Adventure Unbound

We’re just hours away from the start of Unbound, the most important gravel race on the calendar. And the start list promises to be the deepest, most stacked field in the race’s history. Even the men’s UCI Gravel World Champion will be showing off his rainbow stripes.

Checking out the kit of more Factor athletes who will be racing, Caroline Wreszin, Rob Britton, and Kate Cross have been giving us a glimpse into what they’ll be running and what their goals will be for the race.

Caroline Wreszin

“I don’t really have a “pacing” plan for Unbound other than keeping myself in contention. The speeds will vary, as will the power, based on where I’m at in the race,” she explained. “I’ll be happy with my day if I can put my preparation to good use at the front of the race and leave it all out there.”

Caroline is just 22 years old and already seen by many as a future star of gravel racing. She’s had a strong start to the season, taking 3rd at Mid South Gravel Race, 3rd at BWR San Diego, and 5th at BWR Utah. Like many riders in 2023, she had a tough time at Unbound so will be looking to have a clean run and take her place among the strongest finishers.

“I like the variability of gravel racing. Each race presents its own challenges, whether it be distance, climbing, road surface, etc.,” Caroline explained. “All those elements make for an engaging season because there is always something to learn about and improve on. Right now, I certainly have goals I’ve not yet accomplished in gravel racing.”

What’s Caroline riding?

As one of the most engaging young riders in the peloton, Caroline has big potential for all disciplines in cycling – gravel, mountain biking, and road racing. She has the drive and skillset to do well everywhere.

“I’d say my biggest on-the-bike strength is niftiness in the peloton. I’m really comfortable in the bunch and am always able to get in position when I need to. Off the bike, my greatest strengths are curiosity and drive. I’m always asking questions, and when I find I don’t know much about something or have a weakness, I work hard to learn more and improve.”

Rob Britton

Of all Factor’s athletes, Rob Britton is running the most alternative or alternative race programs. He opted not to join the Life Time Grand Prix for the 2024 season, preferring to set his own schedule and target a wide array of events around the world.

“It’s great because I get the opportunity to go to all these places to do all these great races,” Rob said. “You can basically think to yourself, where would I like to visit? And there will be a gravel race or ultra-endurance race nearby. Want to go to Norway midsummer? Whelp, yeah, there’s a race for you.”

That doesn’t mean Rob isn’t focused on performing and getting good placings. If anything, he has been having one of his best years in terms of results on the bike. He has just finished winning Seven Serpents Ultra distance gravel race in Slovenia and Croatia setting a course record of 53 hours with just three hours sleep. And he took a thrilling 2nd place at Traka in Spain just a few weeks ago. But he is cutting his own path, setting his own schedule, and having an amazing time doing it.

“I didn’t want to keep doing the same races over and over again. I think I am more competitive now than I’ve been the last two years,” he said. “I already had that period in my life, and now I’d rather go around doing other cool stuff. I get a lot of people telling me that what I’m doing looks really cool. Like Badlands or Traka or my most recent Seven Serpents in Slovenia. How do you think I got into doing this? I was like “oh shit, Seven Serpents?”, I saw photos and I said, this place, I gotta go here. This looks unbelievable. So I can actually share these cool adventures with more people. Like our videos that we create, it is just a nice way to give back to people, to get people excited about riding in these places too.”

What’s Rob riding?

Winning Badlands 2023 in Spain, taking 2nd at Traka this season, and winning Seven Serpents most recently, Rob must be considered one of the front runners for Unbound this weekend.

“If I get a clean run with no major mechanical issues, I think top-10 is pretty realistic seeing how I raced at Traka. And how the form seems to be and how I perform at these longer races. It feels like I have figured it out more, from my own physiology. So yeah, I’d say into the top-10 and on a really good day into the top-5,” he said. “But if it comes to a sprint…the problem with being pretty good at these long races is that I’m not super great at any of this punchy stuff at the end of them…so…But if I can be there and have an effect on the race, that’s a big objective.”

Kate Cross

Only in her third season of serious racing, Kate is one of the newest additions to Factor’s athletes. But she has already proved her strength and handling skills by taking 10th place at Leadville in 2023 which likely earned her ticket to joining the Life Time Grand Prix for 2024. She had a tough start to the 2024 season when she suffered a concussion in a freak accident while previewing the Sea Otter course. But she has bounced back from that, and took a super strong 4th place at the recent Rule of 3 gravel race in Bentonville, Arkansas. Kate is also unique in that she still works in finance at a software company full time. “It is a balance. Or an attempt at balance. It means really long weekends of training,” Kate said. “I think the structure does help. Having something outside of cycling is very helpful for me. I am very Type A as a lot of cyclists are, and I like to obsess over things. It does help to have another outlet, even if I am still thinking a lot about cycling when I’m at my job!”

Kate is based in Boulder, and feels very comfortable on long climbs at altitude. That is hardly what she’ll be facing this weekend at Unbound, where though there is quite a bit of climbing, it is more like death by 1000 cuts with the short 3-to-4-minute uphill efforts. “Yes, I’d like to go there and be competitive, but I will really just want to have a good experience. This race doesn’t necessarily play to my strengths at the moment. I have put in a lot of volume as preparation, but I understand where I’m at. I want to go out and have a good day,” she explained.

“My specialty and strengths are more long sustained climbing races, and I tend to do well at altitude. The races where I hope to get really good results are more like Crusher and Leadville. And then I hope to take that fitness and use it through the end of the season with the other Life Time Grand Prix races.”

What’s Kate riding?

Left - Kate Cross / Right - Lauren De Crescenzo

“Factor was like an aspirational brand for me, going into the season. I am extremely grateful and am really excited to be racing Factor this year. I’m on the OSTRO Gravel for the gravel events of course and will race the LANDO HT for Leadville and Chequamegon. I feel confident enough on a mountain bike to ride a hardtail for those events. If you are not comfortable with trail speed then maybe a full suspension is a good idea, but there is so much climbing that it’s an easy choice for me.”

Follow Caroline Wreszin / Rob Britton / Kate Cross via Instagram to keep up with their news ahead of the big appointment in Kansas.