The Traka 360 - Endurance over speed
Guernsey Velo Cub members Phil Touzeau and Thierry Le Cheminant, fresh from their success at The Easter Festival, travelled to Girona to take on the Traka 360 – a middle distance gravel race which cuts through the heartland of modern cycling culture with its rolling terrain, quiet backroads and a bustling paradise for todays cycling influencers.
After an early start the race got underway with some confusion as the Open Category set off with the Pro field. Phil and Thierry found themselves in a strong group with a number of Pro riders for the first one hundred and twenty kilometres which they would ultimately pay for later in the race.
The pair pressed on through the middle part of the race tackling some epic gravel and several five kilometer long climbs with gradients of 15-25%. This phase of the race marks the shift from fast gravel to survival mode, with its relentaless climbs on often loose and technical surfaces.
Phil said after the race; “The last half of the race was a battle with both of us suffering from cramp. It was great to finish together – this was the longest race in terms of time and distance either of us has completed.”
The pair finished the three hundred and twenty five kilometre route which featured nearly four thousand metres of elevation in an impressive fourteen hours.
Thierry suffered late in the race after the early efforts on the climbs. “I thought it was an incredible event and was like nothing you could expect. The scenery was incredible, the atmosphere at the start, aid stations and the course was great. I don’t think I really had any expectations on how it would go, I was really pleased with how I rode on the day and being able to ride it with Phil and have that constant company was just great and really made for a great day.”
The Traka is held each year in Girona as part of the Gravel Earth Series and has become one of the iconic events since its creation in 2019. A truly global race with over 4000 cyclists from 74 countries coming together to celebrate the true essence of gravel racing.
Gravel racing in Europe is no longer “emerging” – its now firmly established and still growing. British graval events are developing from small niche gatherings to becoming permanent fixtures on the racing calendar. General participation has increased hugely in the last decade especially in rural and mixed-terrain riding which feeds directly into gravel.
In the past few years several members of Guernsey Velo Club have raced at some of the most popular and challenging gravel events and races, in the UK and Europe, including World Championship qualifiers and finals.
Image supplied by Phil Touzeau.