Few races can boast the acclaim that the Traka 560 Adventure has already achieved even before the starting gun has fired. Having become the longest distance in the Traka family of races, this new offering comes with great anticipation, especially after the last-minute cancellation of the previous edition due to weather conditions.
The Traka 560 Adventure moves in a very particular terrain, straddling the Gravel Endurance and the Gravel Ultra, a combination that raises questions about how the most specialized runners in each of these disciplines will respond. The distance and conditions of the race will test the participants' management skills.
The list of participants is remarkable. Among the candidates in the men's category, Alex Martinez Marin (Spain, Reverb Cycling), current winner of the prestigious Badlands. Also standing out Ulrich Bartholmoes (Germany, independent), a benchmark in the world of long-distance and endurance cycling.
The list of registered riders is completed with runners such as Steven Davis (United States, Velocio), Xavier Burgos (Spain, 3HM Club Espiritu), Liam Yates (United Kingdom), Jeroen Vroemen (Netherlands, L'Equipier Biehler Syndicate), Benjamin Koch (Germany, Team Hardys), Victor Bosoni (France, Cycles Méral), Sebastian Breuer (Germany, Seb Adventure), Jens Frommhold (Germany, independent), Alex McCormack (UK, Fairlight Bikes) and Pawel Pulawski (Poland, Ride with GPS).
The presence of Laurens Ten Dam (Netherlands, Live Slow Ride Fast), former professional rider with significant results in long-distance events and current national gravel coach of the Netherlands (directly responsible for figures such as Mathieu van der Poel when he competes in this discipline).
In addition, runners like David Millar (United Kingdom, Factor Racing) and Juan Antonio Flecha (Spain, independent), authentic benchmarks of international cycling, bring even more level to a first edition that is expected to be very interesting.
In the women's category of the Traka 560 Adventure, we also find top-level names, many of them familiar from other major international gravel events.
Among the most notable, Cynthia Carson (United States, independent), a long-distance race regular who suffered an accident last year from which she now seems fully recovered. She will also be at the start. Amity Rockwell (United States, independent), with a Unbound on your resume. Svenja Betz (Germany, Castelli SOG x Rose), winner of the last Unbound XL, will also be in Girona, although with fewer training hours since she is now a teacher.
Another runner to keep an eye on is Cara Dixon (United Kingdom, Velocio), who arrives with good results, such as the first position in the Badlands 2024. We will also have to keep a close eye on Ada Xinxo (Spain, Trideporte), a cyclist with an adventurous character who promises to compete with some of the biggest names in international gravel.
In addition, among those registered we find the versatile Sami Sauri (Spain, Adventure More), always discreet in her statements but capable of achieving good results.
Here we've reviewed many of the important names from this first edition, but we know we've left out other riders. Can you help us discover other names not listed in this article? Who are your favorites for this exciting Traka 560 Adventure? We'll be reading!