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HOW THIS SIMPLE TRAINING PLAN WON ME UNBOUND (2024) | ROSA KLÖSER

with Rosa Klöser — 2024 Unbound Gravel 200 winner; 2025 German gravel national champion

35:44·26 August 2024

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ROSA KLÖSER

2024 Unbound Gravel 200 winner; 2025 German gravel national champion

PROFILE →

Rosa Klöser is a professional gravel cyclist and the 2024 Unbound 200 winner — setting the fastest women's time on record. She is the 2025 German gravel national champion and races the Lifetime Grand Prix series. Four years earlier she had not yet owned a road bike.

Knows about

Gravel racingUnbound 200 racingHigh-volume trainingRace-day decision makingGerman national-team cycling

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

Klöser bought her first road bike in 2020 and won the biggest gravel race on the calendar four years later. The arc is unusual; the method underneath is boring on purpose.
Her plan was simple — high volume, sensible intensity distribution, long endurance days, and the discipline to repeat them through bad weather and bad days.
Race-day execution mattered more than the training. A flat tyre, a crash, and a two-minute deficit all happened, and the ride won anyway because the rider had practised solving small disasters.
Community is the under-rated training input. The riders she rode with, and the local culture of gravel in Germany, set what was "normal" — and her normal kept moving up.
The amateur lesson is that big results come from training plans you can describe in two paragraphs, not blocks you can describe in two pages.

TOPICS

CHAPTERS

Rosa Klöser's rise from buying her first road bike in 2020 to winning Unbound 2024 is a masterclass in deliberate progression, community-driven learning, and balancing elite cycling with a PhD. She breaks down how three years of structured training, mentorship from legends like Annika Langell, and smart use of indoor cycling allowed her to compress what usually takes a decade into an explosive acceleration—and how she stayed calm enough to execute a perfect sprint finish at 200 miles.

Key Takeaways

Training volume ramp: Start at 12 hours/week (2022), progress to 15 hours (2023), peak at 17-18 hours (2024 pre-Unbound). This structured progression, not sudden jumps, built her aerobic base.
Indoor training is time-efficient admin: Use stationary bikes for evening sessions to avoid daylight restrictions, and handle admin tasks (emails, lecture review) during low-intensity rides rather than treating them as separate.
Crash management: When Rosa flatted 30km from checkpoint 2 with a select group of 11, she assessed whether to repair (multiple puncture points = no), managed expectations (2min gap), and attacked hard to close it rather than conservatively pacing.
Community shapes progression faster than solo training: Mentorship from club members, her boyfriend's daily tech/nutrition discussions, and proximity to elite riders (like Annika Langell) accelerated learning more than any training plan alone.
Race reconnaissance without overanalysis: Watch videos, know critical sections and positioning, identify key competitors—but don't get paralyzed by course debate. Being a first-time Unbound entrant meant less mental baggage from previous editions.
Sprint positioning is a mini-project: Rather than going in blind, identify the lead-out train, aim for third-fourth wheel into the final corner, then execute. Confidence came from executing the micro-plan, not certainty of victory.

Expert Quotes

"When I start something that I like...I really do develop a passion for it and that I actually go deep dive into it. Cycling was like this thing that I actually did when I started to just get my head out of things right."

"The people around me and the people that I've met during the time that I cycled have shaped my entire progression...getting hints and tips and tricks from [Annika Langell] was really really helpful."

"I was very satisfied with the way I wrote and I also had a plan so I knew that I didn't want to be the first one to write into the final corner...I felt quite confident when I did decide to Sprint."

CLAIMS FROM THIS EPISODE

Each tagged with the strength of evidence behind it.

ANECDOTE
Klöser's training plan in the year before her 2024 Unbound win was structured around very high endurance volume and a small, repeated pattern of intervals — not a constantly-rotating block plan.
Source: Rosa Klöser
PRO PRACTICE
Race-day adversity (mechanicals, falls, weather) is largely a practised skill set in ultra-distance and gravel — the riders who win typically rehearse the recoveries, not just the racing.
EXPERT
Time spent riding with stronger groups raises baseline performance faster than the same hours ridden solo.
Source: Rosa Klöser

RESOURCES MENTIONED

KEY QUOTES

“I think I averaged more around 15 hours a week um so added these additional three hours and then now in 2024 so the half year until Unbound to be fair I think it was more around uh 17 to 18 hours.”
Rosa Klöser — 2024 Unbound Gravel winner

“I bought my first own road bike at the end of 2020 and then maybe uh did like the first uh like longer proper ride in 2021 so maybe like three years is more accurate.”
Rosa Klöser — 2024 Unbound Gravel winner

“I actually found a way to combine um this in a very time efficient way so I do some banking so for instance take care you know take care of builds um but I also actually do for instance uh rewat watch um rewatch uh lectures from previous years that I gave just to refresh.”
Rosa Klöser — 2024 Unbound Gravel winner, PhD researcher

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT2 SECTIONS

From First Road Bike to Unbound Champion

Rosa welcome to the ran podcast thank you so much for having me has it sunk in yet that you won the biggest gravel race on the calendar ah yeah um more or less I guess um it's it's slowly starting to get more real yes what does it actually mean to you is it is it lifechanging or have you had time to figure out how impactful actually is wow yeah that I think this is a really fair and and good question um as of now I can't really answer this question fully or like to the full extent um but I definitely do have the feeling that it does open opportunities so um right after Unbound or now from the time that I've actually won Unbound to now uh which is like almost like s eight weeks um of course um yeah I think a few things have changed um I had a few conversations with potential sponsors or partners that I could potentially work with next year and I have a new outlook on maybe making cycling even a bigger part of my everyday life and career and how's that working are you reaching out to them and being like hey I'm Rosa I won Unbound or is it starting to your inbox fill up with requests yeah I mean I think yeah uh as of now I'm still quite lucky and I've actually gotten a lot of positive feedback and um I was approached um by a couple of yeah Partners or potential Partners but of course already before Unbound have been working uh with a couple of Partners um and they've showed interest to extend contracts uh and so on yeah so I think it's it's a good mix I read somewhere that you only took up training and race like two and a half years ago is that was that correct yeah yeah I think that's that's fair to say um I think uh like if you want to be super strict I think you could say that I bought my first own road bike at the end of 2020 and then maybe uh did like the first uh like longer proper ride in 2021 so maybe like three years is more accurate that's crazy so like what's happened in those three years to get you from buying your first row bike to winning the biggest gravel race in the world like how have you had such accelerated progression yeah I think um I think it's fair to say that I'm a person that when I start something that I like and for sure cycling was one of these things um that I really do develop a passion for it and that I actually go deep dive into it so I think that's also with cycling and um yeah I think doing a PhD you do a lot of research you read a lot of papers and that can also sometimes really get a little bit like exhausting mentally and I feel like um cycling was like this this thing that I actually did when I started to just get my head of things right just to go outside uh do a ride but not have any you know Ambitions to raise anyone I actually didn't really knew this existed or I mean of course I knew that there was racing but I didn't know that like you know as a mid 20 yearold woman you could go out and maybe race some of the strongest races out there at one point um and then it eventually really progressed that I think it was a little bit of Destiny and of meeting the right people uh at the right time uh making connections and uh from there I joined my first uh Road Cycling Club uh where yeah there was a local Danish woman who convinced me to join her for a road race and I was in the middle of 2022 and I did that because I thought that was fun and it gave me a community in Copenhagen and Denmark where I live and um yeah so then I joined that race and um in Denmark we do have different categories when we start racing so there's like a a class like on on the local level and a b class and I joined and to my surprise and I think think to everyone's surprise I actually did won um this first race uh that I joined um and um yeah to my surprise I won that first race that I joined and I think it's fair to say with things that you do and that you succeed at and you're good at so Rose at two and a half years from not owning a bike or maybe three years if we take the you know duter timeline of first time you actually had any bike three years from that to win in Unbound like there's a cycl is a complicated sport you've obviously nutrition we've equipment we've training it's just not enough time to figure all that out to an elite level on your own unless you're a bit of a Super Genius which I think you are a bit of a Super Genius but did you also lean on like a team of mentors and local cycling clubs or how did you acquire this knowledge so fast yeah definitely I think you you already pointing to very very valid things there and I think honestly I think the people around me uh and the people that I've met during the time that I cycled have sub shaped um my entire progression so from the person that took me to my first race and showed me how to you know put on the numbers correctly on on the back of my jersey uh and that I actually had to have a number plate on on the back of my bike um to my boyfriend who who's really into to the sports as well and who I almost on a daily basis discuss about the newest Tech um nutrition to people that are have been like absolute Legends in the sport and that I had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know uh such as for instance Anika Langell she's like part of my local cycling Community here um and yeah she's probably or arguably one of the strongest as and most known female cyclists that have ever been out there and getting hints and t uh trips and tricks from her was really really helpful also um so I think yeah it's really fair to say that uh the community around you really shapes you so how serious did you get into it at the very start like what's your training load looking like in year one and year two and year three like how did you ramp that up because I've chatted to some of the the guys and the girls like I've had uh Sophia Gomez Who's previous winner of Unbound on the podcast I've had you know map beers guys like this on the podcast and the training volume that they're getting through to be competitive in those longer races is insane so what was your ramp rate like how did you get to that training volume to allow you to win in such a condensed period of time yeah I think it's fair to say that I really took it up very seriously in 2022 so in 2022 I mean to my standards of course yeah we have to adjust this so I think I ramped it up H so in 2022 I decided okay I want to become more serious with cycling I want to have like a structured training plan uh I want to at least hit 12 hours a week so this was how I started basically right and then of course there were these like training blocks where add did more but I would say uh to be fair on average it was 12 hours for 2022 and actually that already brought me like a really far away um but I further ried it up um in 2023 which was also my first season of racing gravel um I would say I think I averaged more around 15 hours a week um so added these additional three hours and then now in 2024 so the half year until Unbound to be fair I think it was more around uh 17 to 18 hours and what's that like balancing 17 to 18 hours cuz like anyone that's ridden a bike will know when you're training at 17 to 18 hours it doesn't take 17 to 18 hours there's so much dead admin time each side whether it's washing kit prepping bikes so you're looking at I don't know conservatively 25 hours out of your week dedicated to your support to your sport how do you balance that with also pursuing a PhD yeah that's a really good question as well and to be fair it's been challenging at times um it's not a super easy task so I want to be clear about that at the start but it really did help me um that we have access to all of these new technologies um so most of all for me indoor cycling is actually a really big part of my routine um so I do use indoor training especially for late evening rights during the week um to get my hours in because then I'm not restricted to Daylight um so this helps me a lot and I'm also trying to actually take care of some of the uh routine admin tasks well Ino training um at least when I do my lit rides so low intensity training rights um so I actually found a way to combine um this in a very time efficient way so what's that look like what are you doing yeah so I do some banking so for instance take care you know take care of builds um but I also actually do for instance uh rewat watch um rewatch uh lectures from previous years that I gave just to refresh because some of the lectures that I do I record and then actually re-watching them before I have to give them in the upcoming year is really helpful just to you know remind myself what I um yeah taught the students what the topic was about um and that's also very helpful it's funny I had Alex D said on the podcast you know he's previous eror record holder and T the France stage winner and stuff and he was living in Andor which like if you haven't been it's one of the most beautiful places in the world to ride a bike and he said quite a lot of time he found himself still sitting indoors riding the W bike just because there's so much stuff you can do when you're indoors riding to upw like that paying bills watching Netflix movies whatever yeah it's so true uh I I totally agree with it and I think as you just mentioned you know you're saving the the bike wash you're saving like you know especially in Copenhagen it can get really chilly so I have to put on extra layers um and I have to refill my bottles and and stop as Supermarket to maybe get extra snacks when I again like you know hit a hit a c deficit so yeah it's actually quite quite time efficient and I think it does help a lot um I must say of course I do prefer especially like the long weekend rides to do them outside um but uh in that regard I would say I'm quite um quite flexible to also put in some really big hours on on the indoor bike that maybe some people wouldn't want to do we are so excited to announce that we are partnering with whoop whoop are changing the game when it 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Heat Training and Unbound Race-Week Focus

Whoop.com roadman I'm going to pop that in the description below and you're going to get a free month's access to whoop membership on me I promise you won't regret it have you played around with heat acclamation this I've had some of the guys from the core Heat center on the podcast and they're talking up heat as avoidable alternative to altitude I actually bought myself this heat core sensor recently as well I would argue from a researchers point of view that I do that I don't have collected enough data yet to to to make like a big Claim about it but um actually going back to that I think uh finnally enough my boyfriend and I we talk about that a lot um so um actually we we noticed that I do perform rather well in heat in general um and um because maybe it has to do with the fact that the first two years I did my indoor training without like a ventilation system installed um so I was always exposed to to very uh hot conditions either way um but yeah I I do see that there is some adaptation Potential from heat training as well and I've actually seen a lot of people around me uh doing it this this winter um so this is definitely also something that I want to explore more um but yeah first on my agenda is now actually to to to use an altitude uh training camp soon and see how my body will react to it so let's talk a little bit specifically about on bound heading into the race a lot of athletes they do get a little overcome by the buzz of because Unbound is more than actually a race it's a bit of an event and for people that are in the series and high-profile athletes like you who have Partners there is also a bit of commercial pressure to be meeting Partners you know kissing babies and shaking hands as they say a political saying how do you separate yourself from that kind of pre-race ball and stay focused on the challenge yeah also a really I think important question that every athlete should ask thems I think especially at Unbound because it was my first race in the US um I really tried to see this also as an experience so of course I would lie if I would say that I went there without any Ambitions because I think every racer in their n nature is an ambitious individual so of course I had my goals uh and my targets but I also did try to see Unbound overall and this entire trip as an experience so I actually did take the time I think i' I've listened to some podcasts from people that at their first Unbound they were so nervous they were trying to stay a lot in their house and like just focus on themselves but I actually tried to to go a different route and I actually made time to visit the Expo and actually talk to some people um and actually get a little bit of a feeling for Emporia because I wanted to have a good memory from Emporia because also when we went there the weather predictions actually seemed quite bad so I was like uh ready for everything to happen on that day so I wanted to make sure that like I at least you know had something um from this trip uh to memorize well and I mean now of course the outcome looking back in retrospective it it couldn't have gone any better um but um yeah I I think I really tried to to make the most out of the trip like is there a advantage to being a first time Unbound participant going to it because the athletes have been there two three times before they're getting caught in debates about South Course North Course which has finer gravel which is more coarse gravel which has mud sections is there advantage in mainly just being a little bit blasé and not knowing what you're in for to keep stress levels down a little bit I definitely think that's true um because I think people can get into this mode of overanalyzing then again I must say I really do like to analyze race courses myself so I am definitely a person that would like to know what I'm going to face in the race so I did do a proper Recon of the race uh I did watch some of the videos people were putting up about previous unbounded B additions so it's not like I went there you know um all fun in games and you know just entered the G the race and didn't know anything about it so I just definitely did do my proper research I knew which sections were critical in the race and where I wanted to be located at the front and I definitely also knew who to watch and I think that might be an advantage as a newb um or first timer because I think in the European scene um at least from my perspective I think some or a lot of the European Racers um that were at Unbound probably knew me but I'm pretty sure that most of the American races did not so I think in that regard for sure um it was an advantage is there European equivalence do you think to Unbound I think it's hard because um in some way Unbound is so unique because I mean the gravel is also unique you can't really compare it to to the terrain that we have in Europe but I think the race that would come closest I think is probably emerging to be the tracka um from my opinion um but I do still think that somehow the vibe uh is quite different and the terrain for sure as well so I think they have both yeah right in themselves and I think we should keep them separate um but I think if maybe an American would ask me okay hey I want to come to Europe and I can only go to One race and I actually would wanted to be a really long and eventful race then maybe yeah the tracker so the race did play out from what I remember quite conservatively the first checkpoint is in around mile 70 and there was quite a big bunch left there there was still 30 or so wrers from my recollection were you surprised at how kg it played out and was the separate start maybe for it was the first time for context it was the first time women had a separate start to men so I think that maybe changed the dynamic a bit how did you feel at that kind of Mile 70 checkpoint Rob man I know how serious you take your goal setting whether they're Fitness or life related goals if you're looking for a powerful Ally to support you on this journey look now further than hu hu has become my secret weapon for when I don't have time to prepare a balanced meal ensures I get the nutrition I need without sacrificing time or taste plus it stops me from reaching for that takeaway menu I always throw a bottle into my backpack when I'm heading into the city to work and it stops me eating junk convenience food snacking on crossons and bars of chocolate because I know they don't support my training goals it's a handy nutritious meal on the go and it's got over 22 grams of protein hu is perfect for athletes that don't have time to cook or prepare food before a training session it's convenient nutritious fuel at your fingertips ensuring you hit your daily fueling needs for that session H ready to drink has 26 essential vitamins and minerals in every single bottle you're getting a whopping 175 health benefits plus it's made from natural ingredients like Topeka Sunfire seed coconut and more the best part it's the flavors there's eight crazy beautiful flavors iced coffee is what's in my backpack right at the moment you can get hu directly to your home all you got to do is head on over to the hu website hu.com Roan yeah H you're absolutely right we were still a really big bunch um was I surprised by this to be completely honest not too much because I knew the death in the women's field and I think um while as I said again uh probably not that many people knew me I did my research on my competitors so I knew that there was a quite deep woman's field so I was not super surprised that 30 ladies uh were strong enough to to stick together uh until the first checkpoint especially because now we were actually given our own race and um of course now like the level in in the bunch in the pelaton is more equal so therefore um for me it was not completely surprising that that a bigger Bunch um to the first checkpoint H then dienzo at some point on her full send mode and pulled out a decent enough Gap I think she had over two minutes at one point is there a sense of panic behind or more look it's too far from home to go like we'll just leave her cook yeah I I I definitely was alert when she left the bunch because I knew that she actually was a former Unbound winner and I knew that her abilities are definitely on going long and hard so uh I was aware that probably she's the person uh if anyone from the bunch that could pull off a move uh of going off the front early however as you correctly mentioned it was really early so I wasn't too concerned and I think this was probably the opinion of the bunch in general of course I don't want to speak for anyone else but that's a little bit half the vibe that I got but seeing at one point when we realized that the Gap was going out to more than two minutes we also decided to make more of an effort collectively to close it down how did you crash um yeah so uh I actually crashed um on a descent um it was quite a rocky descent and um actually uh I hit a really big rock and arguably I was probably too close to the woman in front of me and at this point we were already I think in the select group of I think 11 Riders so it was pretty pretty late in the race I think uh around um 30 kilometers or that must be like 20ish miles um from the second checkpoint and um in that moment when I actually did hit this big rock I could tell that like the air was like deflating from my front tire and I I think I I can't really put my hand head around how it happened exactly but I think the tire the The Rock and then I just went over my handle bars um yeah and uh when I jumped back on the bike I could feel that my front tire was uh was really really low on on air um but fortunately I was running inserts so therefore um I decided at first because of course I mean I think I think every bike racer that has crashed in a race knows that like in the second that you you crash and the first instinct is to jump back on the bike and I think that's what I did uh I jumped back on the bike and uh I knew now the course was getting even faster um so I definitely wanted to stick to the group and um I jumped back on the bike and I actually didn't lose the group um and um then I started to assess the situation and actually noticed that the front tire was pretty flat um but I also saw that sealant was coming out at multiple ends so I assessed that it was not worth it to jump off the bike and try to fix it because I could yeah unfortunately notice that there were multiple ends to fix this tire so I decided to keep going with the group um for as long as possible uh did you think it was over that point were you did concern kind of wash over you yeah of course I was a bit concerned um because uh I looked at my board computer and I could see that it was still 35 kilometers from the second feet Zone and I was definitely not sure that I was able to make it on a almost completely flat front tire um with this strong group of ladies to the second feet and actually in the end I also didn't because was uh actually 5 kilomet before the for the second feed um I decided to stop because I was hitting my rim constantly on the downhills because there were big rocks and uh if you don't have enough air in your tire and you descend you actually do hit your Rim even though you have an insert um and it got really um dangerous actually I I felt at one point that I didn't really have the bike under control anymore um so I decided to stop and actually put a C2 in hoping of course knowing the tire was pretty smashed but hoping it would actually at least you know add a little bit of air uh until I would make it into the seat so I decided to stop and lost a group right there uh put in a CO2 um that actually did help a little bit but not too much so when I actually in the entered the feat Zone I was completely riding on the road at that point because I don't know what happened to the insert but uh it felt like it flipped or something at the end but yeah I just made it into into the feat Zone and I think that was great so um so what's the Gap like then what what's the deficit you have to make up when you come out to far side of the feed Zone on the new wheel uh I think the Gap was I was told um by the crew the EnV crew that was supporting me that was 2 minutes um and I think in fact it must have been like 145 to 2 minutes something between that how do you go about closing that that's a huge gap is there like how do you mentally stay focused are you riding full gas if you don't get there you're going to blow or are you almost at this stage pacing and thinking well I could get a top 15 if I just Pace this on myself yeah I actually think I took the first approach um because what I told myself is at this point um just to give a bit of context for for the people who maybe didn't follow along too closely at this point we were only in a group of 11 so I was basically the 11th Rider that dropped back because of the flat and so there was 10 people ahead of me um and also it was already after like almost 135 140 miles in the race so I was aware that at this point gaps also to to the back must have opened up so I decid decied um to actually put in a good effort and try to close it down because for me actually managing to be in this front group and being able to ride with these strong ladies all day and being in the selection of the fin 11 I already felt quite actually strong and happy and I actually must say that I felt really good all day so I decided okay I don't really have a lot to lose so why don't try and close this down um and if you blow up yeah that's part of the game you said you studied your competitors pretty well did you have a read on who was a fast finisher heading into the Sprint yeah um so I definitely did my research also on who to to watch but then of course um that being said um I think you can't really be sure who's a fast finisher after 200 miles um because that's a bit different um from who is a fast finisher maybe after a three or four hour race but I did um let's say it the other way around um I think I was more aware of who I wasn't afraid of than of who was the best Sprinter hey Ro man excuse the short Interruption I love riding the bike but on account of being so busy with the podcast at the moment I'm now what's called a Time crunched Rider I never thought I'd see the day but I have a tool I'm using what bike to keep myself sharp and on point with specific sessions to maximize that available training time I have a w bike Adam right here in the record Studio beside me and when I have an eror in between interviews I jump on it's removing all the friction points from me there's no more 10 minute setup unfolding legs banging my knees off stuff getting my hands dirty usual connection issues it just works every single time the atom's perfect for virtual racing as well because it has crisp gear changes it has 1% accuracy and it has Max gradient capability of up to 25% if you're looking for an indoor trainer I honestly couldn't recommend this any High I've been using a w bike since 2013 honestly it's the last indoor trainer that you're ever going to need if you head on over to W bike.com now and you use code roadman 10 that's r o a d m n t n and that's going to get you 10% of your W bike recently um made some research about altitude training because I haven't utilized it yet due to the mentioned um yeah time management and and and restrictions um and I definitely want to look more into it and I'm planning actually to do my first um altitude training camp actually just in preparation for the world championships in gravel this year um but of course yeah there are restrictions however I must also say that um my University or my head of Department uh from The Institute is very supportive and I actually recently um just had a 4-we leave um in order to facilitate the racing so um actually I had I think three or four races uh from weekend to weekend where I actually just traveled in between the races and I wasn't even home so we decided that it's better to take a leave during that period um and then I just uh started working again last Monday do you have a thought process you know you hear top athletes sometimes in those key moments in whether it's races or matches saying that time seems to slow down did you have that experience can you recall what that top process was in the final 200 meters 100% um and I think to be fair I would argue that was the case for all of the women that were there because this final stretch so um for context the Finish Line in empor I think is 450 M I was told and um those 450 M um they felt like eternity um in hindsight uh when I also watched the Sprint again um I had the feeling that I was already way closer to the Finish Line when I kicked off and started sprinting um and it really did feel long um I think there were so many things going through my head uh but I other hand I was somehow also super calm which is actually quite unusual for me because I think I'm usually quite extra quite like cly person but for some reason I think there was like a whole vibe and there was like so much noise um from The Spectators that somehow yeah it it felt like a very very strange um moment yeah you were calm but were you confident did you think coming to the line if this stays together I can win I did not necessarily think okay I have this in a bag um but I must say that I was very satisfied with the way I wrote and I also had a plan so I knew that I didn't want to be the first one to write into the final corner so heading into the long straight Finish Line and so basically I felt like I had like a mini project in the Sprint right like before I sprinted so my first goal was to be like in third or fourth position entering the final Sprint corner so that goal was already accomplished and then um I actually could tell that um two writers from Team like not team specialist but WR for writing for specialist were working together and I could tell that one person was giving a lead out for for the other person or for the other Rider and in that regard I kind of knew because I was in thir wheel Behind These two people um that I was in a pretty good position because I was on the right lead out train right so there I felt quite confident when I did decide to Sprint did I think that I would definitely win when I started to kick I would say no but I was very confident that it was enough for a Podium and now that you are the Unbound Champion you're you know there's a lot of perks I'm sure comes with that I'm sure you don't have to fight for entries into races anymore you can just kind of play the hey I'm Unbound champion card what's the rest of the season looking like are you going to head backst side or you going to focus on building up towards gravel worlds yeah um for now I'm gonna Focus um on racing uh in Europe uh in the next couple of weeks so first now I have a small break because I did a couple of UCI races and but then I'm going to restart in August with the next UCI race and then actually do gravel worlds um German gravel Nationals European Championship ships Etc but I'm planning to come back to the US for Big Sugar amazing amazing it's a exciting and busy season Rosa thank you very much I think it's a inspirational conversation for a lot of people that are trying to balance their training with either work or family your study commitment so hat off for winning the biggest gravel race in the world thank you so much and thanks a lot for uh allowing me to share my story and being uh on the podcast thanks Rosa if you enjoyed this conversation please click up here there's another video I know that you're absolutely going to love click over here and subscribe to the channel so you don't miss any of our amazing upcoming guests

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How did Rosa Klöser win Unbound Gravel 2024?+

Rosa Klöser won the 2024 Unbound Gravel 200 in a sprint finish despite suffering a flat tyre and a crash that put her two minutes behind the leaders. She fought back to cross the line first, setting the fastest women's time on record. Her ability to stay composed and close the gap late in a 200-mile race reflected years of deliberate training progression rather than any single tactical breakthrough.

How many hours a week did Rosa Klöser train for Unbound 2024?+

Rosa trained 17 to 18 hours per week in the lead-up to Unbound 2024, up from 15 hours in 2023 and 12 hours in 2022. This structured, year-on-year volume increase was central to her approach, prioritising gradual load progression over sudden spikes. She only bought her first road bike in late 2020, making the ramp particularly deliberate given her short cycling background.

How long does it take to go from beginner cyclist to elite gravel racer?+

Rosa Klöser's progression shows it is possible to reach the elite level within roughly three to four years if training is structured and consistent. She went from purchasing her first road bike in late 2020 to winning the biggest gravel race in the world by mid-2024. Community mentorship, through her Copenhagen cycling club and guidance from figures like Annika Langvad, accelerated her development considerably.

How do you build a training plan for a 200-mile gravel race?+

Rosa Klöser's approach centres on progressive weekly volume built over multiple seasons, reaching 17 to 18 hours per week in the final preparation block before Unbound. The key principle is adding volume year on year rather than attempting large increases within a single season. Mentorship from experienced riders and integration into a strong club environment helped her structure the programme effectively alongside her PhD research commitments.

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Key Takeaways

Expert Quotes

CLAIMS FROM THIS EPISODE

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From First Road Bike to Unbound Champion

Heat Training and Unbound Race-Week Focus

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Key Takeaways

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CLAIMS FROM THIS EPISODE

RESOURCES MENTIONED

KEY QUOTES

From First Road Bike to Unbound Champion

Heat Training and Unbound Race-Week Focus

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CHAPTERS

Key Takeaways

Expert Quotes

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