Gravel is BACK: 2021 Unbound Photo Essay
Part photo gallery, part navel gazing about covering Unbound, part Gonzo journalism
Covering the 2021 Unbound Gravel Grinder was not necessarily part of the CXHairs Bulletin summer plans, but when my buddy Mike asked me to come to support a group of guys from Madison taking on the famed Flint Hills, I could not say no.
I covered my first Unbound Gravel event for Cyclocross Magazine in 2018, and I was instantly taken with the electric atmosphere and the positivity of the event. I know skepticism and snark about gravel have been en vogue as the discipline has grown in popularity, but—and I hate doing this—but if you go to Emporia at least once, chances are good you will understand what the hype is about.
It is against that backdrop that an offer of a free trip to Unbound—and a stop at Joe’s Kansas City for BBQ—that I could not say no to helping Mike, Mark, Dave, and Brian during their run at the Unbound grind.
Of course, you can take the journalist out of a journalist position, but you cannot take the journalist out of a current hobby blogger … or something like that. Anyway, thanks to the previous work I have done covering the race, I was able to snag a media credential, and with the first checkpoint nearly 70 miles into the race, I knew I’d have lots of time to bust out my camera and chase the race like I did in 2018 and 2019.
In trying to decide what to do with this post, it was not lost on me that the race itself has been covered quite a bit. Plus, because I was helping the Madison guys, I completely missed the last 50 miles.
At the same time, I hate to go all gonzo journalism and make it all about ME. To try to find a sweet spot somewhere in between, this post is a little photo gallery, a little about what it’s like covering a gravel race spread out on a 200-mile course, and a little about the race, the course, and what took place out in the Flint Hills.
Gravel, is BACK
Each year I have covered Unbound, the amount of media covering the race has seemingly grown exponentially. When Ted King and Kaitie Keough won in 2018, I was able to join my buddy Matt from Gravel Guru in snagging relatively exclusive winner interviews. In 2019, trying to snag the winners’ bikes became an effort in cajoling and working through my standard array of detail photos in quick order. This time around, they issued special “exclusive” media passes for the post-race interview zone.
This year, walking around the Everything Gravel expo on Friday, it seemed that if you did not have thousands of dollars of video equipment or your own personal portable recording studio, what were you even doing there.
The same was true of the scrum to end all scrums that formed in front of the riders as they lined up on Commercial Street. In cyclocross, it’s eight across—not that big of a deal—at Unbound, the front row was spread across four lanes of traffic. Things were so chaotic that defending Women’s champion Amity Rockwell had to squeeze her way to the front among the gathered throngs at the urging of fellow defending champ and former teammate Colin Strickland.
It goes without saying that part of what was great about the Unbound weekend was the ability to be back with people and riding bikes. Inside the media pit, part of what makes events so much fun despite the long hours of work is the chance to reconnect with friends and get that adrenaline rush that comes from being at a professional bike race.
The same is true of gravel—some people call it their “gravel family.” Among the old friends I ran across on Saturday morning was Friend of the Bulletin Becca Fahringer, who decided to make her first run at the Unbound grind.
Covering Unbound is a unique challenge, to say the least. In cyclocross, as the Official Photographer of North American Cyclocross Bruce Buckley once explained, you can use amateur races and pre-ride to scout out good photography spots and angles.
With a gravel race such as Unbound, you can scout out some locations, but usually they are in the first 25 miles or so, lest you end up putting a few hundred miles of driving in, often on sketch gravel roads, the day before you … put in a few hundred miles of driving in on sketch gravel roads.
Usually what I will do is look at the map and try to find spots where roads come into the course perpendicular to the direction of travel. For the first half of the race, it is almost impossible to navigate around the groups, and more importantly, as I have observed others doing in the past, it is incredibly rude to kick suffocating dust up in the faces of riders who have enough challenges to deal with already. At least in my opinion.
As such, I usually give the lead group 20-22 miles per hour and try to gauge when I can expect them at a particular location on the course. Last year, I stayed at the front of the scrum to the very last second and snagged a nice photo right before the race got underway.
This year, I actually did some scouting a few miles outside town and wanted to get some shots of the front of the pack rumbling down the gravel tracks, as it were.
The biggest challenge was that with the course going north, there was literally one road out of Emporia in the area where the race starts. To get out before the mass of riders clogged up the roads, you had to book it out of Dodge and hope to not get stuck in two-wheeled traffic. I bailed on waiting for the scrum to clear for a shot of the front row and as a result was successful in beating Colin and Amity out of Emporia, and the game was on.
Fast and Furious
This year, the 25- and 50-mile versions of Unbound took place on Friday, so I was able to find exactly what I wanted from my first spot. I guess the pictures from Friday kind of spoiled the surprise, but LOOK AT ALL THOSE RIDERS AND DUST AND GRIT.
In cyclocross, we always josh other photographers about making sure to get that foreground course tape, but Unbound upped the ante with FOREGROUND FLOWERS.
This spot was about five miles into the race, and the pace was still pretty mellow and conversational. A few photos prior to this one, Colin Strickland, middle right above, was turned chatting with the rider next to him.
What followed was a stream of riders for a good 10-15 minutes. At the start line, riders kind of self-select by their (usually overly ambitious) finish time, so after the lead-group favorites and posers go through, riders trickle through in groups of various sizes.
It’s a long story about my buddy Brian always does too much work at the front of any ride or race he’s in, so it was beyond perfect to see him come through leading what seemed like half the Unbound 200 field.
This also seems like a good spot to mention that so much of what makes Unbound a success is the way the Emporia community has embraced the event. It is a rare occurrence to find people celebrating bikes and cyclists, and I made sure to savor every little moment of people—in, let’s be honest, not the most liberal state—welcoming cyclists and enjoying their desire to come take on the challenge of the Flint Hills.
The real reason I wanted to hit this spot early on was really born out of regret. One of the course’s gnarliest sections was along E Kaw Reserve Road, which riders traversed from roughly Mile 25 to Mile 30. Last year, I opted to skip this road because I was afraid of flatting a tire in my rental mini SUV, but armed with my buddy Mike’s Ford F-150 truck monster, I was not going to be denied this year.
What struck me about this section was the speed with which the leaders went flying through. The section featured some rolling hills and descents that were probably better suited for a mountain bike, and two-track that really put being near the front at a premium.
Adding to that need to be at the front, the middle section between tire tracks is where a lot of the sharpest rocks have accumulated, so jumping from one track to the other meant testing the fate of the Flint Hills gods and risking a slashed sidewall.
One needn’t have looked any further than the facial expressions of the riders to see just how intense the pace was through this section.
If you have followed any of the race reports from Unbound, you may have heard that it was HOT on Saturday. With nary a cloud in the sky and temps peaking above 90, the weather took a massive toll as the day rolled on.
The unrelenting sunshine also admittedly takes its toll on photographers. With no mud and only a moderate amount of grit, the conditions are bright and not necessarily the most photogenic for most of the day. These photo spots early in the race really provide some beauty that makes you want to stick around and try out different things.
As anyone who follows me on Twitter or listens to the Media Pit knows, I am not exactly a morning person. Getting to the start line of Unbound at 5:40 a.m. is definitely a challenge and an early rise that left me feeling like I got hit by my monster truck on Monday. However, one highlight is the chance to see an amazing sunset, and 2021 did not disappoint once again.
Luck is Really Just Another Word for Luck
One thing photographers aspire to do is “get the shot.” Be in the right place, at the right time, and to be honest, don’t screw up the settings or focus on your photo.
In 2019, it was Brad Kaminsky who “got the shot,” when he was in position to photograph Colin Strickland looking back as made his race-winning attack. Brad executed the photo well, technically, and well, was in the right spot. To say I was jealous was an understatement.
In 2021, I think it’s fair to say your humble hobby blogger “got the shot,” but we’ll get to that in a bit.
With two stops down, I knew I had one more stop in me before Checkpoint 1 at about Mile 70. I picked out a spot around Mile 55 that was accessible without driving on the course and pointed my trusty truck in that direction. Approaching that spot, I came to a literal fork in the road. Go right onto Hessdale Road and hit the course at one spot, go left on Nehring Branch Road and hit it at another.
I chose left, and I guess the Unbound gods were with me.
Part of the challenge of gravel is its relatively self-supported nature. You have to plan your nutrition, you have to have a map of the course, you have to pack enough water. It was at this location that the whole “knowing the course” thing shone through.
The section featured a hard right into an uphill, but as the lead group approached, it was clear they were not making the turn. I went back and Zaprudered the situation, and it appears it was Dylan Johnson was the guilty party in leading the pack astray.
The pack then scrambled to get back on track.
Flats and mechanicals are a regular part of any Unbound, and for elite talent with podium hopes, being left out of that early group can be absolutely devastating. Among the riders who missed the boat, as it were, were ginger hero Matteo Jorgenson and Go Go Mathieu’s Teammates Edward Anderson.
The lead group was not the only gaggle of riders to miss the turn onto Christy Road. Eventual winner Lauren De Crescenzo’s group also missed the turn and had to double back to get back on course.
One of the challenges of covering a gravel race is that with the mixed-gender start, there is some separation between the front of the Men and Women’s races. I have always done my best to cover the Women’s race as best I can, and in this case, it happened to put me in just the right spot.
As I was getting ready to head to Checkpoint 1 to prepare for the arrival of my Madison guys, I saw a Trek-Segafredo rider slowly riding backward on the course. As it dawned on me that it was race favorite Quinn Simmons, I knew I had to follow and get at least one picture and post it on the Twitter machine. Simmons has become a polarizing figure in the cycling world and literally the day before, BIG CYCLING MEDIA posted an article arguing that he was the rider to beat for the day.
As it happened, I was in the right place at the right time.
Simmons’ injury and withdrawal were the result of a crash at the front of the race shortly after the missed turn I was at. Simmons was one of several riders involved in the incident, and he was not the only rider to withdraw after the crash. You hate to see something like that happen, but with the increasing speed at the front of this race on the challenging terrain of the Flint Hills, such crashes seem increasingly inevitable.
Checkpoint 1 and Beyond
Checkpoint 1 was again in the town of Alma, which is located about 55 miles due north of Emporia. The checkpoints are definitely one of the most interesting aspects of the Unbound experience, and 2021 was again no different.
Each rider’s support crew is assigned a color-coded area to park in, and without necessarily knowing the lay of the land, it is incumbent on the support crew to communicate exactly how they will be visible to riders who have already buried themselves for 3.5+ hours on incredibly challenging terrain.
Among the leaders at Checkpoint 1 was Friend of the Bulletin Curtis White. Not going to lie, was in full Go Go Curtis mode at this point (I’m a hobby-blogger now, what can I say?)
After covering the race in 2018, I made a vow to myself to cover the chaos of the checkpoints in 2019, and I did, as I peeked in at the then Panaracer-Factor p/b Bicycle Exchange team. As a person who has literally studied the checkpoint shuffle, I thought for sure I’d be able to nail it.
Prior to the race, my buddy Dave, probably the strongest of the Madison crew, swore he wasn’t going to go out too hot. Spoiler alert, he did.
Dave came through with the two women’s leaders and needless to say, I was not prepared. HE SAID HE WASN’T GOING TO DO THAT. Anyway, things were a bit more leisurely with Mark and Mike, who were already telling me Unbound was the hardest thing they have ever done. At Mile 70.
After leaving Alma and Checkpoint 1, I headed to another spot south of Alma close to Highway 99 to check out the action.
In other disciplines of cycling, places can take on an almost transcendent level in the lore of the sport. The Koppenberg, Alpe du Huez, Namur, Nove Mesto, the list goes on.
At Unbound, there is an endless string of steep pitches followed by breathtaking views of the Flint Hills, but most of these kind of get labeled as “the Flint Hills.” If there was a second name that rang out in the post-race accounts after E Kaw Reserve Road, it was “Little Egypt.”
The Little Egypt section featured one of the course’s toughest climbs, with a steep pitch and loose rocks strewn everywhere. As Amanda Nauman put it on the forthcoming episode of Groadio!, it was “Like no one has ever driven on it.” Once up the climb, riders then traversed a ridge before heading back down on an equally gnarly descent.
When I came in 2018, finding spots with few, if any, other people was pretty easy. This time around, it seemed nearly impossible to find a spot that other folks were not populating.
After I posted by 20 Belt Buckle Hopefuls post for the Women’s race, my Nowhere Fast co-host chimed in suggesting there needed to be some sort of pundit accountability for Unbound, even though I was one of the few prognosticators to go deeper than the five or so riders who were unequivocal favorites.
With the thought of KBH holding me accountable, I was positively freaking out that Flavia Oliveira was leading the race at Mile 100. I, admittedly, had no idea who she was, even though she finished 7th in the road race at the Rio Olympics. I was frantically texting my font of knowledge for all things road racing, Super Rookie Tim from the Slow Ride Podcast. You can read her Wikipedia page, and likely conclude that midway through the race, the potential for post-race heated discussion was high.
Harkening back to that first stop and locals supporting the race, my next stop around Mile 120 allowed me to converse with some locals whose home happened to be on the race’s route.
Of course, then there was SHIRTLESS RUNNER GUY.
What was that guy doing there? IDK. But he was shirtless. And running. Did I mention it was really hot out? Maybe that’s why.
The Last Stop, for Me
After several chances to follow the front of both the Women and Men’s races, I wanted to find one more spot to peep the action before I had to turn the coverage over to FloBikes while I helped bring my Madison guys home.
I ended up settling on a climb just before Checkpoint 2, which was located in Council Grove. As my colleague Amanda pointed out on the upcoming episode of Groadio!, we in the media tend to gloss over just how difficult Unbound is. I experienced this first hand at this random location due to riders in both the UGG XL and UGG 100 being forced to walk up the hill I stationed myself at.
Eventually, the lead group of five rolled through, still going relatively strong.
And the chasers came by as well, hoping for a small miracle to land them a podium spot.
This climb admittedly proved to be photography gold, as it highlighted the stark contrast between the beauty of the Flint Hills and the personal struggle individual riders were facing, knowing they had another 50+ miles to grind out before returning to Emporia.
The other highlight of the 2021 Unbound Gravel Grinder—UGG, if you will—for me was being the person who first informed eventual winner Lauren De Crescenzo that she was winning the race.
If you don’t know Lauren’s story, I highly recommend checking out the piece I wrote about her in 2018 that covered the traumatic brain injury she suffered in a crash in 2016 all the way to her rebirth, of sorts, as a gravel racer.
On Saturday, as Lauren crested a hill in front of me, I could hear some sort of yelling that I assumed was because I was standing in front of a very tired athlete. As it turns out, Lauren was yelling, “WHAT PLACE AM I IN?”
I had not yet seen Oliveira come through at that point, so I responded, “I think you’re in first.”
To which, De Crescenzo responded, “Cool.”
Cool, it proved to be.
Behind De Crescenzo were Emily Newsom and Amity Rockwell in hot pursuit. Rockwell would soon go solo, while De Crescenzo hooked up with a small group, and the rest, as they say, was history.
Final Thoughts
After two years of shooting the finish from the finish chute, I was admittedly bummed I was not there to see the sprint finish between Ian Boswell and Laurens Ten Dam and Lauren De Crescenzo’s triumphant trip down Commercial street, but I quickly reached a certain peace with my lot role at the event in 2021.
While I missed the last 50 or so miles of the race, I did get to see what the “average” rider experiences at the event. It was inspiring to see Mark and Mike will Dave into shaking off cramps and heat exhaustion to grind out the last 50 miles and become an UGG finisher.
While it is cool to celebrate the Elite athletes who succeed within the gravel discipline, ultimately, Unbound, for most, is about a battle with yourself and whatever demons are telling you to give up on your effort to finish the famed 200-mile race. The sprint finish was amazing, but to see guys I know and respect conquer those demons together is something I will long not forget.
This was very nice to read, ZS. Always enjoy seeing the event from your perspective
A most enjoyable read.