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The US may be the home nation of gravel racing, with Unbound headlining the events calendar each year. In Europe, The Traka takes this position. 2025 marked the seventh edition, with the race offering distances ranging from 100 to 560 kilometres. Out of all the events, the middle distances (200 and 360 kilometres) garner the most athletic attention, with the longer of the two being used as a tune-up for Unbound, coming just a few weeks later.
The 200-kilometre race saw some big names take to the start this year, including 2024 Lifetime overall winner Sofía Gómez Villafañe and XC mountain bike legend Annika Langvad.
In the days prior to The Traka, the region around Girona had been subject to on-and-off storms. Come race day, the sun shone on the riders in typical Spanish style with temperatures tickling 30° C (86° F) in places, and the course, apart from the odd river crossing, was largely a dusty and dry affair.
After a battle in the 560 event, photographer Jared Gruber took to the sidelines of the 200, camera in hand, to capture the day's action.
Girona hosts the start and finish of all of the races across the weekend. As an international cycling hub, it's the perfect location to attract a strong field of riders year after year. The mass start heads out of the start/finish arena and then heads out of town on tarmac for the first 5 kilometres before the gravel and climbing begin. The 200, unlike the 100 held a day later, managed to remain dry, leaving most of the gravel quintessentially dry, dusty and loose. A double punch of punishingly steep climbs opened up the race, immediately splitting the race into fragments. Yes, that is Greg van Avermaet. We're as disappointed as you are that his helmet isn't gold. Linking the ribbons of gravel trails were 30 kilometres of paved riding. A welcome respite for some, but an opportunity to bring the average speed up a click for others.Parts of the course take the race back into urban environments. For the front runners who were spread out, this was no matter, but for larger groups arriving at pinch points like this, it would have caused some issues, potentially splintering the group.The terrain of The Traka 200 is incredibly varied. Fast-flowing hardpack is interspersed with tight singletrack, and technical rocky and arguably more mountain bike-esque descents. This was one of the many river crossings for riders to contend with. For The Traka, this is a very gentle crossing, with others deep enough to swallow an entire wheel.
