Rosa Klöser took the victory in this year's UNBOUND after a very fast sprint. Unlike the men's race, the women's race began with the split of a leading group of 30 women who lost cyclists throughout the race (increasingly more technical) to finally compete in a historic sprint between the nine cyclists who remained in the race. foot. “The final sprint was incredible,” said Kristi Mohn, Marketing Manager at Life Time.
This year, for the first time in history, has seen separate starts, where women have started 15 minutes later to avoid any interference from men. If you want a more detailed analysis you can go to Emma Porter's article “Support and drafting teams at UNBOUND”.
As in the men's race, it was the fastest race seen in UNBOUND to date, with averages exceeding 31 kilometers per hour. All of this has culminated in a spectacular women's race. “I wanted to show everyone how great it can be to have our own race,” explained Rosa Klöser.
Rosa Klöser had quite a few problems in the test, “I hit a big rock, fell and had a puncture in the front wheel” she explains. She tried to follow the group, as she thought she could do so carrying inserts, but was left behind. She did not give up and managed to close the 2-minute gap with the leading group of girls, “I told myself I was going to die trying to close this gap.”
After closing the gap he ended up reaching Highland Hill, the short but tough climb where the final sprint occurred. Rosa Klöser crossed the finish line first. The acclaimed Geerike Schreurs (SD-Worx), who was also making her UNBOUND debut, came in second place and Paige Onweller (Trek-Driftless), who had recently had surgery and had doubts about being competitive, completed the podium in third place .
Rosa Klöser is a German PhD student who has been cycling part-time for two years. “I still can't believe I won,” says Rosa. With this victory, the gravel community has put one more name on its list of great favorites.
Carolin Schiff (Canyon CLLCTV), last year's winner, placed sixth in the final sprint and Sofía Gómez-Villafañe (Offroad Specialized), crossed the finish line in 15th place after two unfortunate punctures.
Top 10 female
- Rosa Kloser, 10:26:02
- Geerike Schreurs, 10:26:03
- Paige Onweller, 10:26:03
- Haley Smith, 10:26:03
- Heather Jackson, 10:26:03
- Carolina Schiff, 10:26:03,
- Sarah Sturm, 10:26:03
- Hannah Otto, 10:26:04
- Lauren De Crescenzo, 10:26:11
- Sara Lange, 10:30:43
HERE We leave you the complete results.