Results and quotes from the 2021 UNBOUND Gravel this past weekend. The Flint Hills of Kansas scattered riders all over the prairie. In the men’s field, the top 35 riders were scattered over 2-hours while the women’s field, 2-hours separated out the top 20 women. Below are quotes from both winners in the 200 mile race.
Photo credits 400 North Creative. View men’s results | View women’s results
Men’s 200 Garmin UNBOUND Gravel
Men’s 200 Garmin UNBOUND Gravel, presented by Craft Sportswear Race Winner, Ian Boswell will return to work on Monday.
Ian Boswell came into this year’s World Series of Gravel as cool and relaxed as Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. He left the champion of the 2021 Garmin UNBOUND Gravel presented by Craft Sportswear.
You know that Toby Keith song? I ain’t as good as I once was, But I’m as good once as I ever was.
Ian Boswell said moments after his UNBOUND Gravel victory.
But that doesn’t mean he didn’t have winning capabilities. Boswell was an important domestique for winning WorldTour teams like Team Sky and Katusha. He’s raced all three grand tours and has been a part of several team victories. There was a gap, however, of 11 years from his last victory to today’s win at the 2021 Garmin UNBOUND Gravel, presented by Craft Sportswear.
Today’s win was a big win, with or without that 11-year gap. So what does this win mean for Boswell? Not much, really. It’s a gravel race. I’m a retired athlete, nothing really changes. I’m going to work on Monday. He then added: “But I can’t believe I won a sprint!” Boswell said that it was an eventful day in the pack, going so far as to call it ‘mayhem.’
People were racing like squirrels… and typical [for me], I was the last person to make every split.” Boswell’s years of riding for Team Sky and Katusha translated into expert pack riding skills and an ability to close gaps; he knows where to be in a bike race.
Women’s 200 Garmin UNBOUND Gravel
Women’s 200 Garmin UNBOUND Gravel, presented by Craft Sportswear race winner, Lauren De Crescenzo got married in Colorado on Sunday and won the Garmin UNBOUND Gravel race while road tripping back to her home Atlanta, GA on Saturday. It was a quick 206-mile detour that took just 12:06:49.
This is our little honeymoon to Emporia,” said De Crescenzo at the Garmin UNBOUND Gravel press conference in the Emporia Chamber building. “We had to do a big push. I was just focused on getting married. And then I just was focused on Unbound Gravel. We’re on a road trip back to Atlanta and we had to make a little pit stop in Emporia on the way home.
Lauren De Crescenzo
This wasn’t De Crescenzo’s first time at Unbound, but it was definitely her best. She first raced at the 2019 event, but a crash left her with a broken collarbone. After being in the lead early on with her teammate, Flavia Oliveira, it looked like this race could have gone a similar way. For a few moments it appeared De Crescenzo’s race might suffer an untimely and disappointing retirement for a second time, but this time it was De Crescenzo’s bike that took the beating. She suffered two flats in the first third of the race and looked to be out of the mix early.
I had two pretty bad flats,” said De Crescenzo. “It was very stressful. I put a tube in, it wasn’t sealing. I was like ‘awww, my race is over,’ but then I was like, ‘no, I’ve got this.
If nothing else it would have been good training for her, as she will toe to the line in Knoxville, Tenn. for the Professional National Championship races in two weeks.
At the end of the day, just after 6pm CDT, Lauren proved that she did in fact have this. The one remaining question to answer is how UNBOUND Gravel training works for Pro Nationals.