Unbound - BTS With Haley and Lespy

Haley and I are back for our fifth Unbound. 

Five years ago we embarked on a new beginning in our cycling careers, moving from a focus on cross-country Olympic mountain bike racing to endurance off-road racing, or “gravel” as it is generally known. At the time, it was just what we needed. For me, a new challenge to try and discover my potential as an athlete. For Haley, a shift of focus after her Olympic dream was achieved in Tokyo. 

In retrospect, the pull we felt towards longer format racing took root well before that first season in 2022; we’d been integrating stage races and other marathon mountain bike events into our calendars as far back as 2017. 

My fascination with Unbound was a natural progression of that racing trajectory, and actually came well before we had to race as part of the inaugural LifeTime GrandPrix. I had a race entry that’d been deferred for three years before I had the opportunity to make it to Emporia in 2022. There was something about this event that drew me in: the rawness, the possibility, and the unknowns. I think my interest in the event also spilled over to Haley throughout those three years. 

Five years on from our very first gravel race—our very first Unbound—and the start of a new adventure together, we are back in Kansas for Unbound ’26.

The first time we came to Unbound, we arrived at Emporia in the early hours of the morning the day before the race—roughly 26 hours before we would start the 200-mile journey. Now we typically arrive one week before the event to have all the runway we need to prepare for race day. 

Early in the race week, the main focus is seeing as much of the course as possible, including all the key sections that will have an impact on the race. While none of these sections are particularly technical alone, they become technical and decisive at race speed. To compete, you need to know where they are and what they’re like. We use these days on course to do the training we need to be our best on race day while seeing the course as well. Two birds, one stone. It’s mostly easy, less structured riding, but with some efforts mixed in based on the training program. 

Come mid-week, more of our sponsors started to arrive in town and we worked with them on media projects here and there. Typically they’re pretty relaxed and don’t require too much energy. For me, the key is being in a good place mentally with low stress and taking all this stuff in stride, enjoying it even, and using it as an opportunity to connect with our people. For the most part, our sponsors understand and support our priorities; for us it is race preparation and performance first, it always has been, and the rest is icing on the cake. 

Once we’re done with the stuff we need to do each day, we try and chill out. This year at Unbound we watched some old movies over dinner and into the evening. It’s important for us to check out a bit each day and just chill. This week it was Parent Trap and The Mighty Ducks, which were both movies I was vehemently reprimanded for not having previously seen. They were good!

Haley and I both run our own privateer programs with more differing sponsors than shared sponsors, but we do operate as a team on the ground. This year we managed to set up our program to share five sponsors, including Smith. This keeps things simple for our sponsors and us in terms of communication, equipment, media, and support. It’s no small task to organize all the equipment and logistics to run a privateer program effectively, but it certainly helps to be able to do it alongside Haley. 

In our “privateam,” if you will, I generally take care of building our bikes, major maintenance, and other bike-related problem-solving. Haley takes care of all the other stuff on her own bikes, including changing tires, cleaning, and gearing swaps for different races. Haley takes the lead on logistics and is usually the one who’s more organized in terms of booking flights, accommodations, and vehicles. We do it together and collaborate on timing and plans, but Haley gets the ball rolling. 

In a race week, we’ll generally work together to get everything done we need to get done. That might mean Haley is doing more of the meal prep at times and I am doing more of the bike work. This whole process is certainly not without its challenges. When stress levels are high or someone is off, it makes it harder, but we do our best to support each other and do what we need to do. In the end, the goal is to do our job well and arrive at the start line ready to perform at our best.

We are living through a very interesting time in the world of off-road racing as this discipline is maturing and becoming more professional. Change is the new norm in this space, and we’ve had to constantly adapt to keep up and compete at the front. The fields are deeper, drafting rules are in effect, the elite women truly have their own race, and everyone has done their homework required for a shot at a successful day in the Flint Hills. 

Every year I’ve raced Unbound, I’ve learned a lot throughout the whole process, and each successive year brings a refinement in planning and approach. This makes a massive difference on race day for both of us. We both love to compete, we love to race, and we will do everything we can to do that. That said, Unbound is unique in that there are always two goals here: compete for a result, and compete against the self and the elements to cross the finish line. It takes a huge depth of resolve and toughness to complete this race, and we are both committed to the challenge beyond the result—just as the thousands of amateur riders are.

It comes quick! With race starts around 6 am for both Haley and me, it’s an early morning with the alarm going off around 3:30 am. Yes, I am sure this sounds awful from the outside, but after suffering through the first few moments of waking up that early, I remember why I set my alarm and I wake up quickly. I honestly love an early morning mission and this is the biggest one we get to do all season. Coffee and pancakes are the breakfast of choice for both of us, with a healthy topping of Quebec maple syrup, obviously. 

This year, the ongoing discussion all week was whether it would be a wet and muddy edition. We followed the ebbs and flows of the forecast all week and finally we got meaningful rain overnight on Friday and early Saturday morning. There would be mud! Haley was near giddy with excitement. You are never sure until you get out there, but we were confident that the mud would be a factor at least. If you followed the race, you know it was a factor. 

We left our place at 5 am for the 15 minute drive drive to Emporia from Americus. We parked and rolled down to pick up our trackers together. Then we were back to the car to grab the last few things we needed and then we both rolled to the boxes together, hanging at the front of the women’s boxes and the back of the men’s boxes for a final good luck kiss. This is when we go our separate ways and focus fully on the task at hand—for the next 10-12 hours. 

This is honestly my favourite part of any bike race. So much goes on—noticed and unnoticed—between the start and the finish line that slowly comes back to you in the ensuing hours post-race. 

“I had to dodge a huge-ass snake on the bike path.” 

“Yeah, our group had to do the same thing with a turtle.” 

“Isn’t it wild how comfortable you became with flashes of lightning in your vicinity for the entire day?”

“W Road was the best part of the day, by far.”

It’s always fun to rehash everything with Haley after the race. There are learnings and takeaways mixed in as well, which inevitably make it into our post-race reflections where we can take stock of what worked, what didn’t, and how to make it better for next time. 

This year’s edition of Unbound was truly a special one. If you were there or you followed along, you know what I’m talking about. Mud, storms, rain, and wind added challenge to an already extremely challenging race. Haley and I both had what we described as off-days in terms of physical readiness and energy, but we squeezed every bit out of ourselves to make it to that finish line. 

This is the biggest gravel race in the world where top results and wins matter and can shift a career, but this is also an event that deserves (and requires) respect as a personal endurance challenge. For us, finishing matters, the same as it matters for the thousands of participants that line up for the various races over the weekend. We are both truly proud to have finished the 2026 edition. This was Haley’s fifth finish of five starts, which lands her a coveted spot in the 1000 mile club. I am one behind her after a broken bike in 2023… looks like I’ll be back next year to earn a chalice like hers.

At the end of the day, we both still feel extremely lucky to be able to call this thing we do our job, and to get to do it together. Throughout all the ups and downs that are inevitable in sport, we’ve managed to be there for each other and support each other. Both of us agree that we would not still be doing this if it were not for one another. Yes, we have performance goals—we wouldn’t be racing if we weren’t convinced that there are magic race days in our futures—but we also have a deep appreciation for this life and the richness it gives us. We have a lot of people to thank for making these experiences possible (not least of which are our sponsors), but in particular we need to thank Gretchen and the other creatives documenting this mission. Without you, our trials and travails would belong only to the Flint Hills. Instead, you make us feel seen, immortalize our efforts, and essentially, give us the means to do this. Without you, there is no sponsorship and no professional arm of the sport.

Thanks, Unbound. You were one for the books. 

We are living through a very interesting time in the world of off-road racing as this discipline is maturing and becoming more professional. Change is the normal in this space currently and we have needed to continuing adapt to keep up. 

One of the things that makes this race interesting is the ever evolving approach in terms of training, equipment, nutrition and race strategy. Not to mention the consistent annual increase in speed, depth of field and hype around this event. Each year we compete in this race we learn so much from the 3 week build up with training, the 1 week spent on the ground pre-riding and equipment testing and the race day where we put it all to the test. Our first Unbound we didn’t know if we would even be able to finish, 330 km, off-road, how? Over the years the race has gotten faster and more competitive. having cumulated in a 9-sprint for the elite women’s race and the men’s elite winning time finishing with an eight.