34 Men Belt Buckle Hopefuls to Watch at the 2021 Unbound Gravel Grinder
2021 features the most stacked field of the famed Kansas race that is more stacked than the previous most stacked field
The first-ever Unbound Gravel Grinder week is upon us and the GRVL hype is starting to rumble like the rough terrain in front of the lead group rolling through the Flint Hills.
Yesterday, we rebooted the Buckle Watch with a breakdown of the Elite Women’s field, and today, we return with a look at some of the men of note who will be vying for the title of UGG King.
There are a lot of talented dudes in this field, so without any further ado, let’s do the thing.
Elite Men
As the bike race formerly known as the Dirty Kanza has grown from a grassroots event to the biggest bike race in America, it has become kind of trite to remark “this year’s field is the most loaded to date.” Well folks, once again this year’s UGG 200 is the most loaded to date.
Before we get started, one unfortunate absence will be North America’s favorite GRVL provocateur Geoff Kabush. Kabush made waves with his anti-aero-bar campaigning, including showing up in 2019 in denim #aerowhat attire, so riders choosing to use the weird bar-like extensions can breathe a few sighs of relief that they will not be shamed for their choice in GRVL bike accessories. Also too, Kabush finished 3rd in 2018, so his absence also makes the field a little less stacked.
Speaking of aero bars and a destackedization, also absent from the UGG 200 field will be 2017 DK200 champion—and gravel bar connoisseur—Mat Stephens. While Kabush will be home watching the live stream while chugging a few beers, Stephens will be out with the Panda trying his hand at the UGG XL. Sorry Kabush, the Bulletin loves you, but point Stephens on this one.
Heading up the Elite Men’s field will be 2019 DK200 winner and Groadie Rider of the Year Colin Strickland. At this point, it’s hard to try to say more words about Strickland as a gravel racer. The dude soloed away from World Tour riders for 100 miles, got a WorldTour contract offer, and is now cutting sweet Red Bull #hype videos. Strickland benefitted from flying under the radar in 2019, but you can bet he will have to be a bit craftier this time around if he wants to defend his title.
One of the favorites to dethrone Strickland and become the first UGG King is 2019 silver-medalist Peter Stetina. After a successful 2019 campaign where he won the Belgian Waffle Ride and had that runner-up at the DK200, Stetina decided to leave the World Tour behind and go solo into the unknown as the highest-profile gravel privateer to date. Stetina’s timing was a bit unfortunate because of the pandemic, but he returns in 2021, looking to continue ruining gravel by doing things such as promoting women’s racing at his own gravel event.
The 3rd and 4th-place finishers from 2019 are not currently on the start list, although as WorldTour riders, it would not be surprising to see them swoop in with sponsor exemptions. Alex Howes rode his DK200 experience to a Natty at U.S. Road Nationals a month later, and Lachlan Morton went on to do things even crazier than 200 miles of gravel in the Kansas summer heat.
Rounding out the podium in 2019 was the most adventurous of ‘staches belonging to Payson McElveen. After a disappointing run at the 2018 DK200, the long-distance mountain biker and graveleur bounced back by winning the 2019 Land Run 100 in a three-up sprint and taking that 5th spot at the DK200. McElveen heads to Emporia this year fresh off a win at the Rule of Three gravel/singletrack race recently held down in Arkansas, although the water down in Arkansas has him feeling a bit under the weather.
Before moving on to the rest of the field, it is only proper to give a nod to 2015 Yuri Hauswald. A legend in the endurance mountain biking and gravel disciplines, Hauswald returns to the UGG 200 field this year as UGG royalty thanks to his win of the famed 200-mile race.
When talking about the rest of the field, it is tempting to start with the WorldTour riders, but instead, we again head to the annals of DK200 winners with two-time champion Ted King. King finished 8th in 2019 in a trio finish along with Kiel Reijnen and Josh Berry after suffering from flats that ended his run at chasing down Strickland’s solo attack. King broke his collarbone a month ago, but he returned last weekend at Gravel Locos, where he finished 7th. King has his work cut out for him, but if anyone knows what it takes to win in Emporia, it is Ted King. And it would only be fitting to have a King as the first UGG King.
Joining King in the retired-WorldTour pro cohort are Dutch interlopers Laurens Ten Dam and Thomas Dekker. Of the duo, Ten Dam is the one whose name is currently ringing out on the GRVL scene after he dropped Strickland, Stetina, and others to win at Gravel Locos in Texas last weekend. If GRVL betting markets existed, Ten Dam would be a popular choice for the win, place, or show at this year’s UGG.
While EF Education First appears to not be doing the “alternative calendar” thing this year, and Stetina retired from the WorldTour to #ruingravel, the WorldTour will still be well-represented this year. Kiel Reijnen of Trek-Segafredo returns to look to improve on his flat-marred 6th-place finish from 2019. He will be joined by polarizing teammate Quinn Simmons, who was suspended by Trek-Segafredo last fall due to inappropriate social media behavior. As evidenced by efforts such as his bandit run at the White Rim FKT after Payson McElveen did it in 2019 and his win of Junior Road Worlds in Yorkshire, Simmons should not be discounted as a rider to watch at this year’s UGG. Another young American WorldTour rider in Movistar’s Matteo Jorgenson takes up the banner for ginger graveleurs everywhere as well.
While it’s not quite the WorldTour, it is Mathieu van der Poel’s team, and that’s pretty impressive. Edward Anderson, who finished 2nd to Stetina at Belgian Waffle in 2019, has been signed by Alpecin-Fenix to do a mix of gravel and road racing.
The WorldTour is definitely shiny, but there are a number of riders who have already been excelling on the gravel scene during the past few years. Josh Berry finished 2nd at the 2018 DK200 and took 3rd at Gravel Worlds that same year. He also finished 2nd overall at the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder stage race in the summer of 2019.
Joining Berry as an accomplished gravel racer is John Borstellman. Borstellmann, who is originally from Lincoln, Nebraska finished 4th at Gravel Worlds in 2018 and then returned to win the race in 2019. He also finished just outside the top 10 at the 2019 edition of the DK200.
Tristan Uhl had a low-key solid 2019 gravel campaign. The endurance mountain biker finished 10th at the DK200 and then took 5th at the Oregon Trail GG and then 3rd at Gravel Worlds. He comes into UGG on the heels of a 5th-place finish at the Rule of Three race in Arkansas last weekend.
Helping represent for the GRVL Masters category is California’s Jonathan Baker. The former cyclocross pro and current Masters 45-49 cyclocross national champion has been finding a lot of success on gravel roads as well. Baker finished third at the 2020 Mid South and 5th at SBT GRVL in 2019. He kicked off this season with a win at the Rock Cobbler in California and an 8th-place finish at the Grasshopper Adventure Series race last weekend.
Ten Dam and Dekker are not the only retired road pros giving GRVL a go at UGG this year. Ian Boswell, who raced for Team Sky and Katusha-Alpecin toward the end of his WorldTour career, has his eyes set on gravel glory this year. Boswell enters UGG riding well, after turning in a 2nd-place finish at the Rule of Three race last weekend.
Jacob Rathe, a self-described recovering professional cyclist, retired from professional cycling in 2018 after spending the last five years with Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis. Rathe jumped into the gravel scene in 2019 with great success, finishing 4th at the Oregon Trail GG and taking 3rd out of the stacked SBT GRVL field in Colorado.
One rider who escaped the notice of the Buckle Watch in 2019 and then made us pay was Canada’s Christian Meier. Meier, who raced 5 Grand Tours in his pro career, went it Send-It Saturday at the beginning of the 2019 DK200 and had a massive lead off the front at Checkpoint 1 before getting derailed by flats. Last year, Meier built up a bike he claimed was inspired by the Mad Max War Rig, and for that reason, he is a new favorite of the Bulletin because that movie still RULES.
Gregory Daniel, who raced for Trek-Segafredo in 2017 and 2018 and won the 2016 U.S. Pro Road Race, is another former WorldTour pro who is hoping to live by the immortal words, “You live. You die. You live again.” Daniel, who was the 2016 U.S. Road Race National Champion, did his first gravel race last fall and has now set the discipline as a target. He is hoping to pull and Alex Howes and turn UGG success into a win at Road Nationals a month later.
A former road national champ who has already transitioned to GRVL is Eric Marcotte. Marcotte, who won the 2014 Road Nationals, finished 2nd at the 2019 Gravel Worlds and finished just outside the top 10 at the 2019 DK200. This year, Marcotte is a member of the Best Buddies criterium team that you may remember from such criterium imbroglios as #critbeef.
Another domestic pro whose road in cycling has led to groad success is Brian McCulloch. McCulloch’s standout result has been his win at the 2018 Belgian Waffle Ride. McCulloch finished 4th at the Rock Cobbler earlier this year and is hoping to recreate that Belgian Waffle magic at UGG this year.
Timothy Rugg is another pro journeyman who has dipped his toes in the GRVL waters. Rugg took 9th at the Crusher in the Tushar in 2018 and last year during quarantine, rode his bike across America. On Zwift. In 13 days. Will the ziles prepare him for the GRVL miles? We will see in due time.
Speaking of Zwift guys, Matt Curbeau is a northeasterner who has transitioned from triathlons to indoor racing and GRVL grinding. Curbeau is a member of the Saris-Pro’s Closet Zwift team and Velocio NE IRL team that counts Nowhere Fast co-host Kevin Bouchard-Hall as a member, and he has some solid gravel results that include a 9th-place finish at the 2019 SBT GRVL with the aforementioned loaded field. Curbeau’s ziles have been short and intense, and again, the Nowhere Fast crew will have its eyes set on how they translate to IRL grinds.
Former Novo Nordisk team member Ezra Ward-Packard has been embracing the alternative racing lifestyle. Earlier this year, Ward-Packard took on the 1,000-mile Arkansaw High Country backpacking race and rode well against Ted King before taking a DNF. He bounced back, however, with a 2nd-place finish at the Pinyon and Pines Bikepacking Race in Arizona. Regardless of how this year’s run at the UGG 200 goes, it sounds like a turn at the UGG XL is likely in his future.
Changing courses a bit, literally, there is a group of endurance mountain bikers that have been showing out on the gravel scene. Dylan Johnson has been racking up solid gravel results, including a top 10 at the 2018 DK200 and a win against several big names at a race in Florida early in 2020. Johnson took 4th down in Texas at Gravel Locos, suggesting he is on good form for another run at a top 10 at UGG. Johnson also gets the YouTube bump for his coaching videos, and no doubt, he will likely be spoon-feeding his competition plenty of Backwards Hat Dylan ideas to throw them off their respective games.
Alexey Vermeulen is an endurance athlete who originally hails from the great Midwest and has a unique story. Vermeulen was a promising young talent who signed with LottoNL-Jumbo when he was 21, but after two years with the team, his contract was not renewed. Vermeulen’s success in recent years has come on the mountain bike, where he finished 2nd to drop-bar Geoff Kabush at the Iceman Cometh in 2018 and then won the race the next year in 2019. Still just 26 years old, Vermeulen is one of many riders with something to prove this year at UGG.
Zach Nehr is another Midwesterner with UGG aspirations this year. Nehr has found a home in gravel, racing for the Panaracer - Factor p/b Bicycle X-Change team in recent years while also coaching and providing insights into athletes’ power profiles for VeloNews. No doubt Nehr is hoping he will get to write a story about his winning power numbers in the UGG 200 this year.
Cory Wallace is not from the Midwest, but he is from Canada, and folks there are pretty nice as well. Wallace in an endurance mountain biker who is a member of the Kona Endurance Team. You think your pandemic was crazy, Wallace got locked down IN NEPAL for four months and spent a total of 11 months in the Asian country. IDK if everesting literally near Mt. Everest will translate to success at UGG, but man, what a trip.
Jeremiah Bishop is a lifetime endurance mountain biker and off-road adventurer. Bishop, who joined the Groadio! podcast last fall, recently completed the 7-day Impossible Route bikepacking tour that went 750 miles from Yuma to Bishop along the California Backcountry Discovery Route. Bishop brings a lot of experience and craftiness to the field and after completing the Impossible Route, 200 miles of Kansas gravel are no doubt likely to feel a little less than … impossible.
Flipping to the opposite end of the race-length spectrum, we find Bulletin hero Curtis White. White, who most of us know for his cyclocross success, has also raced some gravel near his Northeast home at the Once Again Racing gravel series in Upstate New York. White was also a nominee in the Rider We’d Like to See Race More Gravel category for the 2019 Groadies, so again, from the Groadio! podcast’s lips to the start line at UGG.
Speaking of cyclocross, after a go at the 2019 DKXL, 2018 DK200 runner-up Jake Wells is back in the UGG 200 field. However, since the three-time defending Masters 40-44 and Singlespeed Cyclocross National Champion doesn’t like doing things the easy way, he will be racing UGG on a singlespeed. Wells, who also did the 2019 Land Run 50-mile run slash 100-mile ride double, might find it hard to keep up with the hitters while running one gear, he is an accomplished endurance rider who should not be counted out.
There are sure to be plenty of cattle roaming the fruited plains of the Flint Hills, and one rider who might be tempted to stop and get acquainted is #critbeef protagonist Travis McCabe. McCabe, the defending pro criterium national champion, is throwing his hat in the ring at UGG the week before the much-anticipated Tulsa Tough Criterium weekend. While we saw both Alex Howes and Lance Haidet go on to win Road Natties a month after the 2019 DK200, it remains to be seen how 200 miles of gravel will prepare McCabe for the first of his highly anticipated showdowns with Justin Williams racing for an hour on pavement.
While the pro triathletes of note are on the Women’s side, Cory Lockwood is the two-time defending amateur time trial national champion, so he knows a thing or two about aerobars and riding hard. Lockwood won the Redlands Bicycle Classic on the road in 2019 and raced the Rock Cobbler earlier this year as part of his own groad to UGG.
Finally, the darkest of horses is another rider who hopes his ziles will translate to giles (gravel miles) at UGG this year. Nowhere Fast podcast host Mike Swart’s journey to Unbound has been documented on this year’s podcasts, and now the Watopia regular gets his chance to see how those winter miles translate to success in Flintopia.
Will one of these men win at Unbound this year? Again, I hope so! Because it makes me look marginally intelligent. However, again, as we said with the Women’s race, it takes much more than talent to win on the unforgiving gravel roads of the Flint Hills. With the field more stacked than the previous most-stacked field, we can only hope that the drama and intrigue will befit the biggest gravel race in the world.
THE NEXT BEST PREVIEW ON THE INTERWEBS