Kansas carnage: Romain Bardet and Thomas De Gendt abandoned Unbound

Unbound Gravel 2026 is over. Mads Würtz Schmidt won after an impressive solo, but as with Paris-Roubaix, every rider has his own story in this race. Among those who failed to reach the finish in Emporia on Saturday’s 200-mile event were Thomas Dekker, Romain Bardet, Thomas De Gendt and Ivar Slik.

Bardet has been in the United States for a while as part of a family trip. The Frenchman, who retired last year, has also already built up some strong gravel credentials, with wins in RADL and more recently Rule of Three. He also finished fifth at the Traka.

At Unbound, Bardet found himself on the back foot after the muddy first section, but he still managed to pass some riders. In the end, his race ended after 163 kilometres. “Unbound Carnage,” was his telling Strava title. “Without a chain guide you had no chance.” Bardet counted his blessings and stepped off.

Thomas De Gendt was perhaps the most recognisable Belgian name on the start list. The pure rouleur, made for long efforts like Unbound, was in the mix for a top-10 result for a long time, until he disappeared from the intermediate timings.

What happened? “An unrepairable puncture, while I was riding in the top 15,” the former rider said. In the end, Daan Soete was the best Belgian in the results, in sixth place.

Lachlan Morton also abandoned the race. The EF Education-EasyPost rider was among the early names to disappear from contention in the brutal conditions, as the mud, crashes and mechanical trouble took their toll across the course.

Morton’s departure added to the long list of high-profile DNFs in a race that became a survival test rather than a normal gravel event. Morton suffered a crash early on in the race, injuring his hip. He was checked for concussion by the race medical team but deemed to be ok.