Thijs Zonneveld's Unbound ordeal: "That's the sound you fear the most..."

On Saturday, Thijs Zonneveld was the Dutchman who pushed the pace the most in the renowned gravel race, Unbound. The journalist turned racer was involved in attacks throughout the race and even managed to make it to the decisive breakaway, but a flat tire at an extremely unfortunate moment meant that he could not compete for the victory in Emporia...

"Very proud and very disappointed at the same time," Zonneveld described his feelings about his Unbound performance in one sentence. "The past few weeks it wasn’t exactly easy to start Unbound in good condition, but this week it worked out – just in time. Everything went just right. My legs were great, my team BEAT Cycling was great, my equipment was great, and the tire strategy was perfect."

With the stars seemingly aligning, Zonneveld broke away at the crucial moment, together with Lachlan Morton and Chad Haga, who eventually took first and second place. "But that one rock was in the wrong spot. Getting a flat sucks. Getting a flat when you are in the decisive breakaway of three sucks ten times more. I have to congratulate Lachlan though, because he was pulling monster turns," said Zonneveld.

Continue reading under the photo.

On his podcast In het Wiel, Zonneveld, who finished 31st, gave an extensive review of the race. "I’ve been playing the analyst for my own race the past few days and adjusted the tire strategy based on that. We switched bikes multiple times, because there were faster and slower sections on the course. That was ultimately perfect, I felt like I had something left."

"When the opportunity arose, I broke away. First with Jan Bakelants and Sebastian Schönberger, but we were caught," Zonneveld continues. "I felt so good on the climbs, but riders like Matej Mohoric were storming down every descent. You take a risk with that, so he also broke his rim later. I didn’t do that. I wanted to keep my tires as intact as possible."

Zonneveld on flat tire: "The sound you fear the most"

"Later, I launched my attack, just when there were few domestiques left," he continues his account. "Haga and Morton crossed over and rode good turns at the front, and I was also still strong. I thought: this is the day, I’ve done everything right. We had a three0minute gap and then we came upon a stretch where I heard the sound you fear the most: a flat. It took me minutes to fix it and then I was overtaken by the second and third group."

"Then I rode about fifteen kilometers on a half-flat tire," the Dutchman continues. "When I came in, I found out that Morton and Haga were first and second. I was really upset about that, because that's when I knew I had missed a huge chance to at least get on the podium. On the one hand, I’m super proud that at 43 I rode to win, but on the other hand, I'm super disappointed because I won’t get this chance again. Everything was aligning, and then it went so wrong... I’m going to lose a few nights’ sleep over that."