Apr 30 - May 3
The Traka
Girona · Empordà & Gavarres · Organised by Klassmark
560 / 325 / 200 / 100 km·Race·190€·5,000 participants
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Late April in Girona. The roads around the start fill with gravel bikes from across Europe and beyond. La Traka has become, in a handful of years, Europe's gravel reference race.
The riding lives up to it. Klassmark's courses pull you through the Empordà and the Costa Brava - volcanic hinterland, cork oak forests, climbs out of the Pyrenean foothills - on a mix of forestry road, broken asphalt, and the occasional dry wash. Surfaces are usually dry in April but you may get unlucky; technical sections can feel reckless at speed and require a steady hand.
Four distances on offer (100 / 200 / 325 / 560km). The 560km is a single-day, no-support effort that finishes in the dark for most; the 360km is the headline race that draws the pros; the 200km is the day most international riders pick when they come out for one event; the 100km is the welcome-to-gravel option. Pick honestly - the difficulty curve is steep, and the 360km isn't a "200 with extra."
Book accommodation early. Girona fills up the week before, and the bike-friendly hotels - Eat Sleep Cycle, Hotel Peninsular and the smaller B&Bs in Barri Vell - go fast. Expect rolling expo days, a strong post-race scene, and queues at every café in town. If you've never been to Girona for gravel, this is the weekend to come.