{"id":245944,"date":"2026-05-30T18:20:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T18:20:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/30\/unbound-gravel-200-live-wurtz-schmidt-with-big-lead-on-two-chasers-with-50-miles-to-go-as-five-riders-pull-away-in-womens-race\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T18:20:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T18:20:46","slug":"unbound-gravel-200-live-wurtz-schmidt-with-big-lead-on-two-chasers-with-50-miles-to-go-as-five-riders-pull-away-in-womens-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/30\/unbound-gravel-200-live-wurtz-schmidt-with-big-lead-on-two-chasers-with-50-miles-to-go-as-five-riders-pull-away-in-womens-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Unbound Gravel 200 LIVE: W\u00fcrtz Schmidt with big lead on two chasers with 50 miles to go as five riders pull away in women&#8217;s race"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p>Refresh <i class=\"fa fa-refresh\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T18:18:11+00:00\">2026-05-30T18:18:11.649Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-0562f02b-b322-4ae0-a4db-e5259c9adab5\">Interesting combination in the lead group as team tactics will come into play with teammates Gomez Villafa\u00f1e and Schreurs vs solo riders.<\/p>\n<p>Reminder that the group also includes two previous winners Kl\u00f6ser (2024) and Gomez Villafa\u00f1e (2022).<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T18:11:25+00:00\">2026-05-30T18:11:25.505Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-a982fe2a-a3f9-4fa1-a790-62fd6d321122\">Report that winds are impacting the race with strong headwind.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T18:10:48+00:00\">2026-05-30T18:10:48.323Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-c0ea853b-5370-4190-afcc-5a0e82dc864c\">Onweller catches back onto the lead group, after being dropped on W road. Again. Back to five riders in the lead group.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T18:06:51+00:00\">2026-05-30T18:06:51.240Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-a8a6673f-c95f-4bc4-b818-131719d4ba14\">Kl\u00f6ser is back with the front group with Onweller 11 seconds back after 140 miles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T18:05:41+00:00\">2026-05-30T18:05:41.261Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-81ba4eca-4e92-415f-acbd-17a9ee68f4cb\">Mile 136 is beyond the Preserve and the course bends back to the west to the third and final Feed Zone for pros &#8211; at approximately mile 149.6 &#8211; approximately 57 miles to go.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T18:03:22+00:00\">2026-05-30T18:03:22.360Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-3aa87aa8-aaff-4316-8eab-ecd6524ad94c\">The course passes to the east of the famous Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, established in 1996 to protect a significant remnant of the once vast tallgrass prairie ecosystem &#8211; many rare plants and rare species of birds and other animals. Tallgrass prairie once covered 170 million acres of North America in what is now the US and Canada, but now only 4% remains.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T18:03:06+00:00\">2026-05-30T18:03:06.989Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race-79-miles-to-go\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race-79-miles-to-go\"><span>Women&#8217;s race &#8211; 79 miles to go<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-5e437802-6949-4137-8e37-0b8602f38abf\">After 128 miles, three riders in the lead group: Gomez Villafa\u00f1e, Schreurs, Decker<\/p>\n<p>Kl\u00f6ser was 20 seconds back, a few seconds ahead of Onweller<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-5e437802-6949-4137-8e37-0b8602f38abf-2\">Kroger is 7 minutes behind.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T18:00:18+00:00\">2026-05-30T18:00:18.043Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-a0990af6-11b8-4972-ba53-d564982d8a2a\">Jones has lost one minute in one kilometre. No visible mechanical issue to be seen,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T17:58:06+00:00\">2026-05-30T17:58:06.700Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-8effb196-43fd-4b71-93df-876126309f12\">Chase duo is going through Council Grove, the northernmost section of this year&#8217;s course<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T17:52:15+00:00\">2026-05-30T17:52:15.123Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-9cc687ec-cbc3-4ab5-8459-2d08525d72d6\">Jones has drifted off of the chase group, doesn\u2019t seem to be a mechanical.<\/p>\n<p>Chase group is now down to 2 riders: Beers and Kongstad<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T17:47:48+00:00\">2026-05-30T17:47:48.835Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-c4bf03a6-839b-460a-8c1c-15dd4dee7064\">W\u00fcrtz Schmidt is crossing Council Grove, racing on approximately 10 miles of paved roads in this area.<\/p>\n<p>He is heading towards Flint Hill trails which is may provide 5 miles of recovery.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T17:42:41+00:00\">2026-05-30T17:42:41.718Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race-56-miles-to-go\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race-56-miles-to-go\"><span>Men&#8217;s race &#8211; 56 miles to go<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-d0471ff1-67cb-4002-89aa-002910ec8b09\">After 151 miles of racing, W\u00fcrtz Schmidt has around 7 minutes on chase group of Jones, Kongstad and Beers.<\/p>\n<p>Johnston is a further 2 minutes back<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T17:38:40+00:00\">2026-05-30T17:38:40.674Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s Race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-b65c9c22-5d5e-4e53-9729-621cb20490c8\">Coming out W Road, Gomez Villafa\u00f1e and Decker pulled briefly away but Kl\u00f6ser was able to catch back on while Onweller is chasing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T17:29:32+00:00\">2026-05-30T17:29:32.929Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-unbound-xl\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-unbound-xl\"><span>Unbound XL<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-8ad7b318-7e76-4d2e-963f-02138cb2b193\">Gimperle says he was throwing up in the night and ran\/walked roughly a half marathon due to the mud.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T17:28:36+00:00\">2026-05-30T17:28:36.959Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-f9433b68-9e00-40ea-b3de-f03086dc6bdf\">The chasers have been caught at a level crossing as a train passes them. Absolutely massive freight train.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T17:26:26+00:00\">2026-05-30T17:26:26.131Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-d90fe540-2ed0-487f-a300-55e248d8f1db\">W\u00fcrtz Schmidt has stopped in the third and final aid station and is now riding again after getting a new back wheel. He has 7&#8217;00&#8221; on Jones, Beers, Johnston and Kongstad.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T17:25:12+00:00\">2026-05-30T17:25:12.209Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-7181266c-feb1-4704-9abf-86a5df59fa8b\">The two Specialized rider make it through the first ford crossing but everyone else comes down in the water and are now struggling to get going again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T17:23:42+00:00\">2026-05-30T17:23:42.662Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-7def3348-cf9c-4f29-a528-1af9d5b255d1\">The leaders head onto the brand new MMR section of W Road. It is a 1 mile mess, really. Just grass and rocks, not gravel at all as Schreurs goes to the front.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T17:22:22+00:00\">2026-05-30T17:22:22.675Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-unbound-xl-finish\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-unbound-xl-finish\"><span>Unbound XL finish<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-da3958be-836a-4322-9ee6-a1e0b2fef612\">Robin Gemperle has crossed the line and wins the 2026 Unbound XL in 21 hours and 16 minutes. He set off at 3pm yesterday. Incredible ride in awful conditions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T17:08:28+00:00\">2026-05-30T17:08:28.410Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-7be928dd-d2d0-4052-ac79-92b231d5a4e5\">Swenson is finally back riding again. That took a huge amount of time and has wrecked his race.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T17:04:45+00:00\">2026-05-30T17:04:45.508Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-9c5c13cc-5d4c-4142-9322-515053276d56\">Swenson has been caught and passed by the chase group as he still tries to sort things. He finally gets riding again.<\/p>\n<p>The chasers of Beers, Herzog, Jones, Freeburn, Johnston and Kongstad fly by with Swenson stopping again! He has lost some key parts from his cassette. Absolute nightmare for the man who was a certainty for at least second and now won&#8217;t even get a top seven.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T17:00:21+00:00\">2026-05-30T17:00:21.252Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-ecb4dfe0-ebd5-426a-8f15-91f4da12fa23\">Romain Bardet abandons the race after being in the chase group. Meanwhile, Keegan Swenson is STILL working on this punctured wheel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T16:56:01+00:00\">2026-05-30T16:56:01.908Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-88d2e875-148c-4757-8fbd-297a8ce78946\">This is a very long change for W\u00fcrtz Schmidt and Swenson but now the Dane is on his way after losing about half the gap with Swenson waving bye to the motorbike camera.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T16:54:53+00:00\">2026-05-30T16:54:53.627Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race-68-miles\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race-68-miles\"><span>Men&#8217;s race (68 miles)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-9f014d4d-f040-4e64-ad92-8eef3c3cff10\"><strong>Puncture<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Mads W\u00fcrtz Schmidt with a major impact puncture and it is taking a long time to get it sorted. Swenson has stopped with him as the gap will be coming down but they are being very calm about this.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-9f014d4d-f040-4e64-ad92-8eef3c3cff10-2\">Swenson is giving his wheel to W\u00fcrtz Schmidt. This is major drama. The Specialized squad clearly have W\u00fcrtz Schmidt as the leader with Swenson struggling.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T16:52:04+00:00\">2026-05-30T16:52:04.221Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-7365e403-7a50-49b5-aba1-6c920e8febf3\">Onweller was briefly gapped and the leaders pushed hard to try and drop her but she has made it back on again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T16:46:09+00:00\">2026-05-30T16:46:09.426Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-ca5e809e-76c8-48d4-a186-75f3be25bef9\">The leaders in the men&#8217;s race have 72 miles to go whereas the women&#8217;s leading group of five have 93 miles to go.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T16:43:32+00:00\">2026-05-30T16:43:32.302Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-5523381c-c86f-473a-8aa6-0a7b20a04cf3\">Some biggest names crashed out of the 200 and the XL with rainstorms causing havoc in the various pelotons&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&gt;&gt;&gt; <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/rainstorm-came-in-and-changed-everything-peter-stetina-and-ted-king-crash-out-of-unbound-xl-while-lachlan-morton-is-the-first-casualty-in-200-mile-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/rainstorm-came-in-and-changed-everything-peter-stetina-and-ted-king-crash-out-of-unbound-xl-while-lachlan-morton-is-the-first-casualty-in-200-mile-race\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/rainstorm-came-in-and-changed-everything-peter-stetina-and-ted-king-crash-out-of-unbound-xl-while-lachlan-morton-is-the-first-casualty-in-200-mile-race\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>&#8216;Rainstorm came in and changed everything&#8217; &#8211; Peter Stetina and Ted King crash out of Unbound XL while Lachlan Morton is the first casualty in 200-mile race<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\" id=\"elk-0da8e568-0942-47ef-bb22-2f31c50f5940\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:4128px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:66.67%;\"> <picture data-new-v2-image=\"true\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/67XGhJDDRM8sVdfqr6NuPY-1200-80.jpg.webp 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/67XGhJDDRM8sVdfqr6NuPY-1024-80.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/67XGhJDDRM8sVdfqr6NuPY-970-80.jpg.webp 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/67XGhJDDRM8sVdfqr6NuPY-650-80.jpg.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/67XGhJDDRM8sVdfqr6NuPY-480-80.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/67XGhJDDRM8sVdfqr6NuPY-320-80.jpg.webp 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\"\/>\n<\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Future l Ethan Glading)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T16:38:36+00:00\">2026-05-30T16:38:36.884Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race-75-miles-to-go\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race-75-miles-to-go\"><span>Men&#8217;s race (75 miles to go)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-3114f2cb-8422-4deb-982d-4750c658d507\">Swenson and W\u00fcrtz Schmidt have 9&#8217;00&#8221; on the chase group that have now caught Freeburn. They have a huge gap.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T16:37:08+00:00\">2026-05-30T16:37:08.027Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-dfe27af1-d6bc-440f-a33b-e7f5865062b5\">Take a look at what happened earlier on in the day with the riders facing difficult thick and gloopy mud that caused various crashes as well as completely clogging up the bikes.<\/p>\n<p>&gt;&gt;&gt; <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/the-mud-mayhem-arrives-again-early-at-unbound-200-with-fields-shattered-early\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/the-mud-mayhem-arrives-again-early-at-unbound-200-with-fields-shattered-early\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/the-mud-mayhem-arrives-again-early-at-unbound-200-with-fields-shattered-early\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>The mud mayhem arrives again early at Unbound 200 with fields shattered early<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T16:29:52+00:00\">2026-05-30T16:29:52.390Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race-at-mile-106-time-check\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race-at-mile-106-time-check\"><span>Women&#8217;s race (at mile 106 time check)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-cc3e37dd-bb15-42c4-8ea4-a4b26de87050\">The five leaders had a gap of over six minutes and it is still growing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T16:27:51+00:00\">2026-05-30T16:27:51.723Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race <\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-2455c411-64f7-4235-aebd-1198a941657e\">Onweller is now working with the other four leaders after a period briefly on the back.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T16:22:27+00:00\">2026-05-30T16:22:27.537Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-bfef54e9-6e24-43bf-8c32-e6e54152278e\"><strong>Leaders<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Paige Onweller<br \/>Sofia G\u00f3mez Villafa\u00f1e<br \/>Rosa Kl\u00f6ser<br \/>Cecily Decker<br \/>Geerike Schreurs<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T16:18:04+00:00\">2026-05-30T16:18:04.921Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-b7dae0ac-2637-476c-affb-fc6aa13c5482\">Onweller is about to catch the leading group of four riders. An absolutely superb ride by her as the rider from Arkansas is about to make the bridge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T16:11:03+00:00\">2026-05-30T16:11:03.612Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-b3b9c119-1704-4e8e-aff2-9ca5aebd09d9\">It looks as though the rain may have eased or even stopped for both lead groups in the men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s races. However, they are all absolutely caked in mud at the front from the top of their helmet to the bottom of their shoes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T16:09:58+00:00\">2026-05-30T16:09:58.659Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-7124ce3b-87fa-4056-8458-902313de985e\">Men&#8217;s average speed so far is at 23mph and the women are at 20.5mph. They are flying considering the brutal conditions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T16:07:27+00:00\">2026-05-30T16:07:27.861Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race-roughly-100-miles-to-go\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race-roughly-100-miles-to-go\"><span>Women&#8217;s race (roughly 100 miles to go)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-5059ce7c-1f30-4f72-aa44-08b8306deddc\">Paige Onweller was said to be at 30&#8243; at the last time check and got so close to bridging but may now be fading again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T16:06:04+00:00\">2026-05-30T16:06:04.620Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race-85-miles-to-go\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race-85-miles-to-go\"><span>Men&#8217;s race (85 miles to go)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-49362ba2-d338-440e-bdf9-b50c706a6be9\">W\u00fcrtz Schmidt and Swenson have a little chat and a fist bump. The European champion had been drilling a tough pace and his Specialized teammate Swenson looked to be hurting so they may be easing things as they have the winning gap at the moment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T15:59:08+00:00\">2026-05-30T15:59:08.318Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-00004f0f-91b5-42ce-a625-8d207d4d91b5\">Freeburn now almost five minutes off W\u00fcrtz Schmidt and Swenson. He&#8217;s either sat up or is having an issue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T15:48:50+00:00\">2026-05-30T15:48:50.212Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race-93-miles-to-go\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race-93-miles-to-go\"><span>Men&#8217;s race (93 miles to go)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-d93371ae-8a9b-4b79-b5c4-51947d5226a1\">Swenson and W\u00fcrtz Schmidt have 1&#8217;24&#8221; on Freeburn and 8&#8217;14&#8221; on the 12 man chase group.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T15:47:30+00:00\">2026-05-30T15:47:30.713Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race-100-miles-ridden\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race-100-miles-ridden\"><span>Women&#8217;s race (100 miles ridden)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-e164da78-68ca-4a84-bd9c-08fd536f98ca\">The four riders clear, G\u00f3mez Villafa\u00f1e, Schreurs, Kl\u00f6ser, and Decker are riding together well. No gap given as of yet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T15:37:08+00:00\">2026-05-30T15:37:08.526Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-363990cb-d14a-4cf9-8c24-5aaf8b2c57b9\">The weather has really descended on the riders with the rain so heavy and the clouds so thick that they can hardly see 100 metres up the road.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T15:36:08+00:00\">2026-05-30T15:36:08.181Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-58a92ec8-3188-448d-8a64-44a523f3162e\">The men are 114 miles into the day with the women just under 100 miles in. The four leaders in the women&#8217;s race look to be getting further clear of the chase as the two Specialized riders of W\u00fcrtz Schmidt and Swenson go further and further clear of Freeburn in the men&#8217;s race.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T15:34:20+00:00\">2026-05-30T15:34:20.545Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-13b8db10-c01f-4bac-889d-bcea588e970b\">The tracks are now extremely wet and the riders are getting coated in mud. Horrible conditions for the riders.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T15:28:48+00:00\">2026-05-30T15:28:48.601Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-7f68d96d-7d8f-44a6-be18-c0277edd14f8\">W\u00fcrtz Schmidt and Swenson now have a gigantic gap on the chasing group of well over seven minutes. Freeburn is fading fast and was 30&#8243; down at the first check.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T15:22:25+00:00\">2026-05-30T15:22:25.477Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race-100-miles-to-go\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race-100-miles-to-go\"><span>Men&#8217;s race (100 miles to go)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-84d0e248-a5a0-4005-bbd9-92d674f173d1\">Specialized duo of Swenson and W\u00fcrtz Schmidt have dropped Freeburn on a little drag.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T15:18:29+00:00\">2026-05-30T15:18:29.735Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-28d35810-fdb9-42a6-9422-9e0306eb458b\">The weather has closed in again after a sunny spell but now it is very dark with heavy rain, thunder and lightning. The men&#8217;s race have just over 100 miles to go as they pass the halfway point. The women have just left the second aid station and are settling back into the pace after slowing to work together as they go clear.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T15:15:56+00:00\">2026-05-30T15:15:56.593Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race-second-aid-station\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race-second-aid-station\"><span>Women&#8217;s race (second aid station)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-3c7c36f1-f6d9-4df2-bc9e-92cb0ba7cbd5\">Frain spent a long time in the aid station to clean her wounds and get her bike sorted as well as taking on new fuel. Her teammate Schrosbree joined her and they both rode off together. Possibly the difference between them finishing and not.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T15:08:20+00:00\">2026-05-30T15:08:20.675Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-3c016788-bd3e-40c7-bb9f-a77b1acebed9\">Kl\u00f6ser stops in the second aid station for a chain clean with G\u00f3mez Villafa\u00f1e getting a mussette. The Specialized duo of Schreurs and Decker both missed their feed grabs and Schreurs looked very frustrated. Potentially vital for later in the race.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T15:03:11+00:00\">2026-05-30T15:03:11.897Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-308f4b8b-1c27-4530-b1e9-b423e8cba066\"><strong>Attack<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>G\u00f3mez Villafa\u00f1e<br \/>Schreurs <br \/>Kl\u00f6ser<br \/>Decker<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-308f4b8b-1c27-4530-b1e9-b423e8cba066-2\">They go clear of the lead group and are gaining a good gap with the second aid station.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T14:57:26+00:00\">2026-05-30T14:57:26.887Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-eb83dbb7-5f0f-43fd-ad71-2558ce11f418\"><strong>Leaders:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Onweller<br \/>Schreurs <br \/>Kl\u00f6ser<br \/>Decker<br \/>Schiff<br \/>Preen<br \/>G\u00f3mez Villafa\u00f1e<br \/>Lange<br \/>Laing<br \/>Lejeune<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T14:51:33+00:00\">2026-05-30T14:51:33.060Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-a5591381-314f-4dd5-8f0f-5e7a6752ca01\"><strong>Chase group<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Bardet<br \/>Kongstad<br \/>Beers<br \/>Taylor<br \/>Johnston<br \/>Botcher<br \/>Soete<br \/>Havik<br \/>Wild<br \/>Koster<br \/>Herzog<br \/>Jones<br \/>R\u00f8ed<br \/>Vo\u00df<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-a5591381-314f-4dd5-8f0f-5e7a6752ca01-2\">They are at 3&#8217;15&#8221; from the leading trio.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T14:49:27+00:00\">2026-05-30T14:49:27.400Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race-113-miles-to-go\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race-113-miles-to-go\"><span>Men&#8217;s race (113 miles to go)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-20f5afe1-afbf-45da-8ad9-35235c4b6345\">W\u00fcrtz Schmidt and Swenson riding for Specialized as well as Freeburn for Trek have over three minutes on the chasing group.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T14:48:11+00:00\">2026-05-30T14:48:11.934Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race-roughly-150-miles-to-go\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race-roughly-150-miles-to-go\"><span>Women&#8217;s race (roughly 150 miles to go)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-dbe96a91-9405-4ae0-b7b1-fdb7ec1e72df\">The 11 rider lead group are rolling along at a decent tempo but nothing is really pushing as the race seems to be in a bit of a settled point.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T14:34:11+00:00\">2026-05-30T14:34:11.877Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-9ac11ee2-26b8-4407-af5a-d2ed8ee2d41b\">The sun is out for the men but it is raining on the women&#8217;s race.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T14:29:55+00:00\">2026-05-30T14:29:55.260Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race-124-miles-to-go\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race-124-miles-to-go\"><span>Men&#8217;s race (124 miles to go)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-6b4a2000-eb27-4364-bde7-d1d40258b3c5\">The leading trio have over two minutes on the chase group led by Bardet who has rejoined that group.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T14:27:31+00:00\">2026-05-30T14:27:31.025Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race <\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-c7ac3490-6558-4fb7-a037-45d99be5aa9c\"><strong>Second service zone<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>W\u00fcrtz Schmidt, Swenson and Freeburn all stop for technical support, fuel and a pressure wash to get the mud off.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T14:14:41+00:00\">2026-05-30T14:14:41.712Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race-130-miles-to-go\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race-130-miles-to-go\"><span>Men&#8217;s race (130 miles to go)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-a1dda6d9-bb63-4bd5-af87-2f77909366ae\">W\u00fcrtz Schmidt, Swenson and Freeburn have dragged out their lead to 1&#8217;45&#8221; on the chasing group.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T14:13:21+00:00\">2026-05-30T14:13:21.566Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-7c6f7413-ba6b-4b0c-a29b-3792bb5c6a1d\">In the Unbound XL men&#8217;s race the leader, Robin Gemperle has covered 297 miles with Alex McCormack close behind him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T14:10:47+00:00\">2026-05-30T14:10:47.370Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-66fe6d82-c49e-422c-8bbc-1aaae26f2d71\">Winning Unbound 200 last year may have set the rider from New Zealand up for a career in gravel but &#8220;there&#8217;s lots to gain by getting another one&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>&gt;&gt;&gt; <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/proof-prototypes-and-dreams-of-mud-the-makings-of-an-unbound-gravel-title-defence-for-cameron-jones\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/proof-prototypes-and-dreams-of-mud-the-makings-of-an-unbound-gravel-title-defence-for-cameron-jones\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/proof-prototypes-and-dreams-of-mud-the-makings-of-an-unbound-gravel-title-defence-for-cameron-jones\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Proof, prototypes and dreams of mud \u2013 The makings of an Unbound Gravel title defence for Cameron Jones<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\" id=\"elk-81affb4c-df05-4dca-b02f-adebe89f036b\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:1920px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"> <picture data-new-v2-image=\"true\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EBGN29hQUxB9B44CcVLiXS-1200-80.jpg.webp 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EBGN29hQUxB9B44CcVLiXS-1024-80.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EBGN29hQUxB9B44CcVLiXS-970-80.jpg.webp 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EBGN29hQUxB9B44CcVLiXS-650-80.jpg.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EBGN29hQUxB9B44CcVLiXS-480-80.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EBGN29hQUxB9B44CcVLiXS-320-80.jpg.webp 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cameron Jones racing the Life Time Grand Prix series in 2026\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EBGN29hQUxB9B44CcVLiXS-1200-80.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EBGN29hQUxB9B44CcVLiXS-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EBGN29hQUxB9B44CcVLiXS-970-80.jpg 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EBGN29hQUxB9B44CcVLiXS-650-80.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EBGN29hQUxB9B44CcVLiXS-480-80.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EBGN29hQUxB9B44CcVLiXS-320-80.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EBGN29hQUxB9B44CcVLiXS.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EBGN29hQUxB9B44CcVLiXS.jpg\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] inline\"\/>\n<\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Life Time)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T14:03:32+00:00\">2026-05-30T14:03:32.444Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-fda0edfd-71d0-40aa-977f-2415fec1ef57\">Lejeune makes it back to the front group with former WorldTour rider Mieke Kroger also in this group.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T14:02:04+00:00\">2026-05-30T14:02:04.970Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-267feb2f-bac4-47e0-9d65-0485036891a8\"><strong>Keegan Swenson<\/strong> told Cyclingnews at Specialized product launch on Thursday:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s kind of been the trend every year. It seems like it gets faster and faster, and guys are more willing to gamble on early attacks and early moves and breakaways, and yeah, no one really. I think we&#8217;ve learned we can push hard all day, you know, and no one really respects a distance anymore. We just ride flat out from the start, so yeah, we&#8217;ll see how it goes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T13:55:02+00:00\">2026-05-30T13:55:02.694Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race-138-miles-to-go\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race-138-miles-to-go\"><span>Men&#8217;s race (138 miles to go)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-2e9eab9e-b6db-4865-a02d-b52dc5800ad0\"><strong>Attack<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>W\u00fcrtz Schmidt<br \/>Swenson<br \/>Freeburn<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-2e9eab9e-b6db-4865-a02d-b52dc5800ad0-2\">They have 25&#8243; on the chasing group of about 16 riders.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T13:48:53+00:00\">2026-05-30T13:48:53.762Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-2413bacb-a18e-4f44-9a03-2d90f807011b\">The sun is out on the riders for the moment but the rain is falling at the finish as the junior 50 mile race sets off.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T13:46:38+00:00\">2026-05-30T13:46:38.878Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-00d31ac6-11b7-4362-8441-e2325dd62ec4\">Around nine riders out front after the race broke down on a muddier section.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T13:43:17+00:00\">2026-05-30T13:43:17.601Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-3728f14f-b032-40de-9017-c318a1ee4000\">Frain is back racing but has blood pouring down her left leg, her fingers and left shoulder. She looks in a heck of a lot of pain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T13:42:27+00:00\">2026-05-30T13:42:27.518Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race <\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-63433038-b39f-48aa-a2c7-296adccf8eef\">Lachlan Morton is rumoured to have abandoned the race at about mile 50. Not confirmed yet, though.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\" id=\"elk-8aa82592-4167-4331-909b-6079a931f48a\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:4128px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:66.67%;\"> <picture data-new-v2-image=\"true\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/67XGhJDDRM8sVdfqr6NuPY-1200-80.jpg.webp 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/67XGhJDDRM8sVdfqr6NuPY-1024-80.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/67XGhJDDRM8sVdfqr6NuPY-970-80.jpg.webp 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/67XGhJDDRM8sVdfqr6NuPY-650-80.jpg.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/67XGhJDDRM8sVdfqr6NuPY-480-80.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/67XGhJDDRM8sVdfqr6NuPY-320-80.jpg.webp 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Lachlan Morton (EF Education-EasyPost) sits on side of course around mile 50 of 2026 Unbound Gravel 200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/67XGhJDDRM8sVdfqr6NuPY-1200-80.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/67XGhJDDRM8sVdfqr6NuPY-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/67XGhJDDRM8sVdfqr6NuPY-970-80.jpg 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/67XGhJDDRM8sVdfqr6NuPY-650-80.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/67XGhJDDRM8sVdfqr6NuPY-480-80.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/67XGhJDDRM8sVdfqr6NuPY-320-80.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/67XGhJDDRM8sVdfqr6NuPY.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/67XGhJDDRM8sVdfqr6NuPY.jpg\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] inline\"\/>\n<\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Future l Ethan Glading)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T13:41:02+00:00\">2026-05-30T13:41:02.180Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-610eaec7-b521-4ce9-9221-87c66e33bb2a\"><strong>Haley Smith<\/strong>, 2022 LTGP overall women&#8217;s winner, told Cyclingnews in the Unbound Expo this week:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This has been a good year so far. I have raced far less, and I wasn&#8217;t able to race Sea Otter just with the parasite I picked up from Cape Epic, but that&#8217;s all resolved now. I had like a season and a half that were quite a bit tougher dealing with the repercussions of long COVID, and I was pretty ill for a while. So I&#8217;m through that, and I&#8217;m feeling strong and healthy, and just enjoying the racing opportunities I have had, so I&#8217;m looking forward to the weekend.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T13:40:02+00:00\">2026-05-30T13:40:02.274Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-fd2eb037-334f-41c2-9a3f-bc1264ac570f\"><strong>Crash<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nicole Frain goes down. The former Australian national road champion looks like she is in a lot of pain and is struggling to straighten her bars.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T13:38:37+00:00\">2026-05-30T13:38:37.568Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-fd094cec-7f38-4e33-87e1-7880a0328e18\">On Texaco Hill the lead group is getting split up with mud beginning to be an issue as Matt Beers coming back from a problem. Vermeulen and Pellaud also working hard to come back too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T13:24:16+00:00\">2026-05-30T13:24:16.838Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-b44ee1f0-eec3-472c-b5c3-48f16481f6e5\">The men&#8217;s group sits up and the chasers regain contact with a group of about 25 to 30 riders now lead the race with just inside 150 miles left to go.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T13:22:05+00:00\">2026-05-30T13:22:05.075Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-06631c2c-5116-4a1d-b844-8dc976b5b036\">Cecille Lejeune goes down in the deep ford crossing and is now off the back of the chase group.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T13:17:40+00:00\">2026-05-30T13:17:40.498Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-2d7ad859-6559-441a-9852-f70032e85c0f\">Mock sits up as the group behind him looks as if it is splitting up.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T13:11:42+00:00\">2026-05-30T13:11:42.575Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-ee50977c-9fc9-4774-867c-a6d5e45d2a36\">Kl\u00f6ser is riding hard to try and get back on. She has passed a few dropped riders from the lead group and is riding well.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T13:09:04+00:00\">2026-05-30T13:09:04.524Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-e281e4ee-eee7-404f-805b-3056e40d9829\">Mock is flying here and has 30&#8243; on the peloton as he flies through a very rough and rocky section.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T13:04:16+00:00\">2026-05-30T13:04:16.148Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-e7e97472-ee3d-4e40-a5c5-855f66d04df7\"><strong>Attack<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Daxton Mock<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-e7e97472-ee3d-4e40-a5c5-855f66d04df7-2\">He has about 5&#8243; on 21 rider strong group.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T13:03:27+00:00\">2026-05-30T13:03:27.842Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-992fa793-aa7c-42f4-9448-67c144ebff80\">Simon Pellaud said on the event pre-race show <em>The Leadout<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;My season started not the way I would have like it to because I&#8217;ve been injured for more than two months. I hit my knee against a car door and, yeah, it&#8217;s been pretty rough. I had to skip a couple of races and I&#8217;m still not quite 100 percent recovered now so it&#8217;s also still pretty rough mentally. I didn&#8217;t have the preparation that I would have loved to so yeah, its a bit messed up but I trust the process and I know that at some point everything will just stick and roll further.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-992fa793-aa7c-42f4-9448-67c144ebff80-2\">Teams impact<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It will depend on the weather forecast too I would say because if at mile 15 we already are all running around its going to be a different situation but I&#8217;m quite sure that its going to be the first real different Unbound this year with so many teams around and ready to help each other to reach the victory.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Even if the weather is not so good, there are not so many really muddy section and still if we have 20km lets say of mud, its still 315km of fast riding so for sure there will be some team tactics.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T13:01:18+00:00\">2026-05-30T13:01:18.213Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-c1f98bd7-7ea2-410c-8605-b86ce7715415\">Various issues for the men going through a deep ford of water before a steep climb with a crash and a few mechanicals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T12:55:31+00:00\">2026-05-30T12:55:31.402Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-05c0a64b-2ce3-4ee6-bd50-680e8975a014\">Kl\u00f6ser has been distanced by the leaders. Unsure what happened but she is fighting to get back in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T12:54:45+00:00\">2026-05-30T12:54:45.122Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-94d67e3f-d3c3-4e9e-a504-b25dc35f0b9a\">Thomas De Gendt leads the front group into the first feed zone<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T12:50:32+00:00\">2026-05-30T12:50:32.801Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-73296e3f-4aee-4f9c-bd59-0f6850b14d60\">It isn&#8217;t going to plan for Tour de France stage winner Michael Woods&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&gt;&gt;&gt; <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/into-the-unknown-michael-woods-steps-into-first-unbound-with-finishing-as-primary-goal-but-top-10-would-be-super-cool\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/into-the-unknown-michael-woods-steps-into-first-unbound-with-finishing-as-primary-goal-but-top-10-would-be-super-cool\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/into-the-unknown-michael-woods-steps-into-first-unbound-with-finishing-as-primary-goal-but-top-10-would-be-super-cool\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>&#8216;Into the unknown&#8217; \u2013 Michael Woods steps into first Unbound with finishing as primary goal but top 10 would be &#8216;super cool&#8217;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\" id=\"elk-092b8e42-a797-44ac-a0b9-46f1bc04f572\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:1200px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:66.67%;\"> <picture data-new-v2-image=\"true\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/U9oydRCbjcpWkkPxYR9wfa-1200-80.jpg.webp 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/U9oydRCbjcpWkkPxYR9wfa-1024-80.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/U9oydRCbjcpWkkPxYR9wfa-970-80.jpg.webp 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/U9oydRCbjcpWkkPxYR9wfa-650-80.jpg.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/U9oydRCbjcpWkkPxYR9wfa-480-80.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/U9oydRCbjcpWkkPxYR9wfa-320-80.jpg.webp 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Michael Woods racing at UCI Gravel World Series event The Gralloch, where he came seventh\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/U9oydRCbjcpWkkPxYR9wfa-1200-80.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/U9oydRCbjcpWkkPxYR9wfa-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/U9oydRCbjcpWkkPxYR9wfa-970-80.jpg 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/U9oydRCbjcpWkkPxYR9wfa-650-80.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/U9oydRCbjcpWkkPxYR9wfa-480-80.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/U9oydRCbjcpWkkPxYR9wfa-320-80.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/U9oydRCbjcpWkkPxYR9wfa.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/U9oydRCbjcpWkkPxYR9wfa.jpg\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] inline\"\/>\n<\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Red On Sports \/ The Gralloch)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T12:45:13+00:00\">2026-05-30T12:45:13.359Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-c26379c5-1456-496a-a9ab-429d20dff803\">Simon Pellaud is off the back of the lead group. Something has happened to last year&#8217;s runner up.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T12:42:52+00:00\">2026-05-30T12:42:52.756Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-7f15ac6f-ea7e-4230-8fba-2a7cdb40d8b1\">Mechanical for Andreas Seewald who has dropped his chain. He was trying to keep riding while also pulling his chain back on but it isn&#8217;t working.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T12:28:58+00:00\">2026-05-30T12:28:58.882Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-c48de8aa-3bf4-4031-ae79-93010991659b\">Swenson, Morton and Herzog are all over a minute out of the back.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T12:25:59+00:00\">2026-05-30T12:25:59.839Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race-attack\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race-attack\"><span>Men&#8217;s race attack<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-8c6a24bd-548e-477f-945a-5b2561554801\">Simon Pellaud bridging to two attackers but Matt Beers closes things down again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T12:23:56+00:00\">2026-05-30T12:23:56.818Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-6023db42-504f-444b-a0a3-6c40c51938e9\"><strong>Leaders:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Danni Shrosbree<br \/>Cecily Decker<br \/>Nicole Fraine<br \/>Lauren Stephens<br \/>Geerike Schreurs<br \/>Carolin Schiff<br \/>Samara Sheppard<br \/>Rosa Kl\u00f6ser<br \/>Paige Onweller<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T12:17:25+00:00\">2026-05-30T12:17:25.677Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-35a7c5cd-2110-4440-9653-3cefcd1e242f\">All the riders are already completely covered in mud from head to toe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T12:16:41+00:00\">2026-05-30T12:16:41.196Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-7e6bf26c-7abc-4a7e-b312-5ced6aefd0e0\">About 12 riders clear out front as the mud becomes much more rideable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T12:14:22+00:00\">2026-05-30T12:14:22.601Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-4bd25755-22cc-472e-9e45-b52151e4b288\">The mud appears to have compacted down a bit more with both the men and women settling into the race now as the groups have been formed thanks to that chaotic mud section.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T12:09:38+00:00\">2026-05-30T12:09:38.784Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-f19685ca-3801-403f-b80d-bbb5ccfb9b29\">All the riders who were on the podium last year, Jones, Pellaud and R\u00f8ed are all in the lead group.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T12:08:21+00:00\">2026-05-30T12:08:21.942Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-55e0f18a-ad27-4562-b015-bd360de26352\">The two groups come together to form a group of 17 but a few issues for riders sees the group drop to 14.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T12:05:46+00:00\">2026-05-30T12:05:46.985Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-562ae4b3-1f63-4aa6-89bf-294d11319e97\"><strong>Lead group<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Mads W\u00fcrtz Schmidt<br \/>Cobe Freeburn<br \/>Torbj\u00f8rn Andre R\u00f8ed<br \/>Romain Bardet<br \/>Nils Brun<br \/>Matthew Beers<br \/>Daxton Mock<br \/>John Borstelmann<br \/>Daan Seote<br \/>Frederick Ra\u00dfmann<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-562ae4b3-1f63-4aa6-89bf-294d11319e97-2\"><strong>Chase +27&#8243;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Lachlan Morton<br \/>Brendan Johnson<br \/>Arno van den Broeck<br \/>Caleb Botcher<br \/>Cameron Jones<br \/>Simon Pellaud<br \/>Adne Koster<\/p>\n<p><strong>Peloton +1&#8217;15&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T12:00:20+00:00\">2026-05-30T12:00:20.047Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-d1821b50-a58e-41d2-9bcd-223a6f2e079c\">The women&#8217;s peloton comes back together but they hit the huge puddle as a rider goes down and the riders who made it through are now getting caught up by the mud just like the men.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T11:54:07+00:00\">2026-05-30T11:54:07.572Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-e583bce8-3123-4772-9af2-26c19a363b45\">The front of the race sees about 10 to 12 riders well ahead of the rest of the groups as the riders who made it through the mud unscathed are taking a real advantage early doors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T11:50:53+00:00\">2026-05-30T11:50:53.542Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-d83cf543-9ba8-45cf-a9b6-471617a3873c\">Michaela Thompson with a rear puncture. She is left fixing the wheel. It is taking her a while as she is struggling to pump it back up. She is being passed by some of the amateur riders, she has been there for a while.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T11:48:52+00:00\">2026-05-30T11:48:52.090Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-f4ecbd71-ab1c-4447-ad73-1aa02aa60f90\">Keegan Swenson and Emil Herzog are a couple of riders having issues with mud clogging the wheels and cogs. So many riders left behind to try and get the mud out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T11:45:05+00:00\">2026-05-30T11:45:05.739Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-3d527694-1237-45ee-bade-85e4fd061bd8\">Riders having to ride through a huge puddle that covers the entire track. Some have had to come off and push through as the peloton bunch up through it and several riders have to stop on the mud straight afterwards and it sees Sens and Borstelmann get caught as they are completely clogged their bikes with mud.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T11:42:33+00:00\">2026-05-30T11:42:33.566Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-0d24d28d-253a-486c-bd8b-2bb798e17370\">Borstelmann and Sens have lost a lot of time and are now about 30&#8243; ahead of the peloton that are strung out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T11:39:05+00:00\">2026-05-30T11:39:05.529Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-c41c62d1-b32e-420a-8d6d-f3539b7c53b1\"><strong>Attackers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Laurel Quinones <br \/>Emma Langley<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-c41c62d1-b32e-420a-8d6d-f3539b7c53b1-2\">They have a decent gap growing as they hit the first climb of the day as they will hit the mud the men have recently rolled over soon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T11:37:19+00:00\">2026-05-30T11:37:19.431Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race-attack-crash\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race-attack-crash\"><span>Women&#8217;s race attack\/crash<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-1ff3258d-8fe6-461c-aefd-021a6d6fadc2\">The first moves go off the front as a crash sees Stella Hobbs and Peta Mullins go down. Both back riding, though.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T11:35:29+00:00\">2026-05-30T11:35:29.035Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-e8ca8e1a-6a28-43c6-9781-7c2014e759be\">In the break today is Connor Sens who is from Bendigo in Australia. He was the 2023 Australian national gravel champion winning the title at Devils Cardigan on Tasmania where the prize includes a homemade cardigan with the name of each winner sewn in as well as a sack of local potatoes. Obvious prizes, of course.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T11:33:03+00:00\">2026-05-30T11:33:03.606Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-5c58ba8f-5db3-426e-a7e0-f013a4692026\">The peloton is just rolling along as the riders settle into the racing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T11:31:27+00:00\">2026-05-30T11:31:27.196Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-3d5c6799-a11b-43db-abb2-60a53b1a04d8\">The riders are onto the first climb and the gravel is more mud than anything else. It doesn&#8217;t look awful but a little bit slippy and difficult to navigate. Some riders already losing contact with a long way to go.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T11:22:36+00:00\">2026-05-30T11:22:36.611Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-2158d804-53d5-4f52-85d8-90a20c1db8e5\">There is a group chasing the leaders of Borstelmann and Sens that includes Nathan Spratt. No word on the size of that group yet or the timings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T11:19:32+00:00\">2026-05-30T11:19:32.775Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-d179a2aa-8fe5-4706-b7d5-7dbb4f4f9d80\">It is interesting to see the difference in riders. Some wearing vests and some just having the jerseys. There&#8217;s a real split.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T11:18:03+00:00\">2026-05-30T11:18:03.043Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-b5d490e3-14b8-4815-8032-7d439e0c8756\">Racing begins with a steady start on the first bits of gravel. It is a very dusty start but mud may be an issue later in the day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T11:16:47+00:00\">2026-05-30T11:16:47.681Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-c430d762-d574-4318-81fc-73681f0f23b4\">67 riders in the women&#8217;s peloton and 133 riders in the men&#8217;s peloton.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T11:14:09+00:00\">2026-05-30T11:14:09.236Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race-attack\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race-attack\"><span>Men&#8217;s race attack<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-77cbcb76-1f97-4812-b981-d5e7f9a782fa\">John Borstelmann<br \/>Connor Sens<\/p>\n<p>They have a small gap on the bunch.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T11:12:20+00:00\">2026-05-30T11:12:20.345Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-b935651e-6e39-4899-97fb-ec73ac8eb506\">In the women&#8217;s side of things, Gomez, Lance, De Crescenzo, Kloser, Frain, Decker, Hartog, Schreurs and defending champion Migo\u0144 all among the big contendors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T11:09:01+00:00\">2026-05-30T11:09:01.549Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-5eb6c17b-adb4-4f16-b7aa-052fa6928f9e\">Straight onto the gravel and it looks very dry despite that storm. The riders are pushing hard on this early part of the race as they look to make the selection early.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T11:07:28+00:00\">2026-05-30T11:07:28.569Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-525b2740-5e70-47c3-82de-87bcc6d4d0e0\">Racing begins for the men with over 200 miles\/333km of racing on the menu with moves off the front already.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T11:06:00+00:00\">2026-05-30T11:06:00.405Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-women-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-women-s-race\"><span>Women&#8217;s race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-6b868b22-01ff-4345-995a-1beab97126d2\">The women set off in their neutral start. The same 3 mile neutralised zone as the men.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T10:54:53+00:00\">2026-05-30T10:54:53.993Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-8b3ceeff-36ba-4750-85c9-7a0a945975c1\">If you are new to gravel racing, Cam Jones won last year with Matthew Beers, Keegan Swenson, Torbj\u00f8rn R\u00f8ed, Alexey Vermeulen, Lachlan Morton are all big names to look out for with former WorldTour road riders like Romain Bardet, Thomas De Gendt, Simon Pellaud and Mads W\u00fcrtz Schmidt all racing with the last two being big favourites for this race.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T10:51:40+00:00\">2026-05-30T10:51:40.220Z<\/time><br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-men-s-race\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-body__section\" id=\"section-men-s-race\"><span>Men&#8217;s Race<\/span><\/h3>\n<p id=\"elk-eead45d8-49fc-409f-af9a-53678f555215\">The men set off on their neutral zone in the dawn light. The neutralised section is around 3 miles long to just get them out of Emporia before they race.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T10:48:42+00:00\">2026-05-30T10:48:42.813Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-bb1c04ce-889c-4a9d-94ba-e81861d67a3a\">The riders are all lined up in Emporia. It is currently dry but there was apparently a big storm in the night with mud looking like it could be a real issue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T10:46:59+00:00\">2026-05-30T10:46:59.730Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-03314b86-8b32-4598-b302-ce5c7ad14507\">There have been changes made to the way the support stations work with the pros and amateurs with the elite riders getting their own areas to avoid the chaos of previous years.<\/p>\n<p>Last year&#8217;s winner, Cameron Jones, is for the changes and told <em>Cyclingnews<\/em>: &#8220;The first year out at the feed zones really opened my eyes \u2013 just how many people were at the feed zones, it was like a whole city long, four or five blocks, and you&#8217;re trying to watch out for your people,&#8221; He said.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-03314b86-8b32-4598-b302-ce5c7ad14507-2\">&#8220;So, last year was a lot less stressful being in a small group. I think it&#8217;s a good call that they&#8217;ve split them up from the amateurs, because we&#8217;re coming through with a lot more urgency than the age groupers. It&#8217;s nice to have a bit less going on, less distractions.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&gt;&gt;&gt; <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/unbound-gravel-organisers-rein-in-support-station-chaos-adding-feed-zones-for-elite-fields-only\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/unbound-gravel-organisers-rein-in-support-station-chaos-adding-feed-zones-for-elite-fields-only\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/unbound-gravel-organisers-rein-in-support-station-chaos-adding-feed-zones-for-elite-fields-only\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Unbound Gravel organisers rein in support station chaos, adding feed zones for elite fields only<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\" id=\"elk-4afe1cbd-15ee-459f-aff3-48c4cf50b237\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:1629px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:71.33%;\"> <picture data-new-v2-image=\"true\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/S66GmagxWBXsPtk7T6bpUb-1200-80.png.webp 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/S66GmagxWBXsPtk7T6bpUb-1024-80.png.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/S66GmagxWBXsPtk7T6bpUb-970-80.png.webp 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/S66GmagxWBXsPtk7T6bpUb-650-80.png.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/S66GmagxWBXsPtk7T6bpUb-480-80.png.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/S66GmagxWBXsPtk7T6bpUb-320-80.png.webp 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Men&amp;#039;s elite field at 2026 Sea Otter Classic Gravel led by Keegan Swenson (centre) and Matt Beers (left)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/S66GmagxWBXsPtk7T6bpUb-1200-80.png 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/S66GmagxWBXsPtk7T6bpUb-1024-80.png 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/S66GmagxWBXsPtk7T6bpUb-970-80.png 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/S66GmagxWBXsPtk7T6bpUb-650-80.png 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/S66GmagxWBXsPtk7T6bpUb-480-80.png 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/S66GmagxWBXsPtk7T6bpUb-320-80.png 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/S66GmagxWBXsPtk7T6bpUb.png\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/S66GmagxWBXsPtk7T6bpUb.png\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] inline\"\/>\n<\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Life Time)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T10:38:33+00:00\">2026-05-30T10:38:33.674Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-b23fcf6e-14d8-45bc-aaac-a8b53015b284\">A mechanics job isn&#8217;t an easy one at the best of times, but for gravel mechanics, it is a whole other ball game as it is just you against the terrain with no big team of mechanics around you. <em>Cyclingnews <\/em>spoke to mechanics of Alexey Vermeulen, Carolin Schiff and more.<\/p>\n<p>&gt;&gt;&gt; <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/mechanics-dread-excitement-meet-the-people-who-navigate-pit-stop-chaos-to-keep-the-pros-rolling-at-unbound-gravel\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/mechanics-dread-excitement-meet-the-people-who-navigate-pit-stop-chaos-to-keep-the-pros-rolling-at-unbound-gravel\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/mechanics-dread-excitement-meet-the-people-who-navigate-pit-stop-chaos-to-keep-the-pros-rolling-at-unbound-gravel\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>&#8216;Mechanics dread excitement&#8217; \u2013 Meet the people who navigate pit-stop chaos to keep the pros rolling at Unbound Gravel<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\" id=\"elk-798e2f17-3c40-426b-ae53-d2411d40c19d\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:1920px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"> <picture data-new-v2-image=\"true\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/ppZYSNLhCsaP7dY3ZJaWgj-1200-80.png.webp 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/ppZYSNLhCsaP7dY3ZJaWgj-1024-80.png.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/ppZYSNLhCsaP7dY3ZJaWgj-970-80.png.webp 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/ppZYSNLhCsaP7dY3ZJaWgj-650-80.png.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/ppZYSNLhCsaP7dY3ZJaWgj-480-80.png.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/ppZYSNLhCsaP7dY3ZJaWgj-320-80.png.webp 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Mechanic working on a gravel bike\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/ppZYSNLhCsaP7dY3ZJaWgj-1200-80.png 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/ppZYSNLhCsaP7dY3ZJaWgj-1024-80.png 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/ppZYSNLhCsaP7dY3ZJaWgj-970-80.png 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/ppZYSNLhCsaP7dY3ZJaWgj-650-80.png 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/ppZYSNLhCsaP7dY3ZJaWgj-480-80.png 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/ppZYSNLhCsaP7dY3ZJaWgj-320-80.png 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/ppZYSNLhCsaP7dY3ZJaWgj.png\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/ppZYSNLhCsaP7dY3ZJaWgj.png\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] inline\"\/>\n<\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Linda Guerrette l Stetina&#8217;s Paydirt)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside id=\"seasonal_0\" class=\"hawk-root\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T10:26:53+00:00\">2026-05-30T10:26:53.565Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-d7af6f3e-05ed-42dc-8a8a-210a6fd4438d\">The startlist is a blend of former and current road riders, gravel specialists and the odd full blown all-rounders in both the men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s lineups.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T09:49:45+00:00\">2026-05-30T09:49:45.154Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-27e472e7-2c51-4cb4-8d5f-b94091466b8d\">The race has upped it&#8217;s prize pot for this year with $60,000 being split between the top five riders in both the men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s races.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<time class=\"no-wrap live-feed-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-30T09:49:11+00:00\">2026-05-30T09:49:11.585Z<\/time><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-4db24ee1-ae4f-47dd-a6bc-7636baa9159e\">Hello and welcome to <em>Cyclingnews&#8217;<\/em> live updates of the 2026 Life Time Unbound Gravel presented by Shimano.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<p id=\"elk-3aa2924d-cfa8-4f85-83d4-d0ae9e0b3d1d\">The 200 mile\/333km race is the one that starts very soon. However, yesterday saw the start of Unbound XL, a 300 mile epic that is still racing now after an all nighter on the brutal gravel. They set off 3pm local time and are due to finish in around four to five hours time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/live\/unbound-gravel-200-live-a-stacked-line-up-and-an-increased-prize-pot-at-the-us-premier-gravel-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Refresh 2026-05-30T18:18:11.649Z Interesting combination in the lead group as team tactics will come into play with teammates Gomez Villafa\u00f1e and Schreurs vs solo riders. Reminder that the group also includes two previous winners Kl\u00f6ser (2024) and Gomez Villafa\u00f1e (2022). 2026-05-30T18:11:25.505Z Report that winds are impacting the race with strong headwind. 2026-05-30T18:10:48.323Z Onweller catches back onto [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":245945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6804],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-245944","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}