Swenson and Sofia Gomez Villafane hold on to leads
in the Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda series
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 of the Garmin UNBOUND Gravel presented by Craft Sportswear, 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.
Elite Women’s Race
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.
Elite Men’s Race
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.”
2023 Garmin UNBOUND Gravel presented by Craft Sportswear Results
Garmin UNBOUND Gravel 200 Results for all categories can be found here.
200-mile Pro Women’s Race Results
| Name | City | Age | Time |
| Caroline Schiff | Bremen, Germany | 37 | 11:46:39 |
| Sofia Gomez Villafane | Heber City, Utah | 30 | 12:01:50 |
| Sarah Sturm | Durango, Colo. | 33 | 12:08:09 |
| Danni Shosbree | Richmond, England | 28 | 12:08:20 |
| Sarah Lange | Lyme, N.H. | 31 | 12:15:40 |
200-mile Pro Men’s Race Results
| Name | City | Age | Time |
| Keegan Swenson | Heber City, Utah | 29 | 10:06:02 |
| Petr Vakoc | Prague, Czech Republic | 30 | 10:06:03 |
| Lachlan Morton | Boulder, Colo. | 31 | 10:06:05 |
| Laurens ten Dam | Oudorp, The Netherlands | 42 | 10:06:08
|
| Ian Boswell | Barnet, Vt. | 32 | 10:06:08 |
200-mile Non-Binary Race Results
| Name | City | Age | Time |
| Rach McBride | Vancouver, Canada | 45 | 12:46:35 |
200-mile Para Women’s Race Results
| Name | City | Age | Time |
| Name | City | Age | Time |
200-mile Para Men’s Race Results
| Name | City | Age | Time |
| Tristan Bangma | Apeldoorn, The Netherlands | 25 | 12:12:19 |
100-mile Women’s Race Results
| Name | City | Age | Time |
| Tiffany Cromwell | Chinnor, England | 34 | 6:13:54 |
| Maria Doering | Banner Elk, N.C. | 24 | 6:39:21 |
| Lauren Zoerner | Highlands Ranch, Colo. | 20 | 6:39:57 |
| Kae Takeshita | Itasca, Ill. | 39 | 6:44:48 |
| Laura King | Richmond, Vt. | 40 | 6:48:22 |
100-mile Men’s Race Results
| Name | City | Age | Time |
| David Brower | Grand Rapids, Mich. | 19 | 5:49:57 |
| Elliot Phillips | London, England | 27 | 5:49:58 |
| Brian McCulloch | Yucaipa, Calif. | 40 | 5:49:58 |
| Scott Funston | Boulder, Colo. | 23 | 5:49:58 |
| Colby Pearce | Boulder, Colo. | 50 | 5:53:20 |
100-mile Non-Binary Race Results
| Name | City | Age | Time |
| Bonnie Branson | Edmond, Okla. | 46 | 7:30:19 |
| Shaune Huysamen | Alpharetta, Ga. | 42 | 8:24:53 |
| Tomas Perez | Overland Park, Kan. | 48 | 8:52:41 |
| Travis Templin | West Valley City, Utah | 33 | 9:02:03 |
| Matthew Rose | Calhoun, La. | 28 | 9:14:43 |
100-mile Para Men’s Race Results
| Name | City | Age | Time |
| Kai Luan | Chicago, Ill. | 28 | 9:53:25 |
350-mile Women’s Race Results
| Name | City | Age | Time |
| Kristen Legan | Nederland, Colo. | 37 | 26:06:35 |
| Anne-Marije Rook | Portland, Ore. | 36 | 28:03:32 |
350-mile Men’s Race Results
| Name | City | Age | Time |
| Logan Kasper | Baldinwinville, Mass. | 29 | 22:54:25 |
| Luke Hall | Boulder, Colo. | 35 | 24:40:44 |
| Ulrich Bartholmoes | Munich, Germany | 36 | 25:00:10 |
| Geoffrey Langat | Nairobi, Kenya | 33 | 25:36:28 |
| Chris Mehlman | Manchester, Mass. | 23 | 26:00:14 |
Garmin UNBOUND Gravel Presented by Craft was the second race of seven in the Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda. The series features 70 elite and professional athletes who will face off for a $250,000, equally split prize purse. Athletes will be ranked against the other competitors by points received based on their finishing position at each event.
Photos courtesy Life Time’s Garmin UNBOUND Gravel presented by Craft Sportswear
