Last week, an email chain circulated among the leading unbound gravel competitors in the men's race. Its purpose was to reach a consensus on the use of aerobars. We're in a small position in the sport right now," said Peter Stetina, last year's third-place finisher, "and we're trying to talk about it so that it becomes what it should be.

One side is in favor of a joint agreement that riders planning to ride in the front group will not use aerobars. While it may be true that most gravel pros would prefer that no one in the front group use aerobars, they recognize that if some use them, others will follow suit. And apparently, some top contenders have signed sponsorship deals for bars that have not yet been released, allowing for different aerodynamic combinations.

While it is true that aero bars have their roots in gravel racing, they were primarily used to make solo riders comfortable in long distance events. Thus, having the ability to change bike position has a precedent, but gravel racing is evolving. Horsepower has increased in all categories of the sport and group dynamics have improved. Several of the top racers want to see the normalization of safe and honest racing.

Aerobars add unnecessary stress to the group and riders are concerned about safety. 'It's dangerous for me and for others. There are no brakes in the aero position. How can you ride in a group without brakes?" asks Ian Boswell, who won the Unbound Gravel last year without using aerobars.

Boswell hopes that willpower and leg strength, not cunning tactics, will decide who wins unbound. He says, "What frustrates me the most are those who try to gain an advantage over the rest of the field. The lead group needs to stick together. Either everyone does something or no one does. If everyone decides not to use the aerobars, they won't. If only one person in the front uses the aerobars, everyone thinks they should too. It's so fragile right now that one or two people just need to play a different game," Boswell said.

Kiel Reynen's opinion is mixed. If asked to vote, he says, "I'm in favor of getting rid of the aerobars," but he makes it clear that he's not talking about those who use them for comfort. If the Aerobars help you get through an event, no one should take them away." If you are in a group, at a place where you stick out in terms of group dynamics, then the Aerobar should not come into play."

Reynen spoke of the recent Gravel Locos race in Texas, where the group ran many miles unscathed, while mourning the sudden death of Mo Wilson, who was killed a few days before the event.

"I was riding behind a rider with aero bars and we were going through some sections that were a little sketchy. So from a safety standpoint, it's definitely debatable, especially as the lead group gets bigger later in the ride. Safety is a bigger concern for an event like this because it attracts a higher level of competence," Reynen said.

Stetina agrees. In gravel, which is an ultra endurance sport, the aero bars do their job." But on the front lines of big races like Unbound, we cannot survive. The competition is more intense than ever. We really don't need it."

Stetina is looking for a middle way. He uses an unreleased prover hand extension mount called the "GPS mount." Stetina feels that something needs to be done to stay competitive. He says, "There are a lot of riders out there using aero bars, and I need to somehow race against those riders."

He noted that his colleagues Keegan Swenson, Nathan Haas, and Freddy Ovett also use similar Pro bar extension setups. Stetina said that his bars are for taking pulls, not for pack rides. He said, "You can't stay in this position for hours on end, and it's not safe in the peloton.

Stetina argues that his setup is merely a safer version of the type seen in road racing for decades, where someone mimics an aerobar with their bare hands. Basically, it's a safer version of the "puppy legs" that put your forearms on the bar. We feel it's a good compromise to be safer, stay competitive, and still keep our belief in the sport."

What Stetina values is making gravel accessible. He says, "You can spend $100 on a mount, but you can't spend $3,000 on a handlebar or a wind tunnel. [Someone comes along with a custom 3D-printed handlebar, and that's a barrier. Gravel is not a "sport for everyone." So I, along with my generation of riders, made the decision not to use aero bars. We are walking the walk. I used aerobars in the previous two unbound races, and I don't deny that they are faster. But this win-at-all-costs mentality is distasteful to many of us right now

"Many of the main players won't use unbound, but some will use unbound. Let me be clear: there is no wrong answer. But this is how many of us feel right now."