114 Gravel Race

Few gravel races start in one country and finish in another. This one rolls out from the Military Museum in Elvas, a World Heritage fortress town in Portugal's Alentejo, crosses the Raya, the border the organisers call the oldest in Europe, and finishes beside the Guadiana in Badajoz. As a UCI Gravel World Series round, the front of the field races hard for World Championship places, while behind them a large international crowd, most of it from outside Spain, turns the weekend into a cross-border gravel gathering.

The terrain is wide open and fast. Farm tracks, riverside paths and dusty dirt roads cut through holm-oak dehesa, and in spring the meadows run red and green with wildflowers. What little climbing there is comes mostly on the Portuguese side, so the race favours group riding and sharp attacks over long ascents. The organisers say the route follows the spirit of the GR-114 trail, passing near Olivenza before returning to the river park in Badajoz.

Behind it is Extremeñamente, a Badajoz events and timing team that runs races across Extremadura. They stretch the event over a whole weekend: social rides through Elvas, a short time trial up to the star-shaped Forte da Graça, a jamón party on the eve of the race and a festival-style finish in Badajoz. The shorter route is open to mountain bikes too, so riders who come for the scenery and the company have their place.