Three weeks ago, Rob britton’s cycling career reached new heights with a stellar performance in Kansas.

The Factor Bikes gravel racer not only finished far ahead of Lachlan Morton (EF Education-EasyPost), the 2024 unbound Gravel 200 champion, Robin Gemperle, and Laurens ten Dam (LSRF), the Transcordilleras winner, after 359 miles of racing, but he also set a new record time of 17 hours, 49 minutes, and 51 seconds. Britton shattered the previous Unbound Gravel XL record by 12 minutes, achieving a new fastest average speed of 20.13 mph.

Britton’s Grueling Journey to Victory

“It realy became this really crazy, sort of a unique experiance where we’re just sort of not together. That was one of the better battles that I think I’ve had, it was really cool.”

Despite his recent struggles with finding joy in racing, Britton found renewed motivation and strength during the Unbound Gravel XL. He acknowledged that past efforts hadn’t yielded expected results, but this race felt different. “But then XL came, and I was on a good day. I didn’t just get lucky, as I had great legs. That’s kind of more my thing, the ultra stuff now.”

The race wasn’t without its challenges. morton, considered the favorite, pushed Britton to his limits. Britton recounted sensing Morton’s presence throughout the night, describing it as an eight-hour chase. “we were just taking turns pulling. We were shattered… I could tell he wasn’t as good as he was earlier, but we were both taking long pulls. I was like, ‘damn, this is nice’.”

Despite the intense competition, Britton maintained respect for Morton. “The person you’re racing against, you have so much respect. It just seemed fitting that it would end in a sprint.” Though,in the final kilometers,Morton faded, leaving Britton to claim the victory.”Then at one point, I just turned around and he wasn’t there in the last 10k. I knew he was buckled,but I didn’t no he was as beat up as he was. he’s so strong.”

Britton attributed his success to a high caffeine intake, estimating between 800 and 1000 milligrams. He also skipped stops at stores along the route, adhering to the self-supported nature of the XL race. “What got me through was probably caffeine more than anything… I’ve raced my bike for a long time,and doing that for an entire stage race is pretty bad.”

Looking Ahead

When asked about returning to Kansas for another XL, Britton expressed uncertainty. “I honestly don’t know. It’s unbound. it is indeed still the biggest event in the gravel world, without a doubt… I kind of have this thing too, where if I win somthing in this career ‘part two’, I don’t really love going back, you can only find disappointment doing it again.”

For now, Britton is focused on upcoming races, including the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder and the BC Bike Race. “The neat thing about gravel is you can do different things, you can race it or ride it. I look at a globe and decide where I want to go, not a calendar.”