RaceNature Albufeira Gravel Challenge

The Gravel Challenge is the gravel side of RaceNature Albufeira, a late-January cycling weekend on the Algarve coast that grew out of a mountain bike stage race. Gravel riders get their own two-day, two-stage race, with both stages leaving from the fishermen's square in the heart of Albufeira and a general classification decided over the weekend.

The course is not marked: riders navigate a mandatory GPS track, which adds a dose of route-finding to the racing. Organisers promise stages of distinct character, and the event's photos show what Albufeira's back country looks like in winter light, with red sandstone cliffs above the beaches and dirt tracks climbing into scrub-covered hills.

Technical direction comes from Cabreira Solutions, the Portuguese team behind UCI Alentejo Gravel and Gravel Montijo, working with the Albufeira municipality and local clubs. The gravel race was added to the programme in 2023 and, according to the organisers, gravel entries tripled in its second year, so expect a growing field mixing locals with riders escaping northern European winters.