Spotted on Strava: Unbound Gravel, Cycling Around the World & Bart Simpson

From Unbound Gravel to Bart Simpson by way of a record-breaking attempt to bike around the world, there's been plenty to watch out for on Strava this week.

It's one of the biggest, most anticipated gravel races on the calendar, and Unbound 2024 did not disappoint. Thousands of riders took part in a series of tough, tight races over the weekend, that also saw a first in the women's event. Rosa Klöser took the win on the challenging 200 mile / 324.7km course that, for the first time, featured a separate start for the female pros. In the men's race, Lachlan Morton out-sprinted Chad Haga in the closing stages to take the win after 9+ hours battling it out on the Kansas gravel.

Staying on two wheels, but cycling much, much further than the Unbound field is Lael Wilcox. Lael is attempting to cycle 18,000 miles / 28,968 km around the world in just 110 days. The route will take her across the US, through Europe, to Australia and New Zealand, before returning to the US via Anchorage. It isn't a straight ride around the world per se, but it satisfies the Guinness World Record demand for completing a route of more than 18,000 miles done continuously in one direction. Be sure to follow Lael on this epic challenge.

Staying in Europe (where Lael is currently cycling), the shores of picturesque Lake Annecy played host to one of the tougher one-day events on the French Trail Running calendar: the MaxiRace. Featuring 17,480 ft / 5,328m of elevation gain over the 55 mile / 90km course, the race passes over a series of iconic - and very muddy - French mountains. Matthieu Blanchard took the win in the men's race (9:11:15), while Camille Bruyas won the women's (10:47).

With Spring rapidly turning into Summer, it's no surprise to see Fastest Known Times (FKTs) lighting up around the world. In the US, Jeff Merrick set a new FKT for the Yosemite Valley Rim to Rim and Justin Kousky laid down an impressive time on the New England Trail. Meanwhile, over in the Netherlands Robert Broos set a new FKT for the Grebbeliniepad, while in Germany Daniel Hernes completed a self-supported FKT on the Schwarzwald Jura Bodensee.

And, finally, it was a strong week for Strava Artists around the world. And when we say world, we mean the kind of world that Frédéric Tranchand drew in his local park in Bendigo, Australia.

Frédéric wasn't the only artist in action last week, though. To celebrate Global Running Day, Big Bird Strava Art drew this rather exquisite depiction of Bart Simpson:

Meanwhile, presumably not in celebration of Global Running Day (well, it's certainly not a shoe to be running in), Nicolas Georgiou captured this 'Fabulous Stiletto' on the streets of London