Soy Leyenda Gravel BTT

Soy Leyenda, Spanish for 'I am legend', is about grinding out big distances across the flat, exposed farm tracks of La Mancha, where wind and heat often matter more than climbing. Gravel and mountain bikers line up on the same weekend but race in separate classifications. Riders look after themselves for long stretches between feed stations and navigate by GPS, with markings only at tricky junctions. The longest option starts at night, so riders cross the plateau in the dark before the summer sun comes up.

The routes leave Villarrobledo for the farmland around San Clemente, El Provencio, Las Pedroñeras, Socuéllamos, Ruidera and Ossa de Montiel. The organisers sum up the ground as long tracks between vines and big native pine woods, in a landscape they like to call the largest vineyard in the world. It is wine country through and through, and even the finisher medals are shaped like a bunch of grapes.

Behind it is Club AMC Eventos Deportivos, working with the Villarrobledo town council. The event is young and still small, with a camper area and showers near the start, and the day closes with a shared meal and the trophy ceremony.