Fourth place at this year’s Traka 200 sounds enviable, especially if you crashed hard just the day before. However, Karolina Migoń (PAS Racing) was disappointed. She had pulled out of her long-time target, the Traka 360, less than 20 hours before, targeting a third consecutive victory in ‘Unbound of Europe’.
Though she chases time for a living, the three weeks between epic races in Girona, Spain and Emporia, Kansas, provided the slow build to yet another quest, a second consecutive Unbound Gravel 200 win. Migoń has won The Traka’s 360km race twice in a row, so why not do the same at Unbound’s signature 321km race?
“Last year, I had no pressure [at Unbound]. This time, as a winner, I have way more pressure. Still, I’m there to win the race. I’m not looking that much into the Life Time [riders] who come. I want to get the best spot possible. I want to beat everyone.
“So fourth place at Traka [200] is not really an achievement for me, because my legs were ready for work,” the Polish racer told Cyclingnews about her last race on what she called “a heartbreaking weekend”.
The crash in the 360 on a Friday caused her to flip over the bike and land hard, a handlebar hitting her chest. It took her a short while to breathe normally, but a valve on her rear tyre had snapped, and the bike frame was actually broken. She lost 15 minutes from the front group and pulled out after kilometre 115, deciding to try again on Saturday in the 200.
“I had to stop several times to pump up my tyre, and then stop at the feed zone to change my wheel, so I lost a lot of time. Yeah, you don’t have a car behind to change the wheel and help you,” she laughed about the self-service motions to get back into the race.
“Even after two weeks, I had a bit of pain in my chest, but it was nothing serious, and didn’t prevent me from riding a bike. I am pretty OK.”
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She said she was fully recovered for a third ride at Unbound. In her first effort in 2024, she finished 21st, succumbing to punctures and a mechanical that gave her no chance to contend.
Last year, she moved away from the women’s peloton before the first Feed Zone with PAS Racing teammate Cecily Decker and US Aegis rider Lauren Stephens in the decisive breakaway. Another 100 miles on, Migoń poured on more power with 48 miles to go and rode the rest of the way alone.
“I’m not even sure if knowing the course will help a lot if there’s minimal maintenance roads, and it’s muddy. It doesn’t matter which road it is. I hope for the best, and I hope that maybe we won’t get horrendous conditions on the course, but I will prepare for that as well,” Migoń said.
“I like long races. It’s mostly the distance that makes it suitable for me and makes that advantage for me. After racing in the US, I really got used to those long stretches of straight rows, and I embraced them. And I really like them to be honest, and it’s something different that we don’t have really in Europe.”
Her trip from Europe to the US is just for the one day of racing in Kansas, with nothing after Unbound as she has done before – winning Lost and Found in California and going ninth at SBT GRVL in Colorado. Instead, Migoń has her sights on a real holiday in Switzerland, at a higher altitude than where she lives, a time to prepare for her first MTB adventure in years.
On the horizon is Leadville Trail 100 MTB, as she will make her debut there in the Life Time Grand Prix.
“For sure, I will try to restore my mountain bike skills, which I think will be also helpful for gravel riding. I’m pretty excited about it. It’s not as high as the US, mostly 2,000 metres, but I think it should be OK.”
She will return to the US in the summer to take part in a Gravel Earth Series stop at the Oregon Trail Gravel stage race, July 8-12 in Bend, Oregon, then go to Colorado for Leadville, August 15, the race starting at 3,094 metres above sea level.
“I have never raced so high. It will be an experiment. That’s why I decided to do Life Time [series]. I just need the motivation every year. I need something that will drive me, and after winning Traka and Unbound, there is not much left, you know. So I try to set new goals and new challenges. I think that was pretty much a natural step for me to try Life Time,” the ever-positive 30-year-old told Cyclingnews.
2026 has her focused on racing, as she was able to move full-time to the bike and set aside a career as a software engineer. So far this year, she has finished fourth or better in five races, with second place at The Gralloch. The top step is now in focus for Kansas.
“The whole atmosphere, pressure from everyone, sponsors and the environment in Emporia, it’s really tiring and a bit exhausting. The week is really, really tough. You have a big relief when you start the race and you can just ride your bike. I’m looking forward to starting the race and enjoying those long, straight stretches.
“I booked a holiday in Switzerland, and that’s what I will think about when I am out there, just looking forward to altitude and a little break after Unbound, without the bike. This is what will keep Kansas interesting, thinking about what is afterwards.”
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