A year ago, Sarah Sturm (specialty) finished third in the Elite Women's category at Lifetime 200, calling her more than 12-hour adventures "fan-bound" with high irony. She says she was pleasantly surprised to have taken the podium in a 205・mile muddy race that actually came in at 200 miles, "For me, it's as good as winning

6/1 weeks before the 3rd start at the Giant of Gravel starts, the Sturm was already in Kansas State." The territory is covered only before 2021 and at the end of the year 2. She has won the podium in the Traca Gravel, a distance of 360km, and is ready to work on the second round of the Lifetime Grand Prix.On an adventure of more than 11 hours, unexpected things are always expected: an unexpected thunderstorm, a 2,000-foot elevation rise, and a new test with a wider gap at the start between elite women and amateur racers.

"I'm excited about the luck of the North Course. I had the opportunity to ride on many of those [new] sections. And I don't know if that will help with my gear selection or ask more questions," Sturm said at a pre-race virtual press conference this week, including Cyclingnews "But we've gone back and forth on what bikes and what tires to ride for the North. Pre-riding is different from racing."

One of the topics of the Unbound Gravel 200 is to return to the journey north across the undulating and unforgiving grasslands of Kansas, a 92-mile route consisting of rough roads strewn with Flint rocks of about 203% tire slices plus elevation gain over 11,000 feet. But what makes this even more difficult is the inevitable penetration by rain storms and winds across the wide open grasslands.

"I'm a fan of mud and elements and whatever Unbound has to bring. I like the problem solving of gravel racing," sturm said with a wry smile, explaining why he likes the sport he adopted in 2019.

"I think some people think it's because I'm trying to hide fitness or something, but that's a big part of being a good gravel racer is problem solving. I've never raced a pro road, but I can't raise my hand and ask for a bottle, or ask for a new bike or wheel."

She has a diverse background in cycling, having competed as an amateur on the road, in mountain biking and cyclocross, she won football 2018, American Single Speed Cyclocross National Champion in 2019 and Belgian Waffle in 2019. He won in Lulide California and took third place in SBT GRVL.

This season was Sturm's 3rd campaign at the Life Time Grand Prix, and her consistency paid off in 2022 with a 3rd overall and a 4th overall last year. She finished in 67th place in the series' opening event, the Sea Otter Classic Fuego XL, an 8-mile mountain bike race, 7th in the Mid-South Gravel Race and 3rd in the Growler, a 140-mile classic-style road race in Northern California. It was a great experience.

Sturm said he expects the strongest field for the gravel race at Unbound this year and got signs of international talent heading to Kansas in the Traka360 (228 miles) in Spain. After a 16-hour effort in the saddle last year to reach 2nd place in the women's division, she came back again to 340km, which was changed to 360km the night before due to heavy rain for 4 days before the race, to 3rd place.

"In the 360 of this year, it was a much deeper and more competitive field than the 200 [for women] But unintentionally, it made me think that the competition for Unbound in the women's field would be one of the most competitive unlimited fields we had.1 

"The start of the traka began as soon as Unbound started. So I think it would be helpful. And knowing how the riders do in the 11th hour, for me, it helps to see, as if who has that extra kick

In Traca, the longer route distances and elevation increases are in the unbound menu more than any of the massive 1-day gravel races on the calendar. It was similar to what I had seen in the past. It was a good preparation for Kansas.

"Traka's 360 was similar in elevation to Unbound will, but this is kind of wild when you think about it. The rolling hills of Unbound will definitely stack up. Traka has more single track and technical riding and variety. I'm not a geologist, but there are different types of rocks in the traca, and there seems to be fewer types in the unbound," she said. 

"I was definitely surprised by the North Course and its beauty, but I just don't think there are the same variations on the type of terrain. This course does a good job of actually testing all the limits.

Sturm said that in 2024 it would be a "completely different landscape" than when he switched to gravel focus 5 years ago. She was disappointed that unbound did not implement drafting rules for elite riders related to other categories of riders, but Life Time changed the start of unbound200 to give elite women a longer gap from amateurs on the start grid. 

Last year, amateurs started just 8 minutes after Elite women, and by the time Elite was slogging through a muddy climb at mile 11, the women-only tactic disappeared as the field was mixed. 

"To be completely honest, it was a bit disappointing to see that there was no drafting policy that we thought would happen. It's a much more expensive and more logistically challenging argument than just "OK, no male drafting." You think they'll understand that, hopefully, for the next year," Sturm said.

"At the end of the day, we just kind of want to see a deeper and more competitive women's field. And with that, I think the team's tactics could be something in the future. I want to be a part of it.

As the sun barely illuminates the crowd of thousands gathered for a multi-category race starting on the commercial streets of downtown Emporia on 6/1, elite women will start at 5 minutes after CDT 6:05 am for elite men and amateur riders will start at 6:30 am local time after 25 minutes. We will leave.

"People in Life Time and Unbound are helping us get closer and closer to getting a fair race for women. It is a really tricky element of women's gravel racing and has become a very fair race for women. And now we are not, we are not there yet, but we are approaching.

"But unfortunately, it's probably another start to a group of guys where some of the women get in, just because no matter how it's always played, but I think, at the end of the day, that's the race we have. So you play the game.”