367mi & 27hr of lightning, mud, rain and gravel: Unbound XL winner Svenja Betz is still smiling

Svenja Betz won the 2026 Unbound Gravel XL in 27 hours, 11 minutes and 32 seconds over a grueling 367-mile course that included hours of walking and pedaling through mud and water as thunderstorms hammered the Kansas plains. I caught up with her the day after her victory, her second in the XL. https://www.instagram.com/svenja__bet... Other ultra races she’s won include: Badlands https://badlands.cc/ Traka 560 https://www.thetraka.com/track-advent... Other races she’s interested to tackle include: Taurus Mountain Race https://www.themountainraces.cc/tauru... https://www.themountainraces.cc/ Thanks to Miguel Ovalles and Rachel Wills for sharing their clips used here from their own XL experiences. And my apologies for the Willis typo on screen... https://www.instagram.com/racemetalbi... https://www.instagram.com/rachelawill... Stay safe out there everyone! I talked to Svenja in 2024 before she set out on her win:    • The Bikes & Riders of Unbound Gravel   -- The Ride is supported in 2026 by: BikeTiresDirect: https://tinyurl.com/yc7vxujh (save 10% with code 'RIDEWITHBEN') Castelli clothing: https://www.castelli-cycling.com/US/en/ Perc coffee: https://tinyurl.com/fjr7nurr (save 15% with code 'ride15') POC helmets & sunglasses: https://poc.com/ Feedback Sports stands & tools: https://bit.ly/3S9Dq8r Saris racks: https://saris.com/collections/racks# (save 15% with code 'ben15') Silca maintenance: https://silca.cc/ Lezyne radar & lights: https://tinyurl.com/4z5e3e9u The Cyclist Lawyer: https://www.thecyclist-lawyer.com/ Shimano shoes: http://tinyurl.com/ye274tep -- Want to see what I'm testing and where? Follow me on Strava:   / strava   on Instagram:   / ben_delaney