Cyclingflash
'Unbound Carnage': Mads Würtz Schmidt wins chaotic and brutal edition of famous gravel race

'Unbound Carnage': Mads Würtz Schmidt wins chaotic and brutal edition of famous gravel race

Mads Würtz Schmidt claimed a memorable edition of Unbound Gravel. The Danish former road cyclist (now a gravel specialist) crossed the finish line in Emporia with a large lead, after a race marked by chaos, punctures, crashes, withdrawals, and a lot of mud.

In Emporia, Kansas, USA, the moment had come again on Saturday. The best gravel riders gathered for Unbound, the largest gravel race in the world and considered by the gravel community as the unofficial world championship. From a Dutch and Belgian perspective, attention was on several well-known names, and many top international riders also took part in the demanding gravel race.

With a Dutch lens, the focus was on former winner Ivar Slik, Ramon Sinkeldam, Jasper Ockeloen, Piotr Havik, and Thomas Dekker, while Thomas De Gendt, Daan Soete, and Lawrence Naesen represented Belgian gravel racing. Romain Bardet, Taylor Phinney, Lachlan Morton, Petr Vakoc, and Chad Haga were some notable foreign names on the start list.

Rain creates extremely tough conditions
In the week leading up to Unbound, there was much talk about the expected weather, and due to rain in recent days, the course was very muddy. This made Unbound a true test of endurance, where bad luck was lurking around every corner.

Early on, a breakaway group of about fifteen riders formed, featuring familiar names like Bardet, De Gendt, Ockeloen, Soete, and Schmidt. The latter clearly felt at home on the challenging course and broke away from this group together with Americans Keegan Swenson (who was also a teammate) and Cobe Freeburn.

This soon proved to be the decisive move, as the trio built a nice lead in very rainy and almost apocalyptic conditions. This also took its toll: the exhausted Freeburn had to let his two fellow attackers go. Shortly after, a new twist followed. Due to mechanical trouble, Swenson had to give his wheel to team leader Schmidt, leaving Schmidt to ride alone.

A solo effort of no less than 110 kilometers
The Dane (former rider for Katusha and Israel-Premier Tech) then faced the daunting task of riding the last 110 kilometers solo. However, Schmidt proved strong enough to complete this highly ambitious solo attack. He faced mechanical issues several times along the way but was unstoppable and heroically won Unbound’s queen stage.

South African Matthew Beers and Dane Tobias Kongstad finished at a respectable distance in second and third place. Brendan Johnston and Swenson completed the top 5. Adne Koster was the first Dutch finisher in sixth, followed by Piotr Havik, who also managed a top-ten result (9th). Remarkably, Swenson was the only American to finish in the top 10.