Sebastian Breuer Claims The Unbound XL Title

Sebastian made it clear just how competitive these races have become – emphasizing the speed and intensity that a 350mi race can (and did) hold. Feed stops were limited, attacks were made, and the race rolled on, with or without you. Firstly, we'll start with his overview of the event from start to finish.

Sebastian: The race started quite quickly. I think a lot of guys tried to be the first one into the tricky sections, (the mud sections or the rocky and stone sections). So it was actually really stressful. A lot of guys crashed and I was thinking, “Hey, come on, we have to ride 550kms from here on”.

My idea was not to ride as the first one into these sections because I planned to take a look to the other fast guys, what they were doing, or if the mud is too crazy to ride. I could jump off my bike early on to try to avoid the mud on my frame or drive train.

Especially after 50 or 60kms, there was a really rocky section and I tried to give them a small gap that [created a separation]. So, then there were eight guys in the front, six guys from the US, one from South Africa, and one German guy.

My first stop was planned around the 130km mark for some resupply of water. My plan was just to buy water because I had a lot of gel in my frame bags and [carbs] in my bottles.

I used the one-liter bottles, and these was full of liquids, so I just needed water. But the guys decided not to stop. I was like, “Okay, when I'm going to stop now”. I [either] haave to chase on my own and it could get really difficult or I will hang on and try to save as much water as possible. Overall, my idea for the whole race was to stop four to five times. But in the end we stopped just twice for resupply. The first time not until midnight at a gas station, and then at three o'clock. After the first stop, we were just four…then we were down to three of us… and we made it to the last stop at three.

When the sun started to rise, there was a really hard mud section, the real first mud section of the race, and we had to carry our bikes for more than one hour. And in this section, we lost the third guy. So two of us went full gas for the last 160kms to the finish line.

At 80kms before the line, I realized that today I would win the race. I was quite sure of that. That was just the feeling. That, “I want to win the race no matter what.”

With 2kms to go, there's a little and he attacked but I was directly on his back wheel. And then I let open a small gap like that sprinter gap. When he started to sprint at the last 300, 400 meters I managed to get on his [draft] and then I was able to take the sprint. I did 1030 watts in the end after 20 hours of riding.

Crazy. After 350 miles, Unbound XL ends in a sprint finish.

Q: In an event that long, how do you make a difference? Is it just attrition or is the level high enough now to be tactical?

The most important thing is to only care about what you are doing and not what the others are doing – take care of your own energy, your food intake, and that you are drinking enough.

When you're going into the final, the last 100 or 50kms, then it is more like, “Okay, do we work together to stay in the front or do I have to destroy the other guys.” For me, I really wanted to go for a sprint final because I knew that I was maybe in a better position tactically from my former years as a road cyclist.

Q: Is there anything specific to the XL that you did to adapt the fueling and hydration that you typically don’t?

I put a lot of carbs in my bottles and I knew what was inside one slip (measured beforehand). The only thing I have to take care of is enough water. I had a 3L USWE with a lot of water, and I had two bottles. This was enough to bridge it from feed zone to feed zone. That sounds quite easy.

I knew that I just wanted to take in 90 grams of carbs per hour.

His staples are SIS Gels, Styrkr, PF 60 Drink Mix, Betty Lous Bars (a few during Unbound), and Ketone IQ (in training).

Q: What are some other key things that you felt helped prep you for 20 hours of racing?

The two most important things are (one:) the heat preparation.

I knew from the years before that Emporia could be really, really hot, so I often jumped into the sauna or maybe a hot bath after my training rides, just to try to heat up as much as possible. This was really important for me.

The second thing is doing a lot of long rides, not to train your body but more like train your gut. That's one of the most important things in this long-distance stuff. Most of the guys are starting to throw up after 300 or 400kms because their stomach is not able to handle all the carbs and all the intake.

Q: Do you have any expectations or upcoming plans that you are excited to take this energy into?

My really big project is coming in four weeks: a European FKT from Norway (near the Russian border) to Portugal, 7,800mks. The current record is 32 days and I want to go for this record.