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Unbound Gravel

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Unbound Gravel
Race details
DateFirst weekend after Memorial Day
RegionFlint Hills around Emporia, Kansas, United States
DisciplineGravel cycling
CompetitionProfessional and amateur
Race directorBen Sachs[1]
Web siteunboundgravel.com
History
First edition2006[2]

Unbound Gravel, formerly known as the Dirty Kanza, is an event comprising gravel racing covering various distances held annually during the late spring on rural roads in the Flint Hills region of the Great Plains around Emporia, Kansas, United States.[3][4] The race's organizers refer to the 200 miles (320 km) race as the "World's Premiere Gravel Grinder",[5] and ranked as one of the top gravel bike races.[6][7] [8]

Course

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Starting and ending in Emporia, the routes runs along rural roads in the Flint Hills of east-central Kansas.[3] The course route varies each year, and can change directions from year to year (north or south route) from Emporia. In some years the temperature on the route has exceeded 100 °F (38 °C) in the afternoon, while other years have seen rain or hail, also severe weather is possible in Kansas.[9] It is not uncommon for rain to occur before or during the race causing some dirt roads to turn into "mud roads".[10]

There are checkpoints spaced about 50 miles apart for longer races, and riders must carry water and food, as well as fix their own tires and bikes.[11][12] If riders receive outside support at any location other than official checkpoints it will result in immediate disqualification. Riders may assist other riders by any means and at any time.[3]

Events

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Originally, the event was started as a 200-mile (320 km) mile race, but over the years additional lengths have been added to encourage more riders to give it a chance. Though the name of the race distances are rounded off to nice numerical values, the actual distance of each race is slightly different.

The event consists of the following races:

  • Unbound Gravel XL is a 350-mile (560 km) race. It was introduced in 2018.[13]
  • Unbound Gravel 200 is a 200-mile (320 km) race. The original Dirty Kanza ultra endurance gravel bicycling challenge was started in 2006.[14]
  • Unbound Gravel 100 is a 100-mile (160 km) race. It was introduced in 2013.[9]
  • Unbound Gravel 50 is a 50-mile (80 km) race. It was introduced in 2013.[9]
  • Unbound Gravel 25 is a 25-mile (40 km) race. It was introduced in 2013.[9]
  • Unbound Gravel Junior is a 25-mile (40 km) race for 7th to 12th grade teens.

History

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Waiting for Dirty Kanza bike race to start at sunrise in Emporia, Kansas

In 2006, the first year of Dirty Kanza had 34 riders.[14] It was organized by Joel Dyke and Jim Cummins, and modeled off of similar rides Trans-Iowa and the Flint Hills Death Ride.[15]

In 2018, Life Time Fitness purchased Dirty Kanza Productions.[16] That year the race had 2,500 registered riders.[17]

In 2019, the race had 2,750 registered riders.[18]

Several changes occurred in 2020. First the races were postponed from May 29–31 to September 10–13 because of the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic issues,[19] then later were cancelled.[20]

Organizers considered a name change for the event to remove reference to Kaw nation (also known as Kanza) based on an online petition despite representatives of the Kaw Nation responding to the allegations, saying "Life Time and the Kaw Nation are proud of our relationship, which is built upon mutual respect, dignity, and integrity" and "It was felt that 'Kanza' paid homage to the region (the Kanza Prairie), to its rich history, and to all things associated with the region, including the Kaw Nation".[21][22] The same year, the event's surviving founder made a statement that the police shooting of an intoxicated black man in Atlanta who grabbed an officer's taser and fired it at the officer was "justified".[23] The ensuing controversy resulted in his eventual firing by the event's parent company, Life Time Fitness.[24][25] On October 29, 2020, it was announced that the name of the race would be changed to Unbound Gravel.[26]

In 2021, the race had 2,626 registered riders.[14]

In 2023, there was a total of over 4,000 registered riders for all races.

In 2024, there was a total of around 5,000 registered riders for all races, with 1,480 in the Unbound Gravel 200, and 1,829 in the Unbound Gravel 100.[27] Riders came from all 50 U.S. States and 40 Countries.

Winners

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  • Rebecca Rusch is notable for placing first female in six events across three distances: XL race in 2018; 200 race in 2012 / 2013 / 2014; 100 race in 2016 and 2017.
  • Lauren Stephens is notable for placing first female in three events of the 100 race: 2019 / 2021 / 2024.

Unbound Gravel XL

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Before 2020, the race was known as the Dirty Kanza XL (or DK XL). This 350 mile race was first held in 2018. Results verified at Athlinks.[28]

Year Male Female
2024 Germany Sebastian Breuer Germany Svenja Betz
2023 United States Logan Kasper United States Kristen Legan
2022 United States William Harrison United States Cynthia Frazier
2021 United States Taylor Lideen United States Lael Wilcox
2020 N/A (race cancelled) N/A (race cancelled)
2019 United States Jay Petervary United States Lael Wilcox
2018 United States Matt Acker United States Rebecca Rusch

Unbound Gravel 200

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Before 2020, the race was known as the Dirty Kanza 200 (or DK 200). This 200 mile race was first held in 2006. Results verified at Athlinks.[28]

Year Male Female
2024 Australia Lachlan Morton Germany Rosa Klöser
2023 United States Keegan Swenson Germany Carolin Schiff
2022 Netherlands Ivar Slik ArgentinaUnited States Sofía Gómez Villafañe
2021 United States Ian Boswell United States Lauren De Crescenzo
2020 N/A (race cancelled) N/A (race cancelled)
2019 United States Colin Strickland United States Amity Rockwell
2018 United States Ted King United States Kaitlin Keough
2017 United States Mat Stephens United States Alison Tetrick
2016 United States Ted King United States Amanda Nauman
2015 United States Yuri Hauswald United States Amanda Nauman
2014 United States Brian Jensen United States Rebecca Rusch
2013 United States Dan Hughes United States Rebecca Rusch
2012 United States Dan Hughes United States Rebecca Rusch
2011 United States Dan Hughes United States Betsy Shogren
2010 United States Corey Godfrey United States Emily Brock
2009 United States Michael Marchand N/A
2008 United States Cameron Chambers United States Kristen High
2007 United States Steve Goetzelman United States Leslie Hiemenz
2006 United States Dan Hughes N/A

Unbound Gravel 100

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Before 2020, the race was known as the DK 100. This 100 mile race was first held in 2013 as the DK Half Pint. It became an official race distance in 2019. Results verified at Athlinks.[28]

Year Male Female
2024 United States Elliott Baring United States Lauren Stephens
2023 United States David Brower Australia Tiffany Cromwell
2022 United States Ethan Overson United States Marisa Boaz
2021 United States Stephen Hyde United States Lauren Stephens
2020 N/A (race cancelled) N/A (race cancelled)
2019 United States Ashton Lambie United States Lauren Stephens
2018 United States Matthew Accarrino United States Erica Mueller
2017 United States Steven Baxter United States Rebecca Rusch
2016 United States Guy Alvarez United States Rebecca Rusch
2015 United States Austin Morris United States Jennifer Rhoades
2014 United States David Wilson United States Danielle Pellicano
2013 United States Mark Schloegel United States Lynn Malir

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Contact". Dirty Kanza. 2010-12-11. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  2. ^ Taylor Rojek (8 August 2018). "Gravel Rides are Saving Small-Town America". Bicycling.com. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)". Dirty Kanza. Archived from the original on June 22, 2020.
  4. ^ Legan, Nick (20 December 2017). Gravel Cycling: The Complete Guide to Gravel Racing and Adventure Bikepacking. VeloPress. ISBN 978-1-937716-98-1.
  5. ^ "Photo Gallery: Grit and Gravel at the 2018 Dirty Kanza 200". Cyclocross Magazine. 13 June 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Top 10 gravel races in the USA". Cycling News. June 16, 2020. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021.
  7. ^ Global Cycling Network Top Five Gravel Events on YouTube
  8. ^ "Extreme Race's Allure Is Simple: 200 Miles of Gravel". The New York Times. Associated Press. 23 May 2015.
  9. ^ a b c d Farrel, Sean Patrick (11 June 2013). "Neither Wind Nor Gravel Will Stop These Grinders". The New York Times.
  10. ^ "Chaos and controversy: Inside the quagmire that clogged Unbound Gravel 2023". Global Cycling Network (GCN). October 5, 2023.
  11. ^ Taylor, Tom (14 June 2017). "What it's like to race in the Dirty Kanza 200". Sports Illustrated.
  12. ^ Ian Dille (7 July 2015). The Cyclist's Bucket List: A Celebration of 75 Quintessential Cycling Experiences. Rodale. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-62336-446-5.
  13. ^ Spencer Powlison (31 May 2018). "Dirty Kanza goes big with new 350-mile race". VeloNews. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  14. ^ a b c "Unbound Gravel rebounds with stellar fields and prairie pain – Preview". Cycling News. June 2, 2021. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021.
  15. ^ "Joel "Big Grin" Dyke". Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  16. ^ "Life Time Fitness acquires Dirty Kanza". 18 September 2018.
  17. ^ "Dirty Kanza 200 Quick Facts". Dirty Kanza. 2018-01-23. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  18. ^ The 2019 Dirty Kanza Could Be the Toughest in History; May 29, 2019.
  19. ^ "2020 Event Status Update (Postponement)". Dirty Kanza. Archived from the original on April 21, 2020.
  20. ^ "2020 Event Status Update (Cancelled)". Dirty Kanza. Archived from the original on July 9, 2020.
  21. ^ "Dirty Kanza organizers are considering options for a possible name change". CyclingTips. 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  22. ^ "Dirty Kanza responds to campaign petitioning for name change based on racist allegations". 20 April 2020.
  23. ^ "Dirty Kanza boss fired over 'inappropriate and insensitive' comment". VeloNews.com. 2020-06-21. Retrieved 2021-05-13.
  24. ^ Samples, Chuck. "Dirty Kanza founder fired from Life Time Fitness over social media post on officer-involved shooting". www.kvoe.com. Retrieved 2021-05-13.
  25. ^ Giddings, Caitlin (2020-07-15). "Why the Name of a Major Gravel Event Is Being Changed". Outside Online. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  26. ^ "The Dirty Kanza is now Unbound Gravel". VeloNews.com. 2020-10-29. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  27. ^ "10 contenders at Unbound Gravel". Cycling News. May 27, 2024. Archived from the original on June 4, 2024.
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