Two absolute stars of the contemporary gravel firmament, Mads Würtz Schmidt and Sofia Gomez Villafañe, conquered the Unbound Gravel 200 mile, the flagship race among those included in the program of the second event of the Life Time Grand Prix circuit.

The Danish rider from Specialized Off-Road Team, current European champion in his specialty and already winner this year of Santa Vall and The Traka 360, imposed himself solo after 9 hours, 14 minutes and 51 seconds, managing to tame a course full of mud and fords made extremely demanding by the rain that fell in the hours before the race. In this difficult context, what proved to be even more decisive was the gesture of his teammate Keegan Swenson who, at a crucial moment, did not hesitate to give him his wheel, allowing him to continue his solo ride toward victory in the "Superbowl of gravel."

Behind him, distanced respectively by 5'03" and 9'52", the South African Matthew Beers (also a Specialized Off-Road Team rider) finished in second place and Danish Tobias Kongstad (PAS Racing) in third, while the first Italian to cross the finish line was Matteo Fontana (Swatt Club), 38th after being slowed by a puncture in the final stages while fighting for a top ten position.

If, therefore, in the men's race there were gaps of considerable magnitude, the same cannot be said of the women's race which, although selective, was decided by a four-way sprint from which the strong Argentine from Specialized Off-Road Team emerged victorious, with her eighth win of a season that has already seen her excel far and wide. Behind her, her teammate Geerike Schreurs (second) and the home favorite Cecily Decker (third) had to settle for the remaining two podium positions, with Paige Onweller instead finishing in fourth place, taking home the wooden medal.

MEN'S FINISHING ORDER

1. Mads Würtz Schmidt — 9:14:51

2. Matthew Beers — 9:19:54

3. Tobias Kongstad — 9:24:43

4. Brendan Johnston — 9:36:46

5. Keegan Swenson — 9:39:19

6. Adne Koster — 9:39:42

7. Daan Soete — 9:39:42

8. Emil Herzog — 9:39:43

9. Piotr Havik — 9:39:43

10. Cameron Jones — 9:39:45

WOMEN'S FINISHING ORDER

1. Sofia Gomez Villafañe — 10:31:37

2. Geerike Schreurs — 10:31:38

3. Cecily Decker — 10:31:38

4. Paige Onweller — 10:31:38

5. Rosa Klöser — 10:31:39

6. Lauren De Crescenzo — 10:46:27

7. Hayley Preen — 10:49:28

8. Cecile Lejeune — 10:49:28

9. Danni Shrosbree — 10:49:29

10. Morgan Aguirre — 10:49:31

Photo credit: Ethan Glading