Emily Newsom (TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank) compared her experience racing the Unbound Gravel 200 to giving birth. Newsom, a professional cyclist and mother, secured third place behind winner Lauren De Crescenzo (Cinch Cycling) and runner-up Amity Rockwell (Pinarello Scuderia), covering the 206.8 miles in 12:30:52.

"I gave birth to a child. This was the first race that I've ever done that was comparable to having a child," Newsom said after the event, which was run in the Flint Hills of Kansas on Saturday.

TIBCO Silicon Valley Bank entered Emma Langley, Lauren Stevens, and Maddie Ward in the 100-mile race, which Stevens won. Newsom was the only member of the Continental women's road race team to compete in the 200-mile race.

Newsom arrived not long after her victory in the Gravel Locos in May and was among the favorites to win, along with Allison Tetrick, Rebecca Farlinger, Oliva Dillon, Shayna Powles, and Andrea Dvorak, as well as De Crescenzo and Rockwell

"Graham".

"I'm really enjoying the gravel scene and I'm in pretty good shape right now, so I thought, what the heck." Newsom said before the event. I just want to try something I haven't done yet and see what my body can do."

At the first checkpoint, mile 68.3 of the 206.8-mile race, de Cresenzo ran with teammate Flavia Oliveira, four minutes ahead of Newsom and Whitney Allison, with Shayna Powles and Rockwell another two minutes behind.

But as the race unfolded, de Cresenzo and Newsom ran together and passed Oliveira. De Crescenzo took the solo lead at the second checkpoint at mile 155.8, while Rockwell moved into second place.

It was Newsom's first experience with the gravel race, which is notoriously one of the most difficult in the U.S. She said it was really tough, but that she would love to do it again.

"The whole event was great. But the whole event was well organized. I was surprised by the gravel," Newsome said.

"There were some parts that I didn't expect and I thought, 'Wow, they really make you run through this, it's crazy.'"

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"If they showed me a picture and said, 'Oh, you're going down this,' I don't know if I would have come. But when I did the race, I realized I could do it. It was a lot of fun. I'd love to come back and do the technical stuff better."

"Also, I really liked the whole atmosphere, everyone was excited, the whole city was excited, there was music, it was like a party.