The first weekend in June has Unbound Gravel but the first weekend in May is all about the Traka.

The biggest gravel festival on the European continent kicks off in Spain this week, and its plethora of races, shakeout rides, and off-the-bike programming rival any of the big events in the United States. The Traka launched in 2019 and has grown steadily to become the most popular gravel race in Europe.

The 2024 edition of the race shows us that, while the sport of gravel has become universal, the best events are particular to their surroundings. Set in Girona, it’s impossible to separate the Traka from the Catalonian landscape and culture (gorge on olives, pan con tomate, olive oil, and wine at the post-race meal. You won’t be disappointed).

At the same time, gravel riders from all over the world who line up at the Traka will find solidarity with each other discussing tire tread, hydration packs, and events on their bucket lists.

This year’s Traka is bigger than ever, with a new ultra-distance race that rolls out on Wednesday, May 1, and dozens of rides, brand activations, and parties to keep riders on their feet way too long before they race. Here are 5 reasons why you should care about the race — and put it on your own bucket list for next year.

1. There is something for everyone at the Traka

This year, the Traka has five distances for participants — 560, 360, 200, 100, and 50k. Like many gravel races, the Traka began with a single distance but has added more over the years so that riders of all abilities can participate. Furthermore, the event is set up so that riders can truly enjoy spectating the races they’re not doing — the 560k starts on Wednesday morning, the 360 on Friday afternoon, the 200 on Saturday, and the 100 and 50k are on Sunday.

Furthermore, the race organizers have made sure that when people aren’t racing, there are plenty of things happening to keep them busy. The fun started on Tuesday evening and will go until the wee hours on Sunday.

Group rides, check. Tech workshops led by SRAM and Zipp? Yep. Lots of brand activations involving free coffee and beer? We’re already buzzing. Additionally, many of Girona’s bike shops and cafes will host pop-up events throughout the week. One way to approach the overwhelming amount of activities is to simply roll through town without an agenda and let the spirit move you.

 

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2. The Traka is bikepacker-friendly

The Traka may be the only gravel race with an ultra-distance that is, in many ways, the marquee event. The 360k was the Traka’s original ultra-distance, and the organizers did a great job of making it fun and easy to follow, in addition to being important and not just a fringey sideshow.

This year, event organizers added an even longer race to the program, the Traka 560k. According to Cristina Bosch, co-owner of Klassmark, the Traka’s parent company, the distance was another way to include more people in the event — and to show off more of Catalonia’s stunning gravel roads.

“We like this kind of adventure, exploring Girona from North to South,” she said. “And riders were asking for it, so why not? It’s also a different part of the market for brands, who we also wanted to feel welcome.”

While perhaps not true bikepacking race distances, the 360 and 560k races require the same skillset and self-sufficiency. They’re also great early season races for bigger bikepacking events later in the summer.

Both the 360 and 560 promise incredible racing this year. The 360 start list is full of returning and new participants. Amity Rockwell and Sarah Sturm, who went 1-2 last year, will be back to battle, as will multi-time Traka 360 champ Mattia De Marchi. This year, former WorldTour turned gravel pros Ted King and Pete Stetina will try to dethrone the Italian. Nearly 800 people are doing the 360!

The 560, which starts Wednesday morning, has some of the biggest names in bikepacking on the start list. Notably, Lael Wilcox will be in Girona doing her first and only gravel race of the year before tackling an around the world record. She’ll be challenged by fellow American Cynthia Carson, who’s finished first and second at Spanish bikepacking race the Badlands

2023 Tour Divide winner Ulrich Bartholmoes will face off against endurance legend Sofiane Sahili and Team Amani’s Kenneth Karaya in the men’s race.

3. The organization — and the organizers — are top notch

Bosch and her husband Gerard Freixes founded Klassmark in 2010 and have put on over 100 trail running, triathlon, and gravel events over the past decade. The duo radiates a seemingly impossible combination of passion, professionalism, compassion and fun. While putting on the Traka alone would be a year-round job for most, somehow this Girona born-and-raised couple has time for much more, including organizing the Gravel Earth Series, a global gravel series they launched last year.

The Traka is the perfect place to see Freixes, Bosc, and the rest of the incredible Klassmark team in their element. They are easily found zipping around the host venue on e-bikes and will always stop to answer a question. Perhaps most impressive is that they will do so in either English, Spanish, or Catalan. In fact, the whole weekend is broadcast in all three languages.

Speaking of broadcasts, the Traka does a good job in an arena that no gravel race has yet mastered. There is a live stream of six hours of the Traka 360 and three hours of the 200, both broadcast on a big screen at the venue. Last year, the men’s 360 finished during the 2ook packet pickup which made for a fun and festive watch party.

The host venue itself is conveniently located just a walk or ride from downtown Girona and serves as the hub of event week. Brands are stationed at the expo offering coffee, beer, pastries, and tools.

Check out the Traka’s Instagram and YouTube channels for live updates, interviews, and more from the race.

4. The Traka is an international affair

This year, the Traka is hosting riders from over 65 countries. A quick scan of the start lists shows that riders from as far afield as Mexico, Luxembourg, Rwanda, and Iceland (there are dozens!) made the trip to Girona this year.

This is partially because Girona has such a well-known reputation as a cycling destination and also because Klassmark has gone to great lengths to spread the message of ‘global’ gravel. Year 2 of the Gravel Earth Series includes 20 events on four continents. The Traka is part of the prestigious five-race Gravel Earth Global calendar.

In 2024, there are more participants from the US than ever before. Some 150 riders are spread out among the race’s five distances, with a handful of the country’s best off-road pros prioritizing the Girona race in the midst of already busy seasons.

Additionally, pros from across the globe and across disciplines will be at the Traka, including the likes of Dutch superwomen Anna Van der Berggen, Lorena Weibes, and Femke Markus, Cape Epic stars Lukas Baum and Georg Egger, former WorldTour talent Greg Van Avermaet, Laurens Ten Dam, and Petr Vako?, as well as multiple riders from East Africa’s Team Amani.

5. Girona

Gravel races are known for bringing riders to special corners of the Earth; however, not many bring them to places as acclaimed for cycling as Girona. Nestled in northeastern Catalonia just an hour’s train ride from Barcelona, the city of Girona has become synonymous with cycling.

Girona became a popular European homebase for pro cyclists a few decades ago, but it’s now a popular destination for traveling cyclists. Hundreds of miles of paved and gravel roads that unfurl from the city center make it a truly unique destination. There is bike riding for any type of cyclist in Girona, and that’s not hyperbole.

Chunky, loose singletrack ribbons through the hills above town. Flat, fast farm tracks wend their way through poppy-studded wheat fields. Steep gravel roads climb northward up the Costa Brava, and of course, famed road climbs like Rocacorba make for important add-ons to any ride.

While the city can seem to eat and breathe cycling (especially during the Traka), the best thing to do after a ride is ditch the kit and explore the city like a proper tourist. Walk the cobbles, sip a vermouth, and try very hard to stay up late enough for Spanish dinnertime.