Hi Team,
This weekend I flew out to Kansas for the Unbound 100 gravel race, the second round of the U23 Lifetime Grand Prix. Since this was only the second week of my internship at SRAM, I decided to fly out from SLO on Friday morning at 5am so I could still work most of the week. I arrived in Kansas City and made the 2hr drive to Emporia just in time to pick up my number and do a short shakeout ride on course. I was staying with my sponsor BMC and their pro teams, and had dinner with Greg Van Avermaet and Simon Pellaud. The team had a pre-race meeting to review the segments and plan feed zone logistics, then I prepared my bottles and nutrition for the next day and got to bed early.
On race day we woke up at 4am to eat breakfast before the early start. The 108 mile race started at 7:30 in a mass start with 1700 riders across all the age group categories. The u23 men and women started at the front, and I knew it would be important to stay in the top twenty to avoid crashes or splits in the peloton. Any farther back in the group was dusty with flying rocks, making it hard to see any of the holes or ruts in the road. Unfortunately hundreds of other people had the same idea, leading to an endless washing machine cycle and creating chaos. There were multiple crashes and I ended up involved in two pile-ups, but luckily my bike and I were mostly ok and I made it back both times. Frustrated with the large group dynamics, I went to the front on the first rolling technical section and drilled the pace for 10 minutes, forming a breakaway of 15 u23 riders that stayed away for the rest of the day. However we didn’t realize that two u23 riders had gone up the road early in the race to avoid the chaos, and they already had 5 minutes by the time we were notified at the aid station halfway through the race.
Despite having slightly twisted bars and hoods from the two crashes, my wheels and drivetrain were good so I decided to roll through the feed zone. I grabbed a musette bag with 3 new bottles and 8 gels, so I could continue to fuel the second half of the race and hit my goal with an average of 123g carbs/hr. The u23 group continued to roll fast, but wasn’t cooperating very well and lots of riders started throwing attacks. I closed down most of the moves and could tell my legs were feeling good. After a rough rocky section at mile 75 I found myself away with a small gap, and my friend Griffin and I decided to commit to the move. We took turns pulling hard for the next hour, looking back to watch the group exploded as they attempted to chase. Eventually 3 riders made it back to us, and I was able to sit in and recover as my legs were on the verge of cramping. We decided to work together to hold off the chasers behind even though the lead two were far gone. It came down to a sprint for 3rd, but I cracked at the top of the final hill and rolled in for 6th place.
Even though I was one step off the u23 podium, I am satisfied with this solid ride. I am lucky to have made it through the race without any major issues, narrowly avoiding crashes and mechanicals. This result puts me in 3rd overall in the U23 Grand Prix so far, which means I am officially qualified to compete in the Leadville 100 MTB race later this summer!
