Bikes of Unbound – Before and after

Unbound Gravel showcased one of the most epic events on the calendar this year due to unruly spring weather that created one of the muddiest, yet fastest, editions in its history. Held in Emporia, Kansas, on June 3, Ivar Slik stormed to victory in 9:22:04 ahead of a photo finish sprint for second place awarded to runner-up Keegan Swenson and third-placed Ian Boswell. Sofia Gomez Villafane rode solo for over 80 miles to claim the women’s title in 10:27:40, as Lauren De Crescenzo finished second and Emily Newsom third.

Further back riders crossed the line one-by-one or in small groups with mud caked to their bikes after remarkable feats of endurance. Cyclingnews looks at the bikes of Unbound Gravel – before and after. Wooden paint sticks With rain in the forecast, wooden paint sticks were visible in many jersey pockets on race day at Unbound Gravel.

Those mysterious sticks are used to clear out glopping, heavy clay that can make a well running bike unusable in a matter of moments. If the distance, endless hills, and sharp flint rocks weren’t enough natural elements to contend with, mud that turns to the consistency of peanut butter and clings to absolutely everything added a further level of spice to the epic race. Image 1 of 8A beautiful, immaculate Lauf beforehand (Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)Image 2 of 8Kae Takeshita’s Lauf (Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)Image 3 of 8And after, still recognisable if only through the fork (Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)Image 4 of 8Kae’s bike post-race (Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)Image 5 of 8Sofia Gomez Villafane opted to race on a Crux rather than a Diverge like fellow Specialized athletes Laurens ten Dam and Ian Boswell.

This specialized looks in showroom condition (Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)Image 6 of 8Sofia Gomez Villafane’s aero bar set up (Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)Image 7 of 8And here you’d be hard pushed to even see the Specialized logos. Like many riders, Sofia Gomez Villafane used a top-tube bag for quick access to nutrition. (Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)Image 8 of 8Sofia Gomez Villafane’s Specialized post-race (Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography) Sloppy, rutted mud paths Riders set off under cool, moody, but dry skies that lasted much of the morning.

With temperatures in the low 60’s and a faster southern course, the race was on pace to be by far the fastest Unbound to date. Around midday, the sky finally opened up. Fast-rolling dirt roads transformed into slippery, sloppy, rutted mud paths within minutes.

Even a brief touch of the brakes could spell disaster. Both Keegan Swenson and Ian Boswell crashed at the front of the race in a particularly slick section of Jeep-track but were able to remount their machines and ride to second and third place respectively. Image 1 of 4Second place finisher, Lauren de Crescenzo raced on nearly the same bike as last year, a sleek looking Colnago G3X (Image credit: Snowy Mountain)Image 2 of 4The bike was looking decidedly less sleek after 200 miles.

De Crescenzo’s 1x Sram drivetrain was a good idea of what the conditions were like in the later part of the race. (Image credit: Snowy Mountain)Image 3 of 4EF Education-Easy Post rider Alex Howes raced on Cannondale SuperSix EVO SE. Howes ran a 52×36 with a Shimano Dura Ace DI2 front derailleur.

(Image credit: Snowy Mountain)Image 4 of 4Every part of Howes’ bike was covered in Flint Hills grime. He had a lightweight tube neatly tucked below his bottle cage that apparently he didn’t need. (Image credit: Snowy Mountain) From ice to glue The rain fell steadily for several hours before finally letting up.

This can make conditions go from bad to worse. Once the rain stopped, the mud set and within minutes the conditions went from ice to glue. The drying mud quickly changed viscosity and cruelly grabbed at tires, chains, brake rotors and anywhere else it could latch on to.

Many riders including first and second place females, Sofia Gomez Villafane and Lauren De Crescenzo were forced to dismount and run with their bikes. There are no team cars with spare bikes in gravel, beyond the two official check-points, riders have to manage the conditions and their equipment themselves. Image 1 of 4Whitney Allison raced on an Ibis Hakka MS that was clean to begin with.

White is certainly a bold choice for an Unbound bike, even without the mud (Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)Image 2 of 4A clean, front cockpit with ENVE AR-bar and aero stem. (Image credit: Snowy Mountain)Image 3 of 4As you can see, white rarely stays white on the flint roads of Kansas (Image credit: Snowy Mountain Photography)Image 4 of 4Whitney Allison went for old fashioned course markings on her handlebar, even if they were a little obscured by the end of the day. (Image credit: Snowy Mountain).