Changes to this year's Lifetime Unbound Gravel presented by Mazda on June 1, 2024 include new roads, more climbing hills, and a finish chute exclusively for riders of the 200-mile event.

The weekend's signature event, the Unbound Gravel 200, is considered one of the most difficult and prestigious gravel races in the world and attracts international riders. 2024's course is 202.9 miles with an elevation gain of 11,850 feet, 2.6 miles shorter than last year, but with a elevation gain will be nearly 2,750 feet.

The Unbound 200 will be the second race of Mazda's Lifetime Grand Prix and will be the longest of the seven off-road races. With the global focus on the 200-mile race and a Grand Prix berth at stake, organizers have modified both the start and finish procedures based on feedback from athletes, including a 1.5-mile road closure and a race-specific path that was recently defined as a sprint finish. [Christy Mohn, marketing manager for Unbound Gravel, told Cycling News about the start of the Unbound 200.

"One of the things I love about our team is that not only do we listen to feedback, but we are athletes ourselves. We go through these competitions and starting lines and we learn from our mistakes and try to improve. We tried that starting time last year and it just wasn't possible. I think (this time) it will work."

Last year's start saw an avalanche of amateurs, with the elite women starting two minutes behind the elite men and another eight minutes behind. Many enthusiastic amateurs mixed with the elite women, causing congestion at several pinch points on the course.

This time, the elite women started five minutes after the elite men, and they started their run at 6:05 a.m. (CST) on the rugged Kansas roads.

All 200-mile competitors will have a dedicated finish chute in downtown Emporia. This will allow amateurs on the shorter route to finish on the same road as the elite riders usually sprint to the finish without the congestion. All riders will enter Emporia from Merchant Street, climb the punchy pavement of Highland Hill, turn to avoid the Emporia State University campus, and pass the finish on Commercial Street along the side lanes.

"I thought it best to avoid such a detour because of the expected congestion on campus. From Highland Hill to 12th Street, we will pass by the University, and we are working toward providing a different experience at the same finish line for the 200-miler and other shorter distances," Mohn said. [So it's going to be all the way up Highland Hill to 12th Street. In other words, they will pass right by the University. In fact, the athletes will be protected from Highland all the way to the finish line."

This is the first time the finish lane will be used to this extent, and the 200-mile runners will be separated from the other competitors for 1.5 miles.

Last year's women's winner, Carolyn Schiff, who was crowned women's elite champion by 15 minutes over the previous winner, Sofia Gomez Villafagne, finished in a large field in the 100-mile division. The past three men's unbound 200s have been contested in a sprint finish, and last year Keegan Swenson finished first after a seven-runner showdown.

In the 18 editions of this 200-mile race, the course has extended north of Emporia several times, but only twice, in 2019 and 2021, has it gone north to Alma, 53 miles north of the starting line on roads suitable for automobiles.

Riders will leave downtown Emporia with a police escort and travel north through Wabaunsee and Morris counties. The single loop course is a primitive road strewn with tire-scraping flint and craggy rocks, relentlessly traversing washed-out gullies and punchy climbs.

"We always say it's a thousand paper-thin deaths: you finish one and think OK, but when you get to the peak of that hill, there are seven more lying before you. No, Kansas is not flat.

"It's the cumulative effect of hill after hill after hill. Add to that the fact that a lot of it is solid and rocky. There are no smooth lines, so it takes more time to complete the run."

"It's the most difficult part of the trip."

"It's the most challenging part.

One of the most difficult sections, she said, is Divide Road at mile 45.5. This road has been used before, but "it's not in very good condition. There is an element of unknown until the morning of the race, which Mother Nature [did]," Mohn describes.

Most of the climbing, she says, is in the first half of the route, including the first checkpoint of the race at mile 70, Prairie View Road, a new climb just before the town of Alma.

"The roller section coming into Alma is where the uphills increase. That's where the meat and potatoes of the northern section will be," she stressed.

The western route from Alma is also new, with the addition of the Volland Road climb, making it more of a hill climb than ever. The route skirts the east side of Alta Vista, with Council Grove at mile 148 being the second and final checkpoint.

At mile 29, Lake Cahora is the longest climb on the route, an open section where the wind can wreak havoc. From there to the finish on Commercial Street, the last paved section of Highland Hill, is relatively flat.

This year, Lifetime will provide highlights of the race, which will be uploaded to the official Lifetime Grand Prix YouTube channel within 48 hours of the race. Cycling News will provide news reports, tech galleries, and full race coverage.