Laurens ten Dam reflects on 19-hour Unbound XL: "Hit my best wattage at 200K—But still had 280K to go"

"I was feeling confident at the start," Ten Dam began his story, who was allowed to start the XL race with a time trial handlebar. 2I had slept fantastically the two nights before. For the first hundred to two hundred kilometers, I averaged almost 36. But that handlebar helps; it makes such a difference."

"After 100 kilometers, there were eight of us left, and after 130 kilometers, there were five," he continued. "Then two of the five stopped because the XL version had no refreshments at gas stations. However, I had brought so much water with me that I reached the water tap after 240 kilometers." Ten Dam had four liters of water with him, while Lachlan Morton had even started with six liters.

"I said: if Lachlan keeps going, so will I. I didn't want to stop at that water tap on my own because then they would catch up with me and ride on," said the Dutchman. "Lachlan also continued at that water tap, where we still had to wait for the train. It was one of those long American trains."

"Rob Britton and I kept going. But I felt he was stronger: I was riding 30 percent at the front, he was riding 70 percent. Ten kilometers later, I got a flat tire, so I rode fifty kilometers flat to catch up. But I didn't make it, and there were still 280 kilometers to go: that's a long way."

Ten Dam was then overtaken by a rider coming up behind him, who managed to drop him on the final uphill stretch. "And so I finished fourth. When I crossed the finish line, I heard that Britton had won. Lachlan and he had ridden for three hours straight. Lachlan said at the barbecue: I rode at night and saw that light behind me the whole time. When morning came, he couldn't remember it anymore."

The 44-year-old Dutchman felt good. "I haven't ridden as hard this year as I did in those first 200 kilometers, so I enjoyed it. It was a head-to-head race, and the strongest rider won. That's how it was today. After those 200 kilometers, which were my fastest this year, we still had 280 to go."

Ultimately, it took him more than 19 hours, while winner Britton clocked in at less than 18 hours. "I stopped three times, totaling less than 26 minutes."