Unbound Gravel, formerly known as the Dirty Kanza, is an event comprising gravel racing covering various distances held annually during the late spring in the

Flint Hills The Flint Hills, historically known as Bluestem Pastures or Blue Stem Hills, are a region in eastern Kansas and north-central Oklahoma named for the abundant residual flint eroded from the bedrock that lies near or at the surface. It consists of ...

region of the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

around

Emporia, Kansas Emporia is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 24,139. Emporia lies between Topeka and Wichita at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 with Interstates 335 ...

, United States. The race's organizers refer to the mile race as the "World's Premiere Gravel Grinder", and ranked as one of the top gravel bike races. Winners are awarded a

belt buckle A belt buckle is a buckle, a clasp for fastening two ends, such as of straps or a belt, in which a device attached to one of the ends is fitted or coupled to the other. The word enters Middle English via Old French and the Latin ''buccula' ...

Course

Starting and ending in Emporia, the routes runs along rural roads in the

of east-central Kansas. In some years the temperature on the route has exceeded , while other years have seen rain or hail. It is not uncommon for rain to turn some dirt roads into "mud roads". There are checkpoints spaced about 50 miles apart for longer races, and riders must carry water and food, as well as fix their own tires and bikes. If riders receive outside support at any location other than official checkpoints it will result in immediate disqualification. Riders may assist other riders by any means and at any time.

Events

Originally, the event was started as a mile race, but over the years additional lengths have been added to encourage more riders to give it a chance. Though the name of the race distances are rounded off to nice numerical values, the actual distance of each race is slightly different. The event consists of the following races: * Unbound Gravel XL is a race. It was introduced in 2018. * Unbound Gravel 200 is a race. The original Dirty Kanza ultra endurance gravel bicycling challenge was started in 2006. * Unbound Gravel 100 is a race. It was introduced in 2013. * Unbound Gravel 50 is a race. It was introduced in 2013. * Unbound Gravel 25 is a race. It was introduced in 2013. * Unbound Gravel Junior is a race for 7th to 12th

grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage * Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope Grade or grading may also ref ...

teens.

History

In 2006, the first year of Dirty Kanza had 34 riders. In 2018, Lift Time Fitness purchased Dirty Kanza Productions. That year the race had 2,500 registered riders. In 2019, the race had 2,750 registered riders.The 2019 Dirty Kanza Could Be the Toughest in History; May 29, 2019.
/ref> Several changes occurred in 2020. First the races were postponed from May 29–31 to September 10–13 because of the ongoing worldwide

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

issues, then later were cancelled. Organizers considered a name change for the event to remove reference to

Kaw nation The Kaw Nation (or Kanza or Kansa) is a federally recognized Native American tribe in Oklahoma and parts of Kansas. It comes from the central Midwestern United States. It has also been called the "People of the South wind",

(also known as Kanza) based on an online petition despite representatives of the Kaw Nation responding to the allegations, saying "Life Time and the Kaw Nation are proud of our relationship, which is built upon mutual respect, dignity, and integrity" and "It was felt that 'Kanza' paid homage to the region (the Kanza Prairie), to its rich history, and to all things associated with the region, including the Kaw Nation". The same year, the event's founder made a statement that the police shooting of an intoxicated black man in Atlanta who grabbed an officer's taser and fired it at the officer was "justified". The ensuing controversy resulted in his eventual firing by the event's parent company, Life Time Fitness. On October 29, 2020, it was announced that the name of the race would be changed to Unbound Gravel. In 2021, the race had 2,626 registered riders.

Winners

Rebecca Rusch is notable for placing first female in six events across three distances: DK XL in 2018; DK 200 in 2012 / 2013 / 2014; DK 100 in 2016 and 2017.

Unbound Gravel XL

Before 2020, the race was known as the Dirty Kanza XL (or DK XL). This 350 mile race was first held in 2018. Results verified at

Athlinks Athlinks is a free-of-charge social networking website aimed at competitive endurance athletes. It primarily presents race results for running, swimming, cycling, mountain biking, triathlon, and adventure racing. It is also represented as tool fo ...

.Unbound Gravel Event Results; Athlinks.
/ref>

Unbound Gravel 200

Before 2020, the race was known as the Dirty Kanza 200 (or DK 200). This 200 mile race was first held in 2006. Results verified at

Unbound Gravel 100

Before 2020, the race was known as the DK 100. This 100 mile race was first held in 2013 as the DK Half Pint. It became an official race distance in 2019. Results verified at

References

External links

{{Commons category, Unbound Gravel
Official race website

2018 DK200 race footage
(example of race and road conditions) * Highway maps
Emporia city mapLyon County map (includes Emporia)Kansas map
Sports competitions in Kansas Cycle races in the United States Cycling events in the United States Ultra-distance cycling Recurring sporting events established in 2006 2006 establishments in Kansas Gravel cycling