Legendaria Bike Race

The first edition of the Legendaria Bike Race, a UCI-calendar gravel and MTB event based in Aielo de Malferit (Vall d'Albaida, inland Valencia).

What sets it apart, according to the organisers, is the choice to run gravel and MTB on the same course and classify them separately: "Gravel and MTB race the same course and compete in separate categories. Pick the bike you attack the ground best on." The event is part of the UCI international gravel calendar.

The terrain is the headline: nineteen municipalities of Vall d'Albaida and La Costera, with red dirt tracks, loose-stone ramps between century-old olive groves and sections through the Benicadell Natural Area, l'Alt del Campello and the Sant Esteve ramps in Ontinyent. In the organisers' words, "La Vall d'Albaida gives nothing away".

The programme addresses three audiences along the same ground: Legendaria Pro for riders training with method who know how to ration an effort, Legendaria Adventure for riders wanting "the point where hard racing and pure enjoyment still fit into the same day", and Legendaria Challenge for riders coming in on the entry distance and finding they have more in the legs than they expected. Classifications run by age groups, men's and women's, with an e-bike category.

The organisers are explicit on the tone: "Official time from the start to the finish. This is not a sportive." The event tagline, "Legends are written in the dirt", frames the first edition as a start-line that only happens once.