Local residents and cycling enthusiasts from around the world convened in downtown Emporia to celebrate the sport of gravel riding during the 2021 Garmin Unbound Gravel finish line block party Saturday.
Thousands were on hand to cheer on the winning riders for the Unbound 200 and 100-mile rides which launched Saturday morning and the XL 350 mile ride which began Friday afternoon. Taylor Lideen of Phoenix Arizona was the first XL rider across the finish line boasting a record average speed of 15.5 mph finishing in under 23 hours with a final time of 22 hours, 57 minutes and 14 seconds.
Lideen says winning is great but the main goal for any rider is simply finishing.
Lael Wilcox of Anchorage, AK, repeated as the first woman to cross the line in the XL finishing 12th overall after finishing 6th overall in 2019. When asked what it took to accomplish the grueling ride she simply says “resilience.”
The conclusion of the men’s 200-mile race was a nail-biter with the top four riders crossing the finish line in the span of 70 seconds. Ian Boswell of Barnet, VT, was crowned the new King of Gravel edging out Laurens ten Dam of Holland. Both finished with a time of 10 hours, 17 minutes and 24 seconds.
Peter Stetina of Santa Rosa, CA, edged two-time winner Ted King for fourth place. Both finished in a time of 10:18.35. 2019 winner Colin Strickland finished fifth.
Boswell says there was a lot of mutual respect amongst the front runners.
In the women’s 200 mile distance, Lauren De Crescenzo of Atlanta, GA, was crowned as the new Queen of Gravel finishing with a time of 12 hours, six minutes and 49 seconds. Amity Rockwell of Oakland, CA, was second with a time of 12 hours, 22 minutes and 15 seconds.
Emmy Newsom of Fort Worth, TX, finished in third, Whitney Allison of Fort Collins, CO, was fourth and Shayna Powless of Jacksonville, FL finished fifth.
While the win is a memorable one for sure, it was just the cherry on top for what has been an already amazing week for De Crescenzo on a personal level.
Race Director Ben Sachs says the entire week was phenomenal from start to finish.
Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jeanine McKenna says Unbound, and other major events like it, have a tremendous economic impact on the community.
While the main races are officially over for this year’s Unbound Gravel, the slate of activities is not at an end just yet. The annual awards ceremony is scheduled to take place Sunday morning between 8 am and 9 am.
Photos by Tagan Trahoon and Greg Rahe/ KVOE News and Sports
