{"id":1965276,"date":"2026-05-31T05:37:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T02:37:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1965276"},"modified":"2026-05-31T05:37:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T02:37:51","slug":"the-winning-bikes-of-unbound-gravel-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1965276","title":{"rendered":"The Winning Bikes of Unbound Gravel 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Mads-Wurtz-Schmidt-2026-Unbound-Winning-Bike-15.jpg”]<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
Logan Jones-Wilkins<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Updated May 31, 2026 11:41AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The 2026 Unbound Gravel 200 was defined by two things: 1) the mud 2) the new Specialized Crux 5. With rain falling throughout the day, the race was constantly muddied. Riders got muddy, got dry, and then got muddy again.<\/p>\n

It was the type of year that pushed bikes and their riders to the brink, and then kept them there for around 10 hours. This year, there was one bike that seemed to cut through the slop the best \u2014 the brand new Specialized Crux 5.<\/p>\n

The results are honestly staggering. Not only were both winners, Sofia Gomez Villafa\u00f1e and Mads Wurtz Schmidt, on the bike, so too were both second-place finishers, as well as third and fifth place for the men. It is an unprecedented run of success for a bike and one that will certainly turn heads since the bike was released this past Thursday. That being said, Specialized also has the best riders in the world, so the bike\u2019s success is a bit of a chicken-or-the-egg paradox.<\/p>\n

\n
ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Nevertheless, we were on hand at the finish line in Emporia to get a look at the winners\u2019 bikes to see what we could find out about what worked at this year\u2019s edition of the biggest gravel race in the world.<\/p>\n

Mads Wurtz Schmidt \u2014 Specialized Crux 5<\/h2>\n
\"Mads
Mads Wurtz Schmidt has a custom painted European Champions livery on his Crux. (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mads
After Unbound, it also had a custom smattering of mud from the constant on and off rain of the race. (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mads
White bar tape certainly was a bold choice. Chances are, this might be that tape\u2019s last ride. (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mads
While the mud might not make it more aero, it is important to remember: an airplane wing with mud on it is still more aerodynamic than a car with mud on it. Aerodynamics matter, even with an extra layer of the yucky stuff. (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mads
Conventional road bars for Schmidt instead of the new more ergonomically tuned Terra one-piece handlebars. (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mads
The Roval Terra Aero CLX wheels played a role in the race today as Schmidt received a wheel from Keegan Swenson after a disaster flat struck at mile 120.\u00a0 (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mads
50t aero chainring from SRAM because\u2026obviously. (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mads
And SRAM Red XPLR in the rear to offer smaller jumps between gears. (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mads
He did bring along a hitch-hiker from one of his forays into the grass to avoid the deepest mud bogs. (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mads
There used to be a number visible under there. Used to, (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mads
(Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mads
(Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mads
Of all the choices of Schmidt\u2019s bike, his choice to run road pedals has to be the most ambitious of them all. Plus, it seems that pedals are the one area where SRAM allows its athletes to run a Shimano project. More on that in a minute. (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sofia Gomez Villafa\u00f1e \u2014 Specialized Crux 5<\/h2>\n
\"ofia
Sofia Gomez Villafa\u00f1e\u2019s bike got just a bit of a clean up before we got to it. (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sofia
We have already checked out this bike earlier this week, but it is nice to see it with some dirt in its business. (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sofia
(Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sofia
48t aero ring for Villafa\u00f1e. (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sofia
Once again, Shimano pedals, although these ones strike me as a better choice for most riders. (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sofia
(Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sofia
The fact that her paint stick is still on the bike means Villafa\u00f1e had a pretty smooth run with mud. (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sofia
And when you see the tire clearance, that makes a lot of sense. (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sofia
Even with 50mm Pathfinders Villafa\u00f1e had plenty of room to clear all of the rideable bits. (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sofia
The rest required a bit of grit, or Garra as they say in her home country of Argentina. (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sofia
(Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins\/Velo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
Logan Jones-Wilkins<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Updated May 31, 2026 11:41AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/gravel\/gravel-gear\/winning-bikes-unbound-gravel-2026\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Mads-Wurtz-Schmidt-2026-Unbound-Winning-Bike-15.jpg”] Logan Jones-Wilkins Updated May 31, 2026 11:41AM The 2026 Unbound Gravel 200 was defined by two things: 1) the mud 2) the new Specialized Crux 5. With rain falling throughout the day, the race was constantly muddied. Riders got muddy, got dry, and then got muddy again. It was the type of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-1965276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1965276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1965276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1965276\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1965276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1965276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1965276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}