It was a fast and furious Unbound Gravel 200 in 2024, with the peanut butter mud that decimated the field last year out of the equation and a stacked, unrelenting field in both the pro men’s and pro women’s category of the race in the gravel heartland of Emporia, Kansas.
The conditions and the tactics meant the bunches stayed together far longer than usual, and the extended gaps before and after the pro women’s start were a game changer. The riders in the women’s category had their opportunity to truly race each other, without complication or influence from those outside the category.
With clear air, the dynamic of the women’s race was completely altered and the finish produced a novel scenario. The women who were so often dispersed through the much larger men’s field, headed into the final mile with a lead group of nine and the race ended with a sprint. It was part-time racer and full-time PhD student Rosa Klöser (MAAP-Rose) that claimed the biggest victory in the gravel world.
In the men’s race, it came down to two as Lachlan Morton (EF Education-EasyPost) and Chad Haga (PAS racing) spent around 80 miles working seamlessly in a break but now had to settle 203 miles (327 km) of racing with a final dash to the line. The Australian Morton leaned on his experience of the technical run into Emporia and in his fourth participation at the race everything fell perfectly into place.
The winners may have been crowned and the race reports written, but now you can take a closer look at how the race played out with the hour-long Unbound Gravel highlights package just having dropped.
