Scandal clouds gravel racing's premier event after alleged murder of cyclist
A roiling plume of dust erupted in the Kansas Flint Hills on Saturday as thousands of cyclists set off on gravel racing’s biggest stage. But after the May 11 killing in Austin, Texas, of one of the sport’s rising stars, tragedy and scandal cast an even heavier cloud over the riders embarking on a grueling 200-mile ride.
“They realize that with every pedal stroke she is not here,” said a broadcaster for FloBikes, an online cycling news outlet that covered the race.
Moriah Wilson, a 25-year-old who had become one of gravel racing’s most dominant female athletes, was fatally shot in Austin. She was among the favorites to contend for the title at UNBOUND, the Kansas gravel race that attracted a deep and talented field as it does every year. Among the favorites in the men’s field until last month was Colin Strickland, an Austinite who won the race in 2019. Strickland, too, was absent from UNBOUND, after his girlfriend was targeted as the primary suspect in Wilson’s death. Police allege Kaitlin Armstrong shot Wilson, who she believed was a rival for Strickland’s affection.
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The tragic ordeal has left the Austin cycling community reeling and has upended the tightly knit national gravel racing scene that has ballooned in popularity in recent years. Wilson was a budding leader in women’s cycling whose career had only begun. Strickland, meanwhile, has long been something of a cycling celebrity, establishing his credentials with wins around the globe. Now, some top sponsors have dropped Strickland, who is not a suspect in the crime, in the wake of admissions that he lied to his girlfriend and purchased a gun for her.
Justin Siegel, co-founder of the Breakfast Club, one of the largest cycling groups in Austin, said several members of the group knew Wilson and are friends with Strickland.
"I am sure the shock will wear off, but you don't hear about this in the cycling and endurance sports community," he said. "Definitely not part of that scene. The personalities on the bike can be intense, but it is a laid-back social scene.
Dylan Johnson, a professional rider from North Carolina who regularly competes in races against Strickland, said he expects the somber mood in the gravel racing community to continue for a while.
“It was shocking that it was actually people within the gravel community that were involved. This is a death that people are not going to forget about,” Johnson said.
An unmarked milestone
UNBOUND was supposed to be a milestone of sorts for Wilson. Not only was she a favorite to win, but the race would have marked the beginning of a full-time racing career packed with promise.
On the day she was found dead in her friend’s Austin home, VeloNews published an article in which Wilson said she was planning to give gravel racing her full attention and quit her job. That opportunity presented itself after a torrid start to the racing season for Wilson. She notched wins in nearly 10 races, most notably at the LifeTime Grand Prix at the Sea Otter Classic and at the 137-mile Belgian Waffle Ride California.
A product of Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, Wilson, a Vermont native, turned to cycling after competing on the school’s ski team.
Alison Tetrick, a professional cyclist from the San Francisco Bay area who competed at UNBOUND, said she met Wilson three years ago at a race and the two quickly became friends.
Tetrick recalled their first meeting — during a race in the Grasshopper Adventure Series near San Francisco — when they were climbing the final hill. Wilson was new to the sport. Tetrick called out to her, "just go!"
"I was like, 'She literally doesn't know how strong she is,'" Tetrick said.
On the day she died, Wilson was in Austin for a race that coming weekend in Hico, Texas, northwest of Waco. In the afternoon, she rode 50 miles on a training ride that took her along Austin’s Southern Walnut Creek Trail.
Betsy Welch, an editor for VeloNews, interviewed Wilson just days before the shooting.
In a conversation with the American-Statesman, Welch described Wilson as "gracious, thoughtful, intelligent." The two were developing a friendship, she said, and had made plans to ride together in Boulder, Colorado, where Welch lives and where Wilson, from the San Francisco Bay area, was scheduled to train this summer.
But Wilson never returned home to complete her final weeks of work and training before launching that new, cycle-focused chapter of her life.
After her training ride on May 11, Wilson went for a swim with Strickland at Deep Eddy Pool and grabbed food with him next door at Pool Burger. The two in 2021 had a romantic relationship, but Strickland told police it had turned platonic after a week or two and he rekindled his relationship with longtime girlfriend Armstrong, a yoga instructor, real estate agent and amateur bike racer.
After Strickland dropped off Wilson at a friend's home where she was staying, police say an intruder entered through an unlocked door and shot Wilson.
The investigation quickly focused on Armstrong. Surveillance video captured a vehicle resembling hers near the home at the time of the shooting. Authorities also said evidence at the scene likely matched a gun that police seized from the home where Armstrong lives with Strickland.
Armstrong is now in hiding. She deactivated her social media accounts, and on May 14, boarded a flight to Houston and then a connecting flight to New York, law enforcement officials say. She is wanted on first-degree murder charges.
A role model falls
On May 4, just a week before Wilson’s death, Strickland posted on Instagram that he planned to race at UNBOUND. His 2019 win there elevated his racing profile, getting the attention of other top competitors and earning him an invitation that he turned down to compete in a European professional tour.
“I personally had not heard of Colin before 2019,” Johnson, the North Carolina cyclist, said. “Without that win, Colin would not be the name that he is. I don’t think anyone would deny that.”
Strickland, who grew up on a farm outside Austin, picked up the sport in his mid-20s, and his career took off quickly.
His first big win came in a fixed-gear race in 2015 at the Red Hook Crit in Milan, Italy. He followed with more wins in Brooklyn, London and Barcelona.
In 2017, he took the title at Gravel Worlds in Lincoln, Nebraska. He won again the next year.
Strickland, Johnson said, has a reputation for working well with other riders in a race.
“In that sense, he was a good sportsman and a good role model for gravel,” Johnson said.
Strickland has said he is fully cooperating with law enforcement in the Wilson case. But revelations about Strickland’s questionable decisions in the wake of the tragedy prompted at least five sponsors to drop him, including the bicycle and equipment manufacturers Allied, Specialized, Rapha and Wahoo. The Meteor, an Austin bicycle and coffee shop that also sponsored Wilson, cut ties with Strickland. Red Bull has said it will stick with the athlete.
Johnson, who will race the 200-mile distance at UNBOUND, said the cycling community’s rebuke of Strickland has gone too far. While some punishment might be in order, Johnson said he felt the loss of sponsorships and “piling on” of criticism was excessive.
“I’m both disappointed in Colin and feel bad for him,” Johnson said.
After dropping off Wilson on the night she died, Strickland told police he texted Armstrong, lying to her about his whereabouts. As he sent the text, police say, Armstrong was lurking outside the home where Wilson was staying.
He told police that after Armstrong learned about his relationship with Wilson, he had continued to communicate with Wilson by saving her number under an alias.
Strickland also told police that earlier this year he purchased two 9 mm guns — one for himself and one for Armstrong. The gun he gave Armstrong is the weapon police allege was used in the murder.
Through a publicist, Strickland issued the following: “Mo Wilson’s loss is an unfathomable tragedy for her family, friends and the professional community that benefited so greatly from her spirit and generosity. My energy and attention are focused on continuing to fully cooperate with law enforcement to apprehend and bring her killer to justice, which I hope will provide some comfort to her family.”
A shaken sport
In recent years, gravel racing has exploded in popularity, offering an alternative to road and mountain bike races. That rise coincided with advancements in technology, as manufacturers designed bicycles specifically for gravel roads and began paying riders to promote their gear.
No race has exemplified that growth like UNBOUND, which began in 2006 as a modest, grassroots event with only 34 participants. This year, with 4,000 racers expected, it's larger than many marathon races, and entries are limited through a lottery.
Although the marquee riders will go 200 miles, those looking for a milder experience can go 25 or 50 miles. The longest distance, UNBOUND XL, is 350 miles. Last year, there were 46 riders who covered that distance, and the winner crossed the finish line in just under 23 hours.
Welch, the VeloNews editor, went to Kansas for the race. She said she wasn't sure what to expect with the tragedy in Austin looming over the field.
In a gravel race, 5% of participants make up the "pointy end," Welch said, referring to the professional riders at the front of the field. The rest of the riders are ordinary athletes with ordinary jobs who simply enjoy the sport and the challenge it brings.
"I'm curious to see how that 95% is responding to this," she said in a phone call last week. "I can only speak to that pointy end, and those people are shocked and dumbfounded. I think some of them will put their head down and race, and there are those who this will shake.