Kristi Mohn
Armed with a community-building spirit and a no-nonsense, ‘get it done’ style, 2022 Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame inductee, Kristi Mohn, has helped build the world’s largest gravel race, Unbound Gravel (formerly DK). The event, which has grown from 34 participants in 2006, to more than 4,000 in 2022, helped revive the local economy and has established Emporia, Kansas as a top gravel cycling destination.
Mohn says it was her husband, Tim, who introduced her to gravel cycling, around the time he participated in the inaugural Unbound Gravel/DK in 2006.
“Tim was looking for something to get in shape, feel better, and be outside,” Mohn said. “The community here was so supportive of that. Matt Brown and Shawn Honea helped him figure out so much in the beginning, and I just absorbed it and went along for the ride.”
Shortly after, Mohn led a task force group through the Emporia Chamber of Commerce. Tasked with bringing events to the Emporia area, she also looked at existing community events with the potential to grow. She immediately thought of Unbound Gravel.
After moving the finish of the event into downtown Emporia, Mohn began to see the true impact Unbound Gravel could have on the community. Not only did it provide a positive economic impact for area businesses, but the event also brought out the community at large, many of whom hadn’t been exposed to cycling before.
After seeing that prior to 2016, fewer than 10-percent of Unbound Gravel participants were female, Mohn led the charge to make gravel more inclusive and accessible for women. In 2017, her “200 Women 200 miles” campaign reserved 200 of the 1,000 available Unbound Gravel entries for women.
Though Mohn’s colleagues estimated it’d take two to three years to attract 200 women to the event, the 200 spots were snatched up within the first three hours of registration.
For Mohn, that’s the accomplishment she’s the proudest of.
“Getting more women on bikes and feeling welcome in that space feels really good,” Mohn said. “I also hope the work we’ve done to make our community more inclusive to all has been impactful.”
When Life Time purchased Unbound Gravel event in 2018, Mohn stayed on to lead the team through the transition and integrate the event into the organization’s larger portfolio. This led to the creation of the Life Time Grand Prix – a series of six iconic gravel and mountain bike events, where 60 of the world’s top professional cyclists compete for a $250,000 prize purse.
Unbound Gravel is the second of the six-event series.
In addition to her work with Unbound Gravel, Mohn is co-founder of the “Girls Gone Gravel” podcast. She travels the country hosting gravel clinics and meet-ups to encourage more female cyclists to give gravel cycling a try.
For Mohn, it’s about leading by actions.
“We all have the responsibility to take a pull,” she said.
