Keegan Swenson and Carolin Schiff win Garmin UNBOUND Gravel 200

Swenson and Sofia Gomez Villafane hold on to leads in the Life Time Grand Prix series.

EMPORIA, Kansas (June 3, 2023) — Keegan Swenson and Carolin Schiff won the 2023 edition of Life Time’s Garmin UNBOUND Gravel presented by Craft Sportswear. Featuring the largest field size in the event’s history, approximately 4,000 riders took on grueling courses through the Flint Hills region completing 25-mile, 50-mile, 100-mile, 200-mile and 350-mile XL distances.

In the flagship 200-mile distance, a muddy section began at about mile 11 and continued for several miles, causing the racers to walk, run, or ride in the grass on the side of the gravel road. Some riders’ suffered race-delaying or race-ending mechanical issues because of the mud. After dry conditions mid-race, the rain returned to drench the finish line in the evening.

In the elite women’s race, Jenna Rinehart opened an early gap of about two minutes, but 2022 winner Sofia Gomez Villafane overtook her and gained about a minute by mile 40. Near mile 70, Carolin Schiff of Germany caught Villafane with the likes of Ruth Winder, Marisa Boaz, Sarah Sturm, and Alexis Skarda in pursuit. Schiff really began opening up her advantage near the halfway point, ultimately winning by more than 15 minutes.

The men’s race was also impacted by the muddy road. By mile 20, there was a lead group of about 10 riders including Kiel Reijnen, Keegan Swenson, Howard Grotts, and Russell Finsterwald. Lachlan Morton and Ian Boswell pushed the pace early on, creating separation between the lead group of riders and the chasers behind. The group would eventually be whittled down to seven riders who began to play cat and mouse as they closed in on Commercial Street. It was ultimately Swenson who won the sprint, improving on his second-place performance in 2022.

“I realized that I could maybe make it,” Schiff said at the winner’s press conference. “My team from Canyon was just pushing me at the aid station.  They told me ‘Okay you have a gap and keep on going,’ and I did.”

“It’s nice to win this race,” Swenson said at the press conference. “Second was a great result last year and I was content with it but to come up that short after almost 10 hours of racing is a bummer to lose it in a sprint.”

Full results for all categories can be found here.