Lauren De Crescenzo will ride a custom, Factor Ostro gravel bike with semi-slick tyres at this weekend’s Unbound 200.
The defending Gravel World Champion is one of the favourites in the women’s Unbound 200, having won the Mid South gravel race in Oklahoma earlier this season.
But facing a stiff test from the 2022 Unbound champion, Sofia Gomez Villafane, Factor has tried to help De Crescenzo eke out every last watt. A 1x drivetrain
The huge single chainring should keep the chainline straight and efficient. Cinch Cycling
De Crescenzo, the 2021 Unbound female champion, will run a 1x drivetrain on her Factor Ostro with a 48T SRAM X-Sync aero single chainring and a 12-speed, 10-44t SRAM XPLR cassette.
The Unbound 200 course measures 205 miles, or 321.5km, but features only 1,210m of climbing.
For elite athletes such as De Crescenzo, the lack of elevation negates the need for a smaller inner chainring to provide an easier climbing gear.Meanwhile, the high average speed of nearly 31km/h (19mph) calls for a sizeable and aerodynamic chainring, matched to a wide-range cassette .De Crescenzo’s Factor Ostro Gravel is custom painted in the mint and black colours of her Cinch Racing team. Unbound organisers banned aero bars this year, so De Crescenzo will rely on an integrated Black Inc cockpit to cut through the wind. Ceramic bearings galore Factor’s go-fast gravel bike is specced with a SRAM Red eTap AXS rear derailleur and a CeramicSpeed OSPW rear derailleur cage .The brand claims its Oversized Pulley Wheel System is […]
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