Keegan Swenson and Carolin Schiff won the 2023 edition of Life Time’s Garmin UNBOUND Gravel presented by Craft Sportswear on Saturday.
Featuring the largest field in the event’s history, approximately 4,000 riders took on grueling courses through the Flint Hills region of Kansas completing 25-mile, 50-mile, 100-mile, 200-mile and 350-mile XL distances.
In the event’s flagship 200-mile race, which was 205.3 miles long, a muddy section began at about mile 11 and continued for several miles, causing the racers to walk, run or ride in the grass on the side of the gravel road. Some riders’ suffered race-delaying or race-ending mechanical issues because of the mud. After dry conditions midrace, the rain returned to drench the finish line in the evening.
In the elite women’s race, Jenna Rinehart opened an early gap of about two minutes, but 2022 winner Sofia Gomez Villafane overtook her and gained about a minute by mile 40. Near mile 70, Carolin Schiff of Germany caught Villafane with the likes of Ruth Winder, Marisa Boaz, Sarah Sturm and Alexis Skarda in pursuit. Schiff really began opening up her advantage near the halfway point, ultimately winning by more than 15 minutes in 11 hours, 46 minutes and 39 seconds.
“I realized that I could maybe make it,” Schiff said at the winner’s press conference. “My team from Canyon was just pushing me at the aid station. They told me ‘OK you have a gap and keep on going,’ and I did.”
After winning the 2022 race in 10 hours, 27 minutes and 40 seconds, Villafane finished second on Saturday in 12:01:40. The second-place finish, however, kept Villafane on top of the series standings.
“What a day, what a race,” Villafane said. “Gave it everything I had and beyond proud of making it to the damn finish line. Congrats to (Carolin Schiff) on a stellar race.”
Sturm also made it on the podium, improving on her seventh-place finish in 2022 to place third. Sturm finished the 205-mile race in 12:08:09, which was 53 minutes slower than her 2022 time, but one of the top performances this year.
Ellen Campbell finished 17th in 13:00:13.
The men’s race was also impacted by the muddy road. By mile 20, there was a lead group of about 10 riders including Swenson, Kiel Reijnen, Howard Grotts and Russell Finsterwald. Lachlan Morton and Ian Boswell pushed the pace early on, creating separation between the lead group of riders and the chasers behind. The group would eventually be whittled down to seven riders who began to play cat and mouse as they closed in on the finish line on Commercial Street. In the end, Swenson won the race in a sprint, beating Petr Vakoc of the Czech Republic by one second, improving on his second-place performance in 2022 and staying in the series lead. The top-seven placers all finished within eight seconds of Swenson.
“It’s nice to win this race,” Swenson said. “Second was a great result last year and I was content with it but to come up that short after almost 10 hours of racing is a bummer to lose it in a sprint.”
Jacob Huber led Durango’s contingent in the men’s elite race. The 18-year old placed 27th in 11:06:08. Grotts finished 19th in 11:06:13 and Cole Paton placed 30th in 11:16:22. Payson McElveen did not finish.
The Life Time Grand Prix will next head to Beaver, Utah for the third race in the series of six. The 69-mile Crusher in the Tushar is scheduled for July 8.
