Unbound Gravel lottery opens two months early, ensuring riders are 'more prepared than ever'

Want to race Unbound Gravel in 2025? You'll have to throw your name in the hat by November 15, organisers announced today. 

Unbound Gravel, once a gathering of a couple dozen off-road enthusiasts, is now considered to be the world's marquee gravel race with 4,000 riders converging on Emporia, Kansas, to tackle one of its five race courses.

The event attracts some 25,000 people to the small town in the middle of the Flint Hills, including riders and their loved ones, staff, media, race fans and expo exhibitors. The community struggles to host, feed and house the influx of people as it is, which forces the organisers to cap the registration and implement a registration lottery to determine who will be allowed to participate in the event.

For the 2025 event, the lottery will take place earlier than ever before, ensuring that riders can "take on race day more prepared than ever," announced Life Time, the event's organisers, in an email to past participants.

Registration for the 2025 Unbound Gravel will open on Friday, November 1, 2024, and close two weeks later, on November 15. Lottery winners will be announced on November 21, 2024.

 "That’s a full two months earlier than in years past, so use that additional time to hone your effort…no matter what distance you choose," Life Time states. "You will have more time to train, plan, and visualise your ride through the Flint Hills."

Unlike previous years, the lottery registration period is the same for all five race distances: the 25-, 50-, 100-, 200- and 350-mile events. 

Unbound Gravel 2025 Race Schedule

• Unbound XL starts on Friday, May 30, 2025
• The 25, 50, 100- and 200-mile races will start on Saturday, May 31, 2025
• Lottery registration deadline: November 15, 2024
• Lottery winners announcement: November 21, 2024

More ways to score a bib

If you miss out on the lottery or simply don't trust your luck, there are two other ways to score a bib to the 2025 event. 

1.) Partake in a qualifying race

You can also punch your ticket to Emporia by conquering one of two qualifying races, one in the U.S. and one in Belgium:

Heathland Gravel
August 11, 2024 in Lindburg, Belgium

The Life Time Rad Dirt Fest
September 28, 2024 in Trinidad, Colorado

2.) Fundraise for a charity entry

Life Time's charity partners, the Life Time Foundation and the Chris Klug Foundation offer a limited quantity of race entries on a first-come, first-served basis.

What is Unbound Gravel?

Formerly known as the Dirty Kanza, Unbound Gravel is a mass-start event that takes place in the Tallgrass Prairie and Flint Hills around Emporia, Kansas, in the middle of the United States. 

With five race distances on offer and 4,000 attendees —amateurs and pros alike—, Unbound has become the world’s marquee gravel event. 

The flagship 200-mile course is a true test of endurance, self-sufficiency and equipment. In addition to needing to fuel oneself for 11+ hours of riding, the sharp flint rocks are notorious for slicing tires and dashing podium aspirations.  Along the way, riders also need to contend with the undulating terrain and the weather. 

The epic conditions have been building the legend of Unbound for years, and along the way, the calibre of elite riders has soared with Olympic road and mountain bike champions, Paris-Roubaix winners, and current and former WorldTour pros all taking to the start. The allure? Conquering the sheer difficulty and the bragging rights that come with it. 

This year's elite races were won by Lachlan Morton (EF Education-EasyPost) and newcomer Rosa Klöser (Rose Bikes / Maap / Enve). Previous winners of the 200-mile race include former WorldTour pros Ian Boswell, Ted King and Alison Tetrick; pro mountain bikers Keegan Swenson and Sofia Gomez Villafañe; and Europeans Ivar Slik and Carolin Schiff.