Cameron Jones (Scott-Shimano) had a call to make at Unbound Gravel 200. He might race conservatively with a view to securing a wildcard spot within the Life Time Grand Prix, or go all-in, danger it and attempt to win outright. The 24-year-old selected the latter, and it labored.
After 202 miles of relentless Kansas gravel, Jones sprinted away from Simon Pellaud (Tudor) on the ultimate climb into Emporia to take his first Unbound 200 victory and, with it, guarantee himself a place within the Grand Prix collection by way of one of many 4 males’s wildcard spots on supply.
Jones, who had utilized for the 2025 Grand Prix earlier this 12 months however was not initially chosen, knew Unbound was his finest shot at incomes a wildcard. The recipients of the wildcards can be determined based mostly on the outcomes of the primary two collection races of the season – Unbound and Sea Otter Gravel, the place he got here throughout the road twelfth however was third amongst these chasing a wildcard.
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“This entire wildcard factor, it’s type of in my finest curiosity to play it secure—like, it’s not simply the race I can lose, it’s the prospect to be within the Grand Prix,” Jones mentioned. “However each time I sit down, I’m like, ‘Who am I kidding?’ I at all times exit and race like I’ve received nothing to lose. And yeah, it labored out this time.”
That each one-in strategy was clear from the beginning. Jones made his transfer round 150 miles to go, bridging throughout to an early breakaway earlier than going clear alongside Tudor Professional Biking’s Simon Pellaud. From there, the duo by no means seemed again, constructing a spot of over seven minutes on a fragmented chase and dealing collectively deep into the Kansas headwinds. For Jones, the chance was a part of what drove him towards the reward.
“Bridging throughout the breakaway, you get a way of danger there, and that positively offers you just a few additional watts,” he mentioned.
The hassle wasn’t with out its challenges. Jones admitted the hardest stretch got here after the Alma support station because the pair confronted a relentless headwind with about 30 miles to go. “That was positively the toughest second, digging deep into the headwind,” Jones mentioned. “However as soon as we turned the nook, we had a cross or tailwind all the best way house, and the splits going up gave us additional morale.”
Jones credited not solely his legs however his meticulous preparation for the win. After scuffling with hydration in final 12 months’s Unbound, he and his group—his mother and father within the feed zones—got here ready.
“Final 12 months, my undoing was these feed zones and never taking sufficient water. This time, I introduced far more than I wanted and ate all of it anyway,” he mentioned, noting he took on practically 5 and a half liters of water and a number of ice socks to remain cool. “If the one factor that went incorrect right now was not doing up my first hydration bottle correctly, that’s a fairly fortunate day trip.”
Jones additionally dialed in his tools decisions, describing his setup as “excellent” for the calls for of the Flint Hills.
The win secured Jones the highest spot among the many males’s wildcard contenders so with the victory, Jones not solely proved he can go lengthy and quick in opposition to the world’s finest but in addition punched his ticket to the remainder of the Grand Prix season.
“Guess it’s time for Leadville now,” Jones mentioned with a smile, already waiting for the subsequent problem within the six-race collection.
After a dominant efficiency in Emporia, he’s now not a wildcard, he’s a contender.
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