GRIT AND GRAVEL AS BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS MAKE THEIR DEBUT AT THE UNBOUND 200

For the first time, Team Bahrain Victorious colours will light up the world’s premier gravel race, Life Time Unbound Gravel 200, in Kansas, USA.

Since the event’s inception in 2006, Emporia, Kansas has become known as ‘Gravel City’. Previously, Kansas had been known mainly as the setting for the much-loved movie, The Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy follows the yellow brick road to meet the Wizard.

Bahrain’s wizard of gravel is UCI World Champion Matej Mohorič, and while the yellow bricks will be replaced by loose stones and dust on June 1st, like Dorothy, he will have companions on the 327km (203 miles) route. Not a scarecrow, a lion & a tin man, but the heart, brains and courage of Lukasž Wiśniowski and Matevž Govekar.

Mohorič is fired up by the prospect of appearing in such a prestigious, if gruelling, event:

“I’m excited to take part in the ‘Unbound Gravel 200’ for the first time. It will be only the 2nd gravel race of my life [the first being his World Championships victory last October], so there are still a lot of unknowns.”

The race starts from downtown Emporia at 5:50am on June 1st, and as well as the length of the course, the 1,308 riders (137 in the Men’s Elite category) will also have to tackle 3,611 vertical metres over 10 hours or so in the saddle.

“I don’t know what to expect, to be honest!” admitted the 29-year old. “It’s quite a bit longer than last year's gravel World Champs [169km]. It’s double the distance, double the time, and double the elevation gain, so it suits riders with more endurance and stamina.
I’m not sure how I will go against the others, but I will definitely do my best, and enjoy my day out in the rainbow jersey as the current World Champion. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime, unique experience, and I will make the most of it.”

The course runs over ascents & descents on tire-shredding, sun-baked gravel in a region called the ‘Flint Hills’. One of the toughest sections comes after just 72km on Divide Road. It’s a relentless stretch of rough terrain leading that includes the Prarie View Road climb.

Just over halfway through is ‘Little Egypt’, where the rocks are bigger and where previous editions have seen very significant attacks. When the tank is almost empty, and with just 45km to go, the longest climb of the day is exposed and windy to Lake Kahola, before the run to the finish back on Commercial Street in Emporia.

With Matej in Veneto eight months ago was fellow Slovenian Govekar, who finished 15th, while Wiśniowski has never competed on this surface. Like Mohorič, the Pole has no idea what the day has in store:

“I have never competed on gravel, and I know very little about the race itself, but I know that my role will be to protect our leader Matej, support him, and help him on the course however I can. I’m really happy because it’s my first big gravel race, so even though I am not so young, I must learn all the time, and I will do my best on the day!”

The differences between road and gravel racing are not only what’s under the wheels, but also that there are no team cars, and helpers can only give food & drinks, etc, at two points - km 112 & 238. In addition, riders CAN give each other mechanical assistance, are allowed to stop at shops along the way, and may even receive support from members of the public! Lastly, they must all carry a mobile phone, and pass timing checkpoints within a certain time behind the race leader.

Govekar is the youngest of the party crossing the Atlantic, and is in agreement with his teammates: “I am really excited to try my hand at ‘the gravel race of all gravel races’, but at the same time, I am frightened because of how long it is. I am pretty young but I already know this is a really big challenge physically and mentally. I’ll try my absolute best in the race of course, and you never know what might happen!”

There will be several names on the start list known to road cycling fans, including Nathan Haas, Chad Haga, and 2021 winner Ian Boswell, alongside last year’s victor Keegan Swenson.

Being held in the very centre of the United States, our trailblazing trio is unlikely to encounter the wicked witches of either East or West, but this is a daunting, dirty, head-to-head contest in the mud and heat, where mechanicals are inevitable.
Nonetheless, Bahrain’s entrants are ready for the adventure of their lives.

He will be clipping his pedals instead of clicking his heels, but Mohoric is hoping that somewhere over his rainbow (jersey!), where skies are blue, the dreams that he dares to dream really do come true:

“Lukasz and Matevž will be with me, and we will make it an unforgettable day out there. It will be super long and crazy hard, but we will try and go for it; why not!” he concluded.

The Life Time Unbound Gravel 200 starts at 12:50 CET, and the winning time last year was 10 hours, 6 minutes & 2 seconds.
Life Time will release 45 minutes of race highlights on Monday, June 3rd, for in-depth coverage of the race.

Fans can view that on the Life Time Grand Prix YouTube channel & see how Team Bahrain Victorious fared in their quest for gravel glory!

Text: press release provided by Team Bahrain Victorious