Keegan Swenson and Carolin Schiff Win UNBOUND 200
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The 2023 edition of UNBOUND Gravel saw the largest field size in the event’s history, with more than 4,000 riders taking to the start line in Emporia, KS, this past Friday and Saturday. And for the first time ever, the 200-mile race had separate starts for the elite men and women in the hopes of giving each field its own dynamic race. Additionally, aero bars were banned for the elite riders, and the weather played a significant role in the day for amateurs and pros alike.
Keegan Swenson, 29, of Herber City, UT, and Carolin Schiff, 37, of Bremen, Germany, emerged victorious in the 200-mile elite category. While in the XL (350-mile race), Kristen Legan, 37, of Nederland, CO, and Logan Kasper, 29, of Baldwinville, MA, took home the wins after over twenty-two hours of racing overnight. Notably, in the XL race, Team Amani member Geoffrey Langat, 33, of Nairobi, Kenya, finished fourth at 25:36.
And in the 100-mile race, David Brower, 19, and UCI World Tour racer Tiffany Cromwell, 34, came out on top.
This year, the event featured the largest field size in its history, but also saw a large number of DNFs (participants who “did not finish”) due to the rough weather and road conditions. Taking on the grueling courses through the Flint Hills region, the racers experienced a mix of rain, high heat, and humidity, as well as muddy roads that forced many, if not all, racers to run and walk certain sections of the course. About 307 riders (8 percent of registrants) abandoned the event across the multiple categories, with 192 of those abandons coming from the 100-mile race.
How the elite races played out
After overnight showers the night before, the day started off cool and damp, with a full moon in sight as the racers lined up on Commercial Street at five in the morning. In the first ten miles of the hotly contested race, the pace was slowed down by a section of the unmaintained road that quickly turned into thick mud and significantly slowed down the race—organizers had an alternative plan-b route, but decided not to use it. Riders were forced to run alongside their bikes or take to the grass for grip.
The damp and muddy morning was followed by high heat and hair-curling humidity that many riders had trouble acclimating to. But this wasn’t a problem for our leaders in both the men’s and women’s fields, who consistently increased the pace as they reached drier roads despite temps hitting 87 degrees and 90 percent humidity.
The day eventually dried up—not for long tho—and the speeds picked up as the elite racers hit the first aid station at mile 42, where a group of seven riders containing Swenson, Peter Stetina, Laurens Ten Dam, Ian Boswell, Petr Vacok, Russell Finsterwald, and Lachlan Morton came in together swapping hydration packs, spray-washing bikes, and receiving other support from their respective crews. About fifteen minutes later, last year’s women’s winner, Sofia Gomez Villafañe, 29, arrived at her support crew, but she wasn’t alone. By that time, Schiff, racing for Canyon, had caught up to the Specialized rider, to the surprise of many. Two weeks prior, Schiff had won Gravel Locos in Hico, TX. Alexis Skarda and Sarah Sturm followed a few minutes later, while 2021’s winner, Lauren de Crescenzo, trailed another fifteen minutes behind the leaders and would eventually abandon the race.
Halfway through the race, at mile 110, the men’s leading group was still working well together and increasing their pace as they headed toward the city of Hamilton. Meanwhile, live standings of the women’s race at the 105-mile checkpoint showed a 6” gap between Schiff and Gomez Villafañe, which Schiff managed to extend by over three minutes once she reached the 110-mile marker driving a relentless pace. Despite the efforts of the chase group, Schiff’s gap continued to stretch, and by marker 125, it stretched to seven minutes.
At the neutral aid station in Hamilton, riders who had been part of the chase groups in the pro men’s were found spent, laying stretched out on the grass or crouching down and questioning whether to call it quits or continue due to the increasing gap to the men’s leading group and the uncomfortable weather conditions. Travis McCabe and Eric Brunner were some of the riders who abandoned the men’s race. And between mile markers 106 and 145, Skarda, Ruth Winder, and Crystal Anthony had also abandoned their race.
Back in Emporia, the crowds anxiously awaited the arrival of the elite fields. In a sprint finish, Swenson beat Vakoc and Morton, redeeming himself from last year’s loss, and completed the 200-mile course in a time of 10:06. “I had flashbacks of last year going into the last hill, and I tried to play my cards a little bit better. I am super excited to have been able to pull it together,” said Swenson.
While the leading men finished on a mostly dry course, heavy rainfall poured over the leading women about 20 miles out. An hour and forty minutes later, with a finishing time of 11:46, Schiff crossed the finish line, triumphantly beating Gomez Villafañe by fifteen minutes. Sarah Sturm finished in third place, trailing seven minutes behind. “I wasn’t sure if I did the right thing going away [solo] with so long to go, but I made it,” said Schiff.
“There was a lot of frustration, but I’m still proud. I did everything I could,” said Gomez Villafañe, who still leads the LifeTime Grand Prix alongside partner Swenson. The next race in the series is Crusher in the Tushar, a 69-mile gravel course in Beaver, UT, where racers will meet again on July 8, 2023.
Top 10 Results for UNBOUND 200
Elite Men’s
Keegan Swenson
Petr Vakoc
Lachlan Morton
Laurens Ten Dam
Ian Boswell
Russell Finsterwald
Peter Stetina
Adam Roberge
Zach Calton
Jasper Ockeloen
Elite Women’s
Carolin Schiff
Sofia Gomez Villafane
Sarah Sturm
Danni Shrosbree
Sarah Lange
Rebecca Fahringer
Haley Smith
Leah Van der Linden
Holly Mathews
Jade Treffeisen
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