Life Time Grand Prix Photographs
Cameron Jones (Scott-Shimano), corridor with square wild card, gave a masterful performance after escaping with Simon Pellaud (Tudor Pro Cycling) two and a half hours into the race. Together, they opened an insurmountable gap to the rest of the pack.
JonesIn addition to winning the men's race, he set a historic record by completing the course at an average of 37.81 km/h.
The New Zealander could simply compete to secure his wild card, but he had the courage to go for the title.
“The idea was to race with a cool head, because I had the option of entering the Life Time Grand Prix on the right track. wild card. But once the race started, I thought, 'Who am I kidding?' and I went for it. I caught up with the leading group, overtook them, and went with Simon"I was hesitant at first, but he encouraged me, and we built our lead. It was great; we understood each other well, pulling evenly. We knew we could go all the way," he explains. Jones.
Already in the final bars, with Pellaud visibly fatigued, Jones He attacked on one of the last climbs of the day, pulling away from the Swiss rider and crossing the finish line with a 42-second lead, stopping the clock at 8 hours 37 minutes 09 seconds. “When I saw he was slowing down, I attacked on the last climb and went for it,” he says. Cameron.
Pellaud, true to his offensive style, once again showed himself to be one of the most combative riders in the peloton: “I like to run on the attack, to put on a show, and I had a good time. I know a little bit about Cameron and I enjoyed shooting with him.”
The Swiss (and somewhat Colombian, too) did, however, lament an incident that affected his finish: "Unfortunately, I lost some gels and ran out of sugar at the end. That bad luck cost me the win in the world's biggest gravel race. It could have changed my career. I'm disappointed because I felt I could win," he explained. Simon.
Torbjørn Røed (Trek Driftless) won the final sprint for third place against Mads Würtz Schmidt (PAS Racing), who is achieving great results, thus completing the men's podium. In fifth place was Brendan Johnston, who crossed the finish line alone after riding a good part of the final stretch without company.
With Jones (New Zealand), Pellaud (Switzerland) and Røed (Norway) on the podium, this edition of the Unbound Gravel marks a milestone: it is the first time in history that no American cyclist has entered the men's Top 3 in the premier event.
Ramon Sinkeldam, Keegan Swenson, Ian Boswell, Jasper Ockeloen and Tobias Kongstad completed the men's Top 10 of this edition.
The mud and heat, just like in the women's race, took their toll on many runners, including Mattia De Marchi, Magnus Bak Klaris, either Keegan Swenson, who, despite the difficulties, managed to save the performance with a solid entry into the Top 10.
UNBOUND 2025 – TOP 10 MEN
1 – Cameron Jones – 23.49 mph – 8:37:09
2 – Simon Pellaud – 23.46 mph – 8:37:51
3 – Torbjørn Røed – 23.25 mph – 8:42:31
4 – Mads Würtz Schmidt – 23.25 mph – 8:42:33
5 – Brendan Johnston – 23.02 mph – 8:47:43
6 – Ramón Sinkeldam – 23.00 mph – 8:48:15
7 – Keegan Swenson – 22.96 mph – 8:49:08
8 – Ian Boswell – 22.96 mph – 8:49:09
9 – Jasper Ockeloen – 22.96 mph – 8:49:09
10 – Tobias Kongstad – 22.93 mph – 8:49:54
11 – Adne Koster – 22.80 mph – 8:52:48
12 – Andrew L'Esperance – 22.78 mph – 8:53:19
13 – Daan Soete – 22.73 mph – 8:54:39
14 – Jordy Bouts – 22.73 mph – 8:54:39
15 – Petr Vakoč – 22.73 mph – 8:54:40
16 – Matthew Beers – 22.72 mph – 8:54:40
17 – Russell Finsterwald – 22.72 mph – 8:54:40
18 – Joris Nieuwenhuis – 22.72 mph – 8:54:40
19 – Lukas Pöstlberger – 22.71 mph – 8:54:56
20 – Peter Stetina – 22.54 mph – 8:59:03
21 – Bradyn Lange – 22.53 mph – 8:59:13
22 – Aaron Van Der Beken – 22.53 mph – 8:59:23
23 – Toby Perry – 22.49 mph – 9:00:21
24 – Simen Nordahl Svendsen – 22.36 mph – 9:03:31
25 – Alexey Vermeulen – 22.30 mph – 9:04:56
26 – Alban Lakata – 22.23 mph – 9:06:36
27 – Mathijs Loman – 22.22 mph – 9:06:41
28 – Adam Roberge – 22.22 mph – 9:06:42
29 – Ben Thomas – 22.17 mph – 9:08:05
30 – Jenson Young – 22.17 mph – 9:08:05>