Unbound Gravel 2022: Evel Ivar is there to win!

Ivar Slik tells about his ambitions for the biggest gravel race of the year.

Tomorrow the day is finally there for Ivar Slik, 29 year old former European Champion beachracing. This year he started as a gravel racer sponsored by Wilier and Speed On Wheels and tomorrow he will race his most important race of the year: Unbound Gravel, in Emporia, Kansas. With 321 kilometers, the biggest and most important gravel race in the world!

To boost Ivar’s motivation (and intimidate his competitors), Speed On Wheels developed a special racing kit for Unbound Gravel, based on the American motor stunt performer Evel Knievel!

“A year ago I rode this race for the first time.” Ivar tells us. “I didn’t really know what to expect back then, but at least I found out this race is pretty extreme! Last year I made a couple mistakes so this year I take those lessons with me, and along with a good form and my new Evel Knievel themed race kit, I feel pretty confident! I got second in Gravel Locos (known as the final rehearsal for Unbound Gravel) and I felt very strong during that race.”

This year Unbound Gravel is part of the ‘Life Time Grand Prix’, a series of 6 races (both MTB and gravel) in the US. “Winning these series comes with a significant prize and that definitely boosted competition. Aside from gravelspecialists such as Peter Stetina, Ted King, Laurens ten Dam and Kiel Reijnen, there’s also a bunch of strong mountainbikers competing, who rode Cape Epic and the Sea Otter Classic for instance.”

“The biggest risk during Unbound Gravel are mechanical defects, or lacking a decent nutrition strategy.” Ivar explains. “Except for two checkpoints, you’re not allowed to receive support from other people during the race. These checkpoints are at 123 and 262 kilometers. I will start with two large bottles and a 1,5 liter camelback filled with bars and gels to make sure I won’t dehydrate or run out of carbs before the first checkpoint.”

Besides liquids and food contenders will have to bring their own tools in order to be self-supportive on the ‘tire shredding’ rocky roads of Kansas. “I reckon I’ll have a flat tire at least once so I’ll bring a multitool, spare tires, a pump and plugs, among a lot of other stuff.”

We wish ‘our’ Ivar the best for tomorrows race! Unbound Gravel start tomorrow, Saturday the 4th of June, at 13:00 (CET) and can be watched live here.