On the morning of June 4, the starting gun will sound and thousands of riders will set off. Every rider there will be hoping to finish the 2022 Unbound Gravel Race, and one of them will be Nathan Haas, riding his totally unique Colnago G3-X.

Haas needs no introduction; he has been road racing professionally for the past decade. His road UCI World Tour debut came in 2012 with the Garmin-Barracuda team and lasted until the end of 2021, when he retired after a stint with Cofidis. But retirement was not the end of his professional career. On the contrary, it was a return to his roots in off-road racing. Instead of returning to mountain biking, which had brought him early success, he entered the world of gravel racing with the support of Campagnolo, Deda, and Colnago, like Pete Stetina and Ian Boswell.

The latter today presents a unique bike with a stunning retro-replica paint job.

This is not the first time Haas has ridden the Colnago G3-X at Unbound, as Lauren De Crescenzo won in 2021 on a Colnago G3-X. Haas' version incorporates many unique details.

While de Crescenzo used SRAM components, Haas will ride a 13-speed Ekar groupset and wheels from sponsor Campagnolo with Deda's Elementi cockpit. The bike is also one of five custom paints named after big names in the Gravel World Series that Haas expects to race this season.

The new "Art Decor" design, the second in the series, features paint that celebrates the history of the unbound event, the surrounding area, and the riders who will be riding this bike to victory. The top tube features a back view of Haas, and the colors are inspired by the Kansas flag. The frame is marked with the Latin phrase "ad astra per aspera," which is the motto of Kansas." It means "to the stars through difficulties," and represents "Kansas' struggles in the face of problems such as slavery, Indian raids, and inevitable war. It would not be too much of a stretch to find metaphorical meaning in the struggle to win a symbolic race across a difficult route and against powerful competitors.

This and other designs are not currently slated for sale.

Also of note is the kit Nathan will be wearing to make sure he doesn't forget anything. Designer Richard Pierce worked with Colnago and Castelli to create a look inspired by the cycling trends of the 2000s. The look mixes past and present, repurposing both to celebrate the "cult of vintage in an age of personalization." It is intended to highlight the bikes, the riders, and the unique style of the era.

Nathan's season includes major races on the UCI Gravel World Series calendar: the Belgian Waffle Ride on June 11, The Rift on July 23, SBT GRVL on August 14, and the Nova Eroica event.

The Colnago G3-X is one of a growing number of all-road style gravel race bikes; it was launched in late 2019 with a mix of the Colnago V3RS road bike and the Prestige cyclocross bike. The jump from these two bikes to gravel bikes meant optimizing the geometry to accommodate wider tires. Full carbon and fork with room for 700x42 or 650bx47 tires, a longer wheelbase, longer top tube, and shorter stem were recommended. Available in five sizes, it can accommodate three water bottles and a top tube bag.