Hundreds of amateur gravel riders look forward to matching pedal strokes and fueling strategies with Olympic gold medalists at Lifetime Unbound Gravel.

Even Van Avermaert had to sign up through a lottery process. His email arrived late in the evening in Belgium and read, "Congratulations, Greg. This will be your first race in Kansas.

Even though he will hang up his road cleats in 2023, the Rio Olympic road champion is not done racing and will prove his versatility at the Unbound Gravel 200 on June 1.

The 38-year-old proved he is as versatile as ever on any surface by finishing fourth overall in the inaugural UCI Gravel World Championships in 2022.

"I'm unbound, of course, because I like the idea of racing. I was looking forward to it after my (road) career because my schedule was too full to combine it with my road career. So I was looking forward to it after my (road) career. I think the best part is right after the race.

"I'm looking forward to doing these things. I want to run some gravel races this year and see what it feels like, and do something I haven't been able to do in my road career: off-road and triathlons. Of course my legs will be a little sore, but it will be cool."

In addition to being an Olympic champion, Van Avermaet has won Paris-Roubaix, Ghent-Wevelgem, and Omloop-Het Nieuwsblad. He has raced several times in North America in his road career, with several podium finishes at the Grand Prix de Montréal, including a win in 2019, a second place stage finish at the Tour of California in 2016, and multiple podiums at the Tour of Utah and USA Pro Challenge in 2013 He has also been on the podium at the Tour of Utah and the USA Pro Challenge in 2013. For now, he plans to base most of his gravel activities close to his family and home in Europe.

"I plan to participate in several races on the European calendar, the Gravel Earth Series, and the UCI series. So far, the only one scheduled in the U.S. is (Unbound). We'll see," he added.

The popularity of Unbound Gravel has seen many Europeans make the long trip to discover the charms of the Flint Hills of Kansas. Last year, Belgian breakaway artist Jan Bakelanz, who retired from Intermarque Wanty in 2022, competed in the 200-mile Mudfest for the first time and finished in 14th place.

Now gravel veterans Petr Vakoc of the Czech Republic and Laurens ten Dam of the Netherlands rounded out the top five in the Pro Men. Germany's Caroline Schiff, who has been racing on the road for a decade, took her first win in the Flint Hills last year, while compatriots Jade Trefuizen and Svenja Betz rounded out the top 12.

Van Avermaert plans to bring his Belgian friend, former professional soccer player turned cycling enthusiast Jere Van Damme, on the trip to Kansas. Van Damm competed in cyclocross in December in the two-lap Turbo Cross, part of the Diegem Cross, and finished fifth.

Sporza reports that this winter, Van Damme spent several weeks on the bike in Spain, training with Van Avermaat, Loic Vliegen (Bingoal-WB), and Tim DeClerk (Lidl-Trek). A longtime friend of Van Avermaat, the two recently attended the Velofory trade fair in Kortrijk, Belgium, as ambassadors for BMC, where they promoted the Nordic Gravel Series.

This year, the as-yet-unreleased Unbound 200 course will once again head north on the 2,926-meter elevation gain and 10-plus hours of race time offered in 2021, where self-navigation and self-support will be part of the adventure. This was also the year that total registrations for the multiple ride distances jumped from 2,700 to 4,000, with approximately 42% of participants entering the Unbound 200.

To conclude the random selection process for the four Unbound Gravel distances, including the well-regarded 200 miler, all lottery entrants were emailed on Thursday to confirm whether they had been selected. Invitees for the Lifetime Grand Prix, which makes the Unbound 200 the second stop of seven races, were automatically entered. Athletes in the 350 Mile XL Challenge, which starts the day before the Unbound 200, will be notified of their selection in mid-December, and there is a separate process used by the organizers to select juniors for the Unbound Gravel.

While confirmation emails are celebrated around the world on Friday morning, Life Time will launch Season 2 of its documentary "Call of a Life Time" on the Life Time Grand Prix YouTube channel at 6 pm ET on this day, The festivities will continue. The six-part series will offer never-before-seen race footage from the seven-race Life Time Grand Prix; one of the 10 watch parties will be hosted by Merchant Cycles of Emporia, Kansas, at 5:30 p.m. local time.