Fiercely independent in spirit, Unbound is the USA’s premier gravel event, attracting the creme de la creme of the global gravel scene. You could say it is already one of the fast-evolving gravel world’s Monuments.

Axelle Dubau-Prévôt and Hugo Drechou travelled to Kansas to race in the Unbound 200 (which is around 320 kilometres long). Before the big day, the guys got out into the Flint Hills to sample some of the infamous dirt roads and gravel tracks. Unbound, which takes place in Kansas’s Flint Hills, is known for its challenging rolling terrain, deep gravel and tyre-shredding flints, and on the course recce the weather was threatening a mud-fest like the 2023 race.

They also did their final preparation in their Kansas HQ, a wooden cabin-style house where they relaxed in down-home American style before the big day.

At the pre-dawn start, it was clear that the rain would hold off. Instead, temperatures would climb during the day to over 30º C. This, along with the blistering pace, caused problems for our duo.

Hugo had to abandon at 170 kilometres in, a little over halfway. “My preparation was perfect and I felt ready for this Unbound, but in the end, things didn’t go the way I’d hoped,” he said. “After 170 km of racing I felt completely empty – both physically and mentally – and I stopped. It wasn’t an easy decision, but I preferred to save myself in order to bounce back quickly for the upcoming races! I’m frustrated, of course, but I know that all the work I’ve put in will pay off for the rest of the season.”

As for Axelle, she completed the course, coming in 28th. “I was feeling great at the start of the race and in the early fighting for a place, but then I started to feel really unwell – very, very unwell because of the heat,” she said. “My skin was burning terribly and I was really spacing out; I was getting dropped even on the flat and just trying to hang on as long as I could, but after a while I simply couldn’t keep up that pace. I finished the best I could… I was disappointed at first, but I know that there was absolutely nothing more I could have done, so no regrets on my part.”

The USA’s Cameron Jones won the men’s race in 8h 37’ 09”, taking over half an hour off Lachlan Morton’s previous course record. A few years ago in the men’s race, a 10-hour ride was considered fast; this year it would have got you an 81st place. Poland’s Karolina Migoń, who topped the podium at Traka 360, won the women’s race in 10h 03’ 54" at an average of over 20mph (32kph).