Dutch rider Thomas Dekker was reportedly stopped on his entrance to the United States for Unbound Gravel, his compatriot Laurens ten Dam has said, stemming back to an incident involving the pair prior to Unbound in 2024.
Before the race two years ago, the Dutch duo made headlines when they were arrested and spent 10 hours in a cell after getting changed and washing outside their campervan in a public carpark in Oklahoma.
The arrest allegedly stemmed from a complaint from an onlooker and was made on the grounds of indecent behavior in a public space.
The pair had to pay bail of $185, and whilst they didn't appear in court and weren't formally prosecuted, a record of the incident was made against their names.
It was the record of this incident that caused problems for Dekker as he returned to the US for this year's Unbound. Speaking on his Live Slow Ride Fast podcast, Laurens ten Dam said that Dekker was stopped and questioned when he landed in Chicago, missing his connecting flight to Kansas City.
According to his Instagram stories, Dekker has now made it to Kansas.
Ten Dam had experienced similar the last time he entered the US, so Dekker had been calling him asking for advice.
"Apparently, a note was made somewhere saying 'These are two sex offenders'," Ten Dam said, recalling that he had previously been stopped with his children and therefore the border authorities were "a bit more accommodating". He added: "Thomas, of course, didn’t have that."
Dekker was apparently stopped for three hours, but allowed to continue his journey after the border authorities looked up news stories of the 2024 incident.
"In hindsight, it was all resolved quickly," Ten Dam said. "You explain what happened and they do a quick Google search, and then everything is fine again."
Dekker will line up for the Unbound 200 race this year, whilst Ten Dam is sitting the event out this time, instead participating in the Shimano Rebound event which sees riders complete their own rides in their local area and can earn them a spot at Unbound 2027.
