Unbound XL winner Kristen Legan & Gravel legend Nick Legan on racing, adventure, bikepacking and teamwork in sport, life and marriage as lived at Unbound Gravel, Ride the Divide, TransIowa and more. The inside line on the months of prep, recon and planning that went into Unbound XL, why Kristen and Nick like to go deep, why they choose the hard way and recommend that you do, too.

Kristen Legan won the 350-mile, 2023 Unbound XL gravel race in 26 hours and six minutes, beating her closest competitor by nearly two full hours. She modestly describes herself as a sometimes-pro racer who competes in gravel and endurance mountain bike races with a healthy heaping of bikepacking in the mix. She also leads communications for Shimano North America and Mosaic cycles and works with endurance athletes of all kidneys through her coaching company, Rambleur.

Nick Legan has worked as WorldTour and Olympic mechanic, a tech editor and now leads gravel marketing for Shimano. He’s completed the Tour Divide, Trans Iowa, Unbound XL and Unbound 200 five times. He’s also the author of “Gravel Cycling: The Complete Guide to Gravel Racing and Adventure Bikepacking.”

If memory serves me correctly, the first time I did the Unbound 100 back in 2013, Nick and Kristen were there. You can watch a chunk of Kristen’s Unbound XL victory in the Vegan Cyclist’s video about the event, he closely trailed her for much of the race before he tapped out and she went on to win.

Nick has graciously helped me with a decade’s-worth of tech questions about my gear for which I’m deeply grateful and I’m excited to bring this conversation to you today where we cover everything about Kristen and Nick’s meticulous preparation, planning and teamwork to put Kristen in the best possible position to execute to the best of her ability on race day at Unbound XL and dive into many of their other adventures and how Kristen is working with athletes through her coaching company.

Find Kristen on social @KPLegan and learn more about her coaching practice at rambleur.com and find Nick @nlegan and on bookshelves everywhere if bookshelves still exist, otherwise find him on Amazon and buy his awesome book.

In This Episode: 

Kristen Legan Instagram

Nick Legan Instagram 

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