Mads Würtz Schmidt (Specialized Off-Road) rode away to victory in the men's Unbound Gravel 200, after escaping with teammate Keegan Swenson midway through a race battered by heavy rain, wind and mud.
It was, however, another teammate who ultimately snared second place with Matt Beers crossing the line more than five minutes after the European Champion, while Tobias Kongstad (PAS Racing) took third.
"I was on a really good day, and it was quite a ride. But in the end, I couldn't have done it without Keegan. He's a champion," said Würtz Schmidt on the race live coverage.
When the Dane was out front with Swenson, almost 10 minutes ahead of the chasers, he suffered a gash to his rear tyre. Swenson stopped to help him fix the issue, but it turned out to be more than a mechanical adjustment.
"And then Keegan, he was quick to say that 'you need my wheel', because it was clear that I was the strongest, and the best chance for a win between me and Keegan was me. So he sacrificed his race and his Grand Prix, and everything for me," said Würtz Schmidt.
The Traka 360 winner made the most of the sacrifice, crossing the line to celebrate his second huge win this month.
How it unfolded
All the riders and bikes were coated with a layer of mud after the first 13 miles, as overnight storms dropped pockets of heavy rain in eastern Kansas. The 'D Hill' three-mile climb after mile 10 was not as vicious as the 2023 race edition, but several riders had to dismount and dislodge mud from derailleurs and cogs, including former Unbound 200 winner Keegan Swenson (Specialized Off-road).
With some separation after early mud, the lead group contained Mads Würtz Schmidt and Matt Beers of Specialized Off-road, Cobe Freeburn, Daxton Mock and Torbjørn Andre Røed of Trek Driftless, Romain Bardet (Factor Racing), Nils Brun, John Borstelmann, Daan Soete (Ridley Racing) and Frederick Raßmann.
Thirty seconds back were a solid group of chasers, Lachlan Morton (EF Education-EasyPost), Brendan Johnson (Giant), Arno Van den Broeck (Powerplus Grave Team), Caleb Botcher (ENVE), defending champion Cameron Jones (Scott Sports USA-RCC), Simon Pellaud (Cervelo-Assos-Maxxis) and Adne Koster (Seka Bikes).
Thomas De Gendt (Power Plus Gravel Team) was in the lead into the first feed zone, at mile 43.5, and seemed to accelerate through the area while a few others slowed down. There was a regrouping across the next few miles, and Mock attacked from the front group, which had grown to 21 riders.
On Texaco Hill, the lead group began to split, with mud beginning to be an issue. Beers, Alexey Vermeulen (ENVE) and Pellaud all seemed to have some issues but worked back to the group.
After mile 62, having passed over Texaco Hill, three riders moved away with a serious acceleration - Würtz Schmidt, Swenson and Freeburn. They opened a 25-second gap on the chasing group of about 16 riders across the next seven miles.
The second Feed Zone, 82 miles done, had mechanics and pro support crews positioned on the right side of a very narrow dirt road with trees on one side and farmland on the other, where all three leaders stopped, all getting hosed down by support crews to clear bikes and bodies of mud.
Once the chasers came through, only a few riders stopped for bottles or other nutrition, and no one took a pressure wash. Would this be an advantage later for the breakaway? The trio opened a two-minute gap to the chasers when everyone was through the area, 124 miles to go.
At mile 98, almost the halfway point, the trio charged on, averaging 23 mph and extending their lead to more than six minutes, clouds dropping more rain on the western side of the course.
Just a few miles later on a long drag of farm road, the Specialized Off-road duo moved away from Freeburn, quickly opening a 30-second gap. A dozen riders remained together for a solid chase, but were eight minutes back.
With 75 miles to go, the two leaders opened a nine-minute advantage.
Then disaster struck. Würtz Schmidt suffered a rear flat, and the two stopped. Swenson attempted to help his teammate repair the tyre, but then opted to give his back wheel, the European Champion taking off solo. Swenson then went to work to put a tube in the repurposed tyre.
But the mechanical proved a challenge even for Swenson, who struggled to reattach the freehub, which had fallen off. The chasers of Beers, Herzog, Jones, Freeburn, Johnston and Kongstad flew by Swenson.
After 151 miles of racing, Würtz Schmidt charged on with seven minutes on his side ahead of chasers Jones, Kongstad and Beers, and Brendan Johnston (Giant) another two minutes back. Freeburn rode alone four-and-a-half minutes behind Johnston, while Swenson joined forces with Emil Herzog (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) another two-and-a-half minutes back.
Jones, however, began to slow and drifted backwards, leaving Beers and Kongstad as the main chasers going through Council Grove, the northernmost section of the course.
Heading to chunky gravel and rolling miles before Lake Kahola, the European Champion only dropped his average race speed to 22.95 mph, the road on the northern section of the course dry, the sun back out but lingering humidity making temperatures feel warmer than high 70s. Beers and Kongstad held steady at seven-and-a-half minutes back.
After a string of riders behind these three - still Jones, Johnston, Freeburn - Swenson now rode with five other riders 21 minutes back - Koster, Herzog, Soete, and Piotr Havik (Castelli SOG x Colgnago),
Würtz Schmidt wasn't gaining significant time as he passed Kahola Lake, but he wasn't letting the two chasers get closer to his virtual hold of the win either, as they still had 7:30 to make up.
Beers, however, ultimately left Kongstad behind and then no longer had to worry about moderating his pace to preserve his teammate's gap out front. He crossed the line nearly six minutes behind Würtz Schmidt to secure a clear-cut Specialized Off-Road one-two.
After Kongstad crossed the line to take third, it was then fourth for Johnston, a spot up from last year, and, despite giving up a wheel, Swenson managed to cross the line in fifth.
Position |
Rider (Country) Team |
Time Gap |
|---|---|---|
1 |
Mads Würtz Schmidt (Spa) |
9:14:51 |
2 |
Matthew Beers (RSA) |
+5:03 |
3 |
Tobias Kongstad (Den) |
+9:52 |
4 |
Brendan Johnston (Aus) |
+21:55 |
5 |
Keegan Swenson (USA) |
+24:28 |
6 |
Adne Koster (Ned) |
+24:51 |
7 |
Daan Soete (Bel) |
+24:51 |
8 |
Emil Herzog (Ger) |
+24:52 |
9 |
Piotr Havik (Ned) |
+24:52 |
10 |
Cameron Jones (USA) |
+24:54 |
