Lauren Stephens (Cynisca Cycling) takes multitasking to a new level again. As the American Gravel National Champion, she did not realize the early commit spot to focus on this year's road to qualify for the Paris Olympics, but her result sheets continued to burst from the road, gravel and race. 

A change of plans in late May allowed her to travel to Kansas from Brazil for the Unbound Gravel last week, but not for the 200-mile race as one of the seven events on the to-do list as rivals for the Lifetime Grand Prix. She scaled back to the women's 100-mile event and paid dividends with her 3rd win at that distance. 

She hasn't finished with a heavy trip yet, one day after winning Unbound100, she headed to Spain to join UCI2.1Volta Ciclista A Catalunya Femenina 7-9. 

"It was a last-minute deal. We decided we were going to do 100 with the Nationals, and I will head to Barcelona on Monday to do Volta Catalunya next weekend. So the 200 didn't make sense to fly on Monday," Stevens told the Cycling News that he collected 100 wins and had his 9th overall win.

Unlike the Unbound Gravel200, where professional women were offered their own start, the Unbound100 competitors had a traditional mass start last Saturday. Stevens rode the first 9 miles before the race, with a large group of men and only a handful of elite women in the mix including Flavia Oliveira Parks (specialty) and Laura King (Cannondale), 20. 

Along the way, Stevens was the only woman left before the race and overall rode the third wheel. She eventually lost contact with the front group, but was with a group of men, including her husband Matt Stevens, who widened her lead to win runner・up Parks and 3rd place King.

"Flavia was still there before the Creek crossing, I think we lost her somewhere around that creek crossing. It was good to see some of the women out there mixing it up first," she recalled of the race in front of the checkpoint at Mile 54.

"Unfortunately, I had to stop and put air in my tires at 100k (40 miles to go), it was on a headwind on the road section. The group seemed to be slowing down and it seduced someone to attack. So I didn't do it back to the front group. We ended up in a nice group of five or six who all worked together.

She stayed in the finish line area of Emporia and watched professional men and professional women finish the unbound 200, congratulating 200 runner-up Geerike Schreurs (Team SD Worx-Protime). 2 people took part in Cylance Pro Cycling in 2018, and Stevens was 2nd in the Pan American ITT that year, and Schriers was her Sowanour.

Two years ago, Stevens circumnavigated the Globe in three different World Championship races in a span of 21 days. She took 29th place in the Danish Mountain bike Marathon world, competed in a road race at the UCI Road World in Wollongong, Australia the following week (failed to finish due to illness) and returned to Europe to compete in the UCI Gravel World Championships.

This year, she added more mileage miles on trips from her home in Texas to West Virginia, Brazil, Kansas and Spain. Even a huge storm in Texas could not derail her decision to return to Emporia for an unbound.

"So I raced a road race on Sunday at the Nationals [West Virginia on the 19th], took a flight to Brazil, got there on Monday morning, raced a time trial on Tuesday. Then there was a nice day to train with Amber Neven and Shayna (Paules) and Megan (Easler)," she recalled. "Then we did a road race on Saturday and eventually it became a field sprint, we were confident in the sprint and we were successful in it.

"On Tuesday morning, a storm hit Dallas [before it was unbound], so we lost power. Our power came Thursday, 1 hour before we set off to get here [to Kansas]. We were preparing in the dark. So it was a busy week," she said with a laugh. 

As part of this year's Lifetime Grand Prix invitation-only field, Stevens decided to eliminate some wear and tear on her mind and body, her schedule because she did not race the Fuego XL and the Unbound 200, and now still have the remaining 5 Grand Prix to be eligible for the season-end prize purse. You have to race the event.

The US Road Nationals made ITT Championship winner Taylor Knibb (Trek Factory Racing) a priority to earn the remaining points for automatic qualifying for the Paris Olympic Road team's USA Cycling. 

Stevens has been banking on top Road results since May 2 - a win at the Clasica de Almeria, a stage win at the Tour de Normandy, an overall second in the inaugural Growler One-Day race at the Levi's Gran Fondo, on the tour of GC Gila. Pan Am Road Champion will use her resume for the last chance.

"You know, we can still file a petition, they will go on 6/11 and they will make a final announcement a few days later. So for sure, I will write my petition. And, you know, until it's over, it's never over," she told Cyclingnews.

She said she would eventually take time in mid-May after submitting her appeal to USA Cycling after a three-day Spanish stage race with Cynisca