Belgian escape artist Jan Bakelants will make his first trip to the United States this week to compete in the Unbound Gravel 200. He retired from the pro road peloton after 17 seasons in 2022, spending no time in new escape fashions on or off the bike.

He has a degree in sports management, has attended European off-road events, produced a documentary on gravel riding, and commentated on the Giro d'Italia for Belgian TV station VTM. A trip to Kansas was not at the top of his list a few months ago.

"There are so many places in the world we could visit. Yes, Kansas may not be my first choice. I'm not sure," Bakelants told Cycling News the day after he stepped on U.S. soil in Kansas City on Tuesday.

After Unbound, there will be no sightseeing as he will return directly to Belgium. 'It might be better to arrive early, get over the jet lag and get used to the heat, but that's part of the experience.'

And why not make a splash in unbound gravel, the world's premier gravel race? Bakelants scored the biggest win of his road career at the 2013 Tour de France, taking his first WorldTour victory on stage 5 in Corsica and wearing the maillot jaune for two days. He may be the first yellow jersey winner to race in Emporia.

"If you ask me how many years I've been a WorldTour rider, it's 12. Now it's time to just enjoy it," said Bakelants. He raced his last two seasons at the top level in the Intermarché Wanty-Gobert Materieux.

With a busy schedule outside of motorcycling, Bakelants said he doesn't train much for unbound and wants to enjoy "no stress" as his second career develops.

"My time was limited. I'm taking a sports management class, and I had that exam last month. This past weekend I was doing commentary for the Giro, and because of that I couldn't travel early. The conditions are as they are, so I am not stressed. The most important thing is to stay safe and stay out of trouble.

The 37-year-old has raced in the UCI Gravel World Series several times this year, finishing sixth in his first gravel attempt, the Gravel Fonds Limburg. He followed that up with a 10th place finish in the 3RIDES gravel race. These races were much shorter than Saturday's unbound, with the first two races being a third of the 205 miles (330 km) distance.

"The European UCI gravel series is completely different because the format is shorter. There are many professional riders, especially cyclocross riders, who qualify for the UCI Gravel "World Championships, but let's start unbound first.

Support from Pearl Izumi, Factor Bikes, Garmin, and Oakley helped Bakelants make the trip to Kansas. Also, thanks to Belgian cyclocross rider Daan Soete, who finished third at 3RIDES, Bakelants made some connections for him and videographer/photographer Ruben Van Gucht for the trip to Kansas. We've already taken some shots and plan to take many more."

Bakelanz has expressed interest in participating in the Gravel National Championships in Belgium on October 15, the week after the Gravel World Championships in Italy. He has one more race scheduled in early October, the World Series at La Monsterato.