If you were asked off the top of your head to connect the dots between Emporia, Kansas, USA and the sleepy village of West Stow in Suffolk, you might struggle. And not unreasonably. Thousands of miles apart, one is surrounded by the vast horizons of the American Midwest, while the other is all quintessential English thatched roofs and found bordering thick forest.
There is a connection though – gravel riding. The two locations host what are arguably the most important gravel appointments each country has to offer, with Emporia home to Unbound (formerly Dirty Kanza) and West Stow hosting the King’s Cup, which was held recently and incorporates the British Gravel Championships.
Admittedly, there is a vast gulf between the two events, with Unbound’s pedigree, prestige
