Gravel Meeting

Gravel Meeting is a weekend built around the cork oak country where the Ribatejo meets the Alentejo, with its base in the small village of São José da Lamarosa near Coruche. The first day is an easy-paced social ride and party; the second is race day, with timing, GPS tracks and live tracking for those who want to push.

The routes wind through the montado, the open cork oak woodland of the region, on rolling dirt roads that keep going up and down, with technical stretches, patches of loose sand that demand care, and quiet rural lanes linking several municipalities. Riders follow a mandatory GPS track and are semi-autonomous between one or two support points.

It is run by Corklands, a local nature tourism brand, together with Tó Bikes and the Strix Bike Team, led by riders with more than twenty years in the sport. Their rules put ethics, camaraderie and care for nature above competition, and the event is pitched as sustainable tourism that supports the conservation of the montado.