EMPORIA (USA) – The fact is, I have so much to say… I usually find myself inspired, too, because I like being emotional. But in this case, I have so many things to write that I don't know where to start and how to fit it all together.Because gravel is another world. I'd love to say where I'm coming from, but that would be a preamble that goes beyond the race. And then about the race itself, on Unbound Gravel, I risk saying things that are perhaps obvious to me and perhaps don't get straight to the pointAnd they end up scattering in a vomit of somewhat confused words…
An American dot
I'd only ever heard of Unbound. It's the biggest gravel race in America, and maybe the world. I had read many articles, stories of former professionals who had tried itBut also many friends who did it as amateurs, just for a challenge, as they call it in America.
A challenge against oneself and against a path that is anything but obvious. Testing yourself on the classic 200 mile distance, if you are not trained and not familiar with cycling, is such a big thingBut even just doing 50 or 100 miles is a lot. Well, I'd only heard about it.
So, since we wanted the Gravel project, In my head, Unbound has always been a thingIt's all very big, American: all very "Wow!" Many praise its grandeur and majesty.
A day as heroes
Heroism prevails in doing this crazy thing. And beyond that, of course, Sponsors like Specialized have understood its value and absolutely must be thereEven if they want to excel, be at the forefront, be present and a protagonist in the American gravel scene. And with this Unbound they get straight to the heart of the matter. With this mega popular race, perhaps still not very famous, not very connected from a media point of viewThere's no live TV broadcast, but there are Instagram feeds, maybe YouTube. Highlights might be broadcast on TV, but on secondary channels.
In Europe, zero. We hardly hear about it, except because it won this year. Lachlan Morton. But apart from some specialized media, it's an event that almost doesn't exist here.However, having made this preamble, in front of such a big event that then resulted in a race, between the stories and what I have always heard and what the sponsors and the team asked of me, I promised you a story And I'd like to do that. So, here we are...
Change of skin
Expectations were good and they were confirmed, I don't want to say the opposite. But what really surprised me is the fact that the level has completely changedI'll give you an example, maybe I'm saying random things that aren't appropriate in an article, but it helps to understand. A year ago, when we were talking about gravel and UCI Gravel Series rather than other types of competition, it was understood that the sector was growing. However, there was still a rather gentle way of running, which meant that the races could be run in a somewhat joking manner.We were together, there was no need to re-learn the whole world of training or supplies and how to do them.
It wasn't a particularly serious dimension. It was a bit of a happy hour, like a simple wedding. And then, at the end, whoever was doing well would sprint or break away. But the competition was still based on adventure, on participating and completing a feat.The fact that the movement has grown so much now makes everything much more professional. So in this Unbound I found myself in front of organised teams, with highly trained and expert athletes, technicality from all points of viewI've also seen some skinsuits with an integrated camelback, which is very out of line with gravel. I've seen a lot of aerodynamics, which is becoming important in this sector too.
The fastest in history
Consider that this year, The 2024 Unbound was the fastest race in the history… of the UnboundWe've been racing since 2006, and in the early years, competitive racing wasn't that important. The stories of my former professional colleagues were all similar. That is, we trained for 15 hours, we went to the 200-mile Unbound, so 320 kilometers. And an average WorldTour athlete did it… smoking a cigarette.. To say it was pretty simple. You managed to win, you managed to sprint, you waited for those who were less trained.
Instead this year, We did the first few hours at an average of 40+, all in a group. And then little by little the selection was made. But whoever won the race, at the end had an average of 36I finished about 43rd, almost 40 minutes behind Morton and almost 33 minutes on average. So it's pretty crazy to think how exponentially everything has grown from one year to the next.
The trail was dry, with no muddy sections. We were heading northward than usual, so it was a slightly tougher ride. There was 3.500 meters of altitude difference, crazy, it was really hard.And it wasn't like there was a single climb with a 1.000-meter difference in altitude, they were all steep climbs of a kilometer, 500 meters, 300 meters... All like that and therefore difficult for me.
Wake up at 3,30am
So, to sum up, Unbound Gravel: 200 miles – 326 kilometers – 98 percent gravelThere were only two or three small asphalt connections, but they were truly negligible. Departure at dawn, at 5,50 in the morning the elite and then within 20 minutes everyone leaves, almost attached, divided into category groups. Getting up at 3:30 for breakfast was tough, even though I'd tried to keep my hours close to that on the days leading up to it.
There was very little light in the morning. It wasn't that cold, so everyone was wearing short sleeves and shorts.. All equipped with camelbak or 1-liter water bottles and in their pockets at least a couple of pens, that's what the tools for fixing tubeless tires with worms are called. If you have a hole in your tubeless tire, you stick this pen in. Pull it back, and you're left with a little worm made of slightly sticky rubber. This way you can plug the hole and then re-inflate the tire.
Lost in the desert
You had to bring survival gear, because at a certain point you really find yourself in the middle of nowhere. For over 50 miles, everywhere you look, there is nothing. Obviously it's easy to reach any point by car, but you're in the middle of nowhere and so if you want to survive you have to make do. It's obviously not the Sahara desert, but almost…
The rules say that the route must not be marked, so I had the track on the Garmin and the others on their devices. You need to bring your phone, because in case of extreme emergency, you need to have it to connect with someone, assuming there's a signal, because it's not a given. It's happened to me to find myself in the middle of nowhere without a signal, without a safety net.
Nine hours and 10.000 calories
Nobody had the lights, but supplies had to be organized. No one can have support on the route, except at two pre-established pointsIn fact, after 70 and 140 miles, there are two refueling stations. A giant parking lot, often in a village, with the tents of various sponsors and teams. You can stop or quickly grab the bag with 2 liters of water and food and water bottlesAnd the procurement aspect also really had to be evaluated.
I ate about 12 gels. Six water bottles with 70 grams of carbohydrates, which were in sachets and obviously full of mineral salts, potassium, magnesium, and everything else. About five liters of water. And in the end I counted about ten thousand calories consumedI did about 9 hours 47 minutes 27 seconds over 325 kilometers. A lot, a lot.
More than a Sanremo
I have never done such a distance, also in terms of timing. Sanremo is getting closer, but it can now be done in less than 6 hoursSo, a distance my little legs had never covered before. It was very fast at the start. There were a couple of particularly rocky spots, so there were some dangerous descents. Jumps, ditches, puddles, but with fairly neutral mud that didn't stick to the bike too much. There were crashes and even punctures.
Then from the second half of the race, around 100-140 km to the finish, the group really fell apart in the section where there were several climbs. Everyone took their place and it became a struggle with themselves. A fight against fatigue, to try to keep going as long as possible and manage my diet.
A big party
However, everyone wants to finish the race, because when you finish such a big adventure, it's still very satisfyingAlmost everyone posted that the lightest ones did about 250 watts on average and the heaviest ones like me, about 80 kilos, did 300 watts for almost ten hours. The level is very high and it's scaryFinally, upon arrival, there were giant stands, everything was barbecue, everything was tacos. So Mexican, American, Italian pasta. And everywhere there were so many athletes, all exhausted, all worn out, but a great atmosphere of… yeah!
I perceived a very competitive atmosphere and I'm a little sorry, in the sense that I always expected a more enjoyable atmosphere. Instead, I found myself in a truly WorldTour-like atmosphere. Going to bed early, eating well, and having few distractions.Not that anything special should have been done, but I imagined there would be a bit more of a merry-go-round, a more enjoyable atmosphere. But it was all very nice. Far be it from me to be polemical, to be completely negative: in fact, quite the opposite.
A very cool race
It was a fantastic experience from many points of view.The most beautiful thing, which perhaps struck me the most, is the involvement of so many people who have nothing to do with the racing part, but who are there to enjoy the weekend, the week and this adventure against themselves. I remember at some points, when the race was about to end, I found people on the route who were doing another lap and therefore they were lappedAnd when I passed them, I exchanged a few words.
"Is it hard?" And they were all excited: "Yes, it is hard!" So happy to do something so tiring, and that really impressed me. The happiness of finding the strength to do something bigger than themselves.
And anyway, it's a wonderful organization, a really cool race. So many great things, including the stands, the barbecues, the happy people. There was happiness, there was a desire to work hardThere was this whole super festive, yet sporty atmosphere, so there was even a beer at the end of the race. But everyone was excited, fired up, happy to have been part of this thing that was the Unbound, a truly cool race.
