Eventos · May 17, 2022

THE GRAVEL PARADIS IN THE TRAKA

In collaboration with Ibai Fradejas

The Traka is a gravel event that takes place in Girona and goes throughout the best paths, landscapes and tracks around the province of Barcelona. Girona is a synonym of cycling and this is what was lived in Traka.

There are 3 routes available near Pla de l’Estany, l’Alt I Baix Emporda and Selva, all of them to go from Girona to Fontajau, in gravel bike or MTB. An adventure that is lived while bikepacking and where each participant wears a geolocator, because the route is not marked. The cyclists have the possibility to leave the track and retake it to continue with the adventure, managing their own time and deciding when to eat or sleep.

Ibai Fradejas, member of the Gsport team and the max standard bearer when it comes to Gravel in our country, will tell us what he lived in The Traka. “Racing in The Traka means traveling to Girona, this is synonym of cycling. A city full of specialized boutique shops, restaurants and cyclists coffe shops…
"Any lover of the cycling knows that here the cycling environment can be felt in the air. The event is a festival that circles around the cycling”.

The organization took care of many details and offered different routes. Making happy all of those who came to compete at their maximum possibilities and those that, simply, wanted to have an enjoyable day.

ROUTE 360K

360 kilometers with +5000 meters of positive unevenness and the start on Saturday at 6am. The participants had a total of 36 hours to complete the route, which contained 5 check points and divided its challenge in 311 kilometers of dirt track and 51 kilometers of road.

ROUTE 200K

200 kilometers and +1650 meters of positive unevenness with the start on Saturday at 7am. This distance had a 85% of dirt track and a 15% of road, 4 check points and 12 hours to complete the route.

ROUTE 107K

107 kilometers +1250 meters of positive unevenness. With the start on Saturday at 7:30 am, 2 check points, 85% of dirt track and a 15% of road and 7 hours to complete the route.

“What we cannot deny is that Girona rolls fast, the environment is a competitive one. This can be felt at the start line. Fortunately, the modality has evolved so much in such a short time that it allows you to go really fast (safely). For those like me that have been practicing Gravel for some time, this looked unthinkable… Specific developments that allow us to cover all ranges of terrain for hours, hydraulic brakes, bicycles with larger wheel arches and more comfortable geometries (or more Racing depending on the tastes of each one), specific rolling tires with an ideal grip…"

We would like to highlight the effort that all the event tried to make in order to make a smaller impact in the environment, this thanks to having reusable materials, and choosing to use GPS devices, with the objective of trying to leave a mark on the map.

“The tracks are really good but it’s true that there were lots of sections of mud in the firs 50km and several descents with some loosen rock and some broke ones. My plan for the 200km start was to go fast, but without putting in risk the mechanic or my personal health… the calendar is long and I didn’t want to get injured in April. This is why I decided to start at the end of the line, and I think that was key. The tension could be felt in the minutes before the start, once it was heard, in each crossing, with the nerves and the errors of the participants. I was able to get a good rhythm during the whole day. At the end, I ended up in the 58th spot among 500 participants and, the most important thing, I was able to disconnect from the routine and have a great day with my friends while enjoying practicing Gravel.”