 2006 with under 40 riders, all men, and now captures the imagination around the globe with some of the best men's and women's riders from across disciplines, drawn to the Flint Hills of the central US plains to capture gravel's biggest prize.

Keegan Swenson (Santa Cruz Bicycles-SRAM) claimed one of the few big gravel results missing from his palmares when he won the elite men's race last year. Carolin Schiff (Canyon CLLCTV) delivered a debut performance in 2023 that shone through the mud and rain-soaked edition, leaving no doubt that she had found her cycling home when she fully committed to gravel at the start of the season. 

Both are lining up to defend their titles on June 1, but it has been many years since an elite rider has doubled up in the 200-mile race.

What's more, the competition is intensifying, with the trickle of international riders turning into a flood, so that now half the elite men's field is from outside the United States and a third of the elite women's field.

The draw to riders in other disciplines, too, is becoming ever more obvious with Matej Mohorič, who claimed the UCI Gravel World Championships on his debut, bringing the rainbow stripes to Kansas along with two of his Bahrain Victorious teammates.

Unbound Gravel 200 is also the second stop of the Life Time Grand Prix, so the majority of the 60-rider field in that season-long competition will be in Emporia, including 2023 women's champion Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-Road), who was second to Schiff last year.

The race is anything but predictable, with the serious potential for mechanicals and mishaps to strike out a number of the strongest and best-prepared riders. Cyclingnews has run the ruler over the start list and picked out the names of a number who seem to have what it takes to be at the front of the fields for the 200-mile and 100-mile races. 

Women's Elite Unbound 200

Carolin Schiff

• Unbound record - 2023 winner

When Carolin Schiff (Canyon CLLCTV) lined up for Unbound in 2023, she wasn’t exactly an unknown. She did get a mention in our contenders' preview after all, but the German also wasn’t exactly the first name that rolled off the tongue when talking race favourites. It was, after all, her debut at Unbound, but her impressive performances in Europe at the UCI Gravel World Series and with a Traka 200 win plus, in the US, a victory at the 2023 Gravel Locos were a warning shot to her rivals. There will, however, be no question marks over her status this year, with Schiff not only the defending champion at Unbound but also coming into the race once again with the Traka 200 win behind her.

This time Schiff has the experience and the confidence to know just what she can achieve at the race on her side, however, there are elements of her preparation that haven’t been ideal. Schiff crashed at the 3RIDES Gravel World Series race in Aachen earlier in May, and the result was, as she put it in an Instagram post, “ a big, deep and dirty cut that had to be fixed in the hospital”. Still, she was quickly back on the bike, so there is no reason to discount the rider who crossed the line first last year.

Sofia Gomez Villafañe

• Unbound record - 2023 second, 2022 winner

So what race hasn’t Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road) won in the past two seasons where she was the favourite? It is a very short list, and the first one that jumps off the page is second place at Unbound 200 last year. She won three of the Life Time Grand Prix races wrapped around Unbound last year to secure the series title, plus added victories at BWR Arizona and SBT GRVL Black Course. 

She started the 2024 Grand Prix by winning Sea Otter Classic Fuego XL a second time with the flat bars. The Argentine-born rider returned to Cape Epic in the spring with new partner Samara Sheppard in the team-focused stage race for a block of racing leading to Unbound 200, looking at a formula that worked well in 2022 when she won both races. After a top 3 in South Africa, Villafañe was in top form and went straight back to winning with the drop bars, as she defended her title at BWR Arizona and then won the inaugural Valley of Tears.

“Unbound is a race where you can not go into it with a solid race plan as the dynamics of the race are unpredictable, and the weather can have a major impact on how things unfold,” the 30-year-old told Cyclingnews. But what is predictable is that the 2022 Unbound Champion can win it all again.

Geerike Schreurs

• Unbound record - 2024 debut

The one-time road racer turned soigneur, and then gravel racer has quickly made a considerable mark on the sport. Geerike Schreurs dipped the toe into the discipline last year but then launched with full force in 2024 as she signed up to represent SD Worx-Protime on the gravel. The rider, who has largely raced gravel in Europe so far, made the trip over to the US earlier this year for the Belgian Waffle Ride Arizona, coming fourth but has been working her way up the podium as the season has progressed. 

In the UCI Gravel World Series Wörthersee in April, it was second, then came The Traka, when Schreurs tested out her ability to perform in a race even longer than Unbound, choosing the 360km option. That was when the Dutch rider made her claim as a contender clear, coming second behind Karolina Migon and in front of Sarah Sturm. Then, to confirm her form, she took first at The Gralloch round of the UCI Gravel World Series in mid-May. 

They were results that make Schreurs hard to ignore, as does the jersey of the powerful road team who knows all too well how to time form peaks to perfections. Plus, there is no longer any room to rule out the possibility of a European debut rider winning, not after Schiff's performance in 2023. 

Sarah Sturm

• Unbound record - 2023 third, 2022 seventh

Sarah Sturm (Specialized) returns for her third Unbound 200, where she finished in the top 10 both times, including third last year. The Colorado resident comes in with high marks from recent races, including third at The Traka 360, third at The Growler and top 10s at Sea Otter Classic Fuego XL and The Mid South. 

Part of her homework to prepare for the second stop in her Life Time Grand Prix requirements was to travel to Kansas a week early and recon the north course. “I think I have medal potential; I’d like to throw my name into that hat,” she said.

Lauren De Crescenzo

• Unbound record - 2023 DNF, 2022 second, 2021 winner

Lauren De Crescenzo has moved into the privateer realm of off-road racing for 2024, but the lack of an organised team environment has not slowed her down in any way as a solo LDC. The 2021 Unbound Gravel 200 champion returns for another victory on the north course. She’s on form with a third consecutive victory at The Mid South in March and a win at the newly-created spring classics-style The Growler road race. 

A former road pro, De Crescenzo put the gravel bike aside for the US Pro Road National Championships, where she finished fifth in the elite women’s road race.

She’s back for another season in the Life Time Grand Prix, where 2023 found her with a victory at The Rad Dirt Fest and podiums at Crusher in the Tushar and Big Sugar Gravel. Unbound Gravel 200 is her big target.

Also in the mix

• It was straight from a win in the UCI Gravel World Series at La Indomable to victory at The Traka 360 for Karolina Migon (PAS Normal), showing she's got both the gravel form and staying power over a long distance that is essential for Unbound.
•  It's a strong Australian contingent in the women's race this year, with Tiffany Cromwell (Canyon-SRAM) swapping over from the 100, where she has a winning record and Australian champion Justine Barrow drew the attention with a win at the SEVEN UCI World Series race followed by victory at Gravel Locos, even though a challenging recovery from a shoulder injury may have left her with a less than ideal preparation. Then there is also Matilda Raynolds (Team Bridgelane), who has claimed victory at the longest gravel race in the nation the Dirty Warrny.
• There are a couple of other former Unbound 200 winners on the start line as well, in 2019 victor Amity Rockwell (PAS Racing) and last year's 360 winner Kristen Legan.

Men's Elite Unbound 200

Keegan Swenson

• Unbound record - 2023 winner, 2022 second

In 2023, Keegan Swenson (Santa Cruz Bicycles) won the first four races in the Life Time Grand Prix series, including Unbound Gravel 200. He’s the king of US gravel and even has the stars-and-stripes jersey to prove it. 

The 30-year-old from Utah is proud of a mass collection of trophies, which include back-to-back wins at SBT GRVL on the black course and a new course record last year in his third consecutive win at Leadville Trail 100 MTB. 

Unbound Gravel 200 is a beast, and Swenson has spent a full training block training for a third title. With rain in the forecast to turn dirt roads into mud again, he has been focused on ‘pounding the pedals’ and ‘panic packing all of my Maxxis tires’. 

Challenger and reigning gravel world champion Matej Mohorič asked Swenson on social media if they should use slick tyres “for the extra challenge”. Even that might not slow down Swenson.

Petr Vakoč

• Unbound record - 2023 second

It was a sprint to the line last year in Unbound 2023, and Petr Vakoč was bested by Keegan Swenson, but coming so close in the event "really made me believe that racing gravel is the right path for me," said the Czech rider in his end of season wrap up. 

The former road professional had made a relatively late decision to join the fray last year as an independent racer, but now the Isadore Canyon rider is entering with a team behind him and the knowledge of just what he can do in the discipline and at the event.

He added a couple of UCI Gravel World Series round wins to his tally in 2023 and has already started his victory list for 2024, claiming the opening prologue and overall at the Sata Vall stage race in Spain and The Traka 200 at the start of the month, topping Jasper Ockeloen. 

With another season of experience and the knowledge that comes with a subsequent appearance at the race, there is no telling what Vakoč could do the second time around.

Matej Mohorič

• Unbound record - 2024 debut

The road professional hasn't been a regular on the gravel scene, but on his very first race in the discipline, he claimed the UCI World Championship, winning the 2023 race solo even after a late crash. As a result, the Slovenian will be lining up in the rainbow jersey, one that hasn't exactly been out and about in racing, given the Bahrain-Victorious rider's heavy commitments with his WorldTour team.

The rider will face a considerably different challenge when he lines up in Emporia than the one that unfolded in Veneto, Italy. For a start, the distance is far longer than the 163km World Championships and with far more gravel and possibly mud than the course where he claimed the rainbow bands, which was only about half unpaved. 

Still, he'll be doing just his second gravel race with two of his road teammates by his side Matevž Govekar and Lukas Wiśniowski. "It's double the distance, double the time, and double the elevation gain, so it suits riders with more endurance and stamina. I'm not sure how I will go against the others, but I will definitely do my best, and enjoy my day out in the rainbow jersey as the current World Champion," said Mohorič.

Peter Stetina

• Unbound record - 2023 seventh, 2022 eighth, 2021 third, 2019 second

Peter Stetina (Canyon) is one of the stalwarts at Unbound Gravel 200, and gravel racing in general, having switched from Grand Tours to gravel adventures in 2019. It’s his fifth appearance in the signature event, finishing every time in the top 10 with podium spots in 2019 and 2021. 

It is interesting that the two years he finished second and third were on the northern route, where Unbound heads on June 1 for only a third time in its 18-year history.

"I've had a great spring, which takes the pressure off a bit heading into the race, but in gravel, things can change in an instant, especially on the northern course at Unbound,” Stetina said at a recent Unbound Gravel press conference. 

The 36-year-old has indeed been great this year, with the overall title at BWR Triple Crown, including the win at BWR Utah, the overall title at the Grasshopper Adventure Series, with the win at Ukia-Mendo Gravel Epic, and the top prize in early May at The Traka 360. 

An early indication that Stetina should be back on the podium in Kansas is his familiarity with the north route and his form on a very muddy Traka course. Forecasts call for two days of rain prior to the start this Saturday, so Stetina may have an advantage on a route littered with saturated soil and slippery flint rocks.

Matt Beers

• Unbound record – 2023 11th

The South African is heading toward his second Unbound, once again with a Cape Epic title to show for his early season efforts. The difference is that he also "cracked the code" of US gravel racing to take victory at the Belgian Waffle Ride California and has a year of experience racing the Life Time series in the US under his belt. 

As it did for many, Unbound last year threw up a number of challenges for Beers on his debut, and he ended up in 11th. A year on, however, Beers is entering the race with the benefit of knowing what he is in for and the incentive to build on his solid start to the Life Time Grand Prix series after taking third at the Fuego XL. 

The Specialized Off-road racer had a rough run in the series last year, plunging out of the top ten when he crashed at Big Sugar, and suffered a shoulder separation and broken ribs. 

However, with an intensified focus on the block of racing and longer stints planned in the US, a solid result at Unbound is just what Beers needs to consolidate his position as a contender for those sports right near the top of the results table.

Also in the mix

• A large contingency of Dutch contenders will line up in Empoira, led by Laurens ten Dam, Jasper Ockeloen and Niki Terpstra. All three raced the 150-mile Gravel Locos in Texas and came away with top 10s, with Terpstra second overall. Ten Dam tested his ulta-endurance this spring and won the non-stop Transcordilleras gravel race across Colombia. Ockeloen has a string of top results including second overall at BWR California and The Traka 200.
• Brendan Johnston is on a roll, having just won the Australian MTB Marathon nation title and victory at the SEVEN Gravel World Series race in Nannup. The results have been building in the US for the Giant Off-Road rider and he generally copes well with longer distances.
•  Lachlan Morton, who was an impressive third in last year’s seven-rider sprint at Unbound 200. This year he finished eighth at BWR California and competed at his third Cape Epic.
• Among the long list of US contenders is gravel newcomer Chad Haga, a recent convert from the WorldTour peloton. He finished third at The Traka 360 and fourth overall at Santa Vall gravel stage race in Spain. It is his debut at Unbound Gravel 200.
• Doubtful to start is 2022 Unbound 200 men’s winner Ivar Slik, the Dutch rider hospitalised last week with a severe concussion suffered on a training ride in Arkansas. Also missing from the list of contenders is USA’s Alexey Vermeulen, who was fifth in 2022, as he takes a break from racing to attend his brother’s wedding. 

Unbound 100

Unbound Gravel 200 isn’t the only game in town, with the focus of that signature event on the 209 elite racers from the 1480 on the start line. There are a total of 5,000 participants at Unbound Gravel in 2024, a new record, across five total distances, and the Unbound Gravel 100 has the single largest field with a total of 1829 starters.

Headliners among the elite racers in the 100-mile race include Alison Tetrick, Caroline Mani, Kaya Musgrave and Flavia Oliveira Parks on the women’s side. On the men’s side, look for battles among retired pro road veterans Travis McCabe and Tom Danielson. US cyclocross champion Jake Wells is in the field, and is a wild card as he has experience from 2022 in the 200-mile race.

Tetrick is a former road pro turned gravel gladiator, and she marked her foray into off-road racing in 2017 and won the 200-mile race in Kansas. She finished third the next year and second in 2019. She rode the 200 distance three more times, but each year outside the top 10. This marks her first time to ride the 100-mile event.

The six-time Unbound 200 finisher will be tough to beat on the women’s side, but Oliveira Parks could do just that. Across high-elevation gravel events, she finished on the podium at SBT GRVL twice (2021 and 2023). This season she won the 75-mile Ukiah-Mendo Gravel Epic and was third at 68-mile Highlands Gravel. Like Tetrick, she had a road career and turned to gravel four years ago. She returned to her road bike at The Growler and finished fourth on a hilly and bumpy course almost suited for a gravel bike.

Two cyclocross riders to watch are French rider Caroline Mani and US rider Kaya Musgrave. They represent two ends of the spectrum, Mani having raced on the road and off-road for 16 years and Musgrave, at 17 years of age, demonstrating a big engine across technical terrain. Mani has a proven record at Unbound 200, where she finished 21st among elite women so the 100-mile test should be a good one.

McCabe is in the veteran category like Mani, the 35-year-old having a stellar career on the road until he retired from the WorldTour in 2020. He gave it a try at Unbound 200 last year, but withdrew after 124 miles and ended in the “what the hell did I just get myself into” category. He was 24th at BWR California this spring, so the 100-mile distance is in his wheelhouse.

Danielson is new to gravel, having top 20 results this year at Belgian Waffle Ride Utah and The Mid South. He had stepped out of the limelight of racing in 2015 when he tested positive for synthetic testosterone, which was a second strike following a six-month ban in 2012. and had been coaching Lauren De Crescenzo for a few years, but she is now solo.