The Traka, Europe’s biggest gravel race, took place in Girona at the weekend and attracted over 4,000 riders from 74 different countries – a far cry from its beginnings in 2019 with just 100 riders.

But as the recovery drinks were downed and the dust settled, complaints about the race, its organisation, and the behaviour of riders, began to surface on social media. 

On top of a litany of grievances, fury was directed at a now-deleted Instagram video posted by Gerard Freixes, CEO of the event organiser Klassmark. Freixes appeared to have been filming as he drove around the course in close proximity to riders.

 

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A post shared by Gerard Freixes (@gerardfreixes)

“The driver should be driving not filming. Get off your f*****g phone,” said rmushet on Instagram.

Freixes or Klassmark haven’t responded to our requests for comment; however, Freixes replied to two comments on his Instagram page saying: “You’re right, my friend—I apologize. I made a mistake here. Thank you for pointing it out.” 

“Sketchy moments” 

Retired MTB legend Nino Schurter and ultra-cyclist Angus Young, who took part in the 200 and 520 events respectively, both posted their dissatisfaction on Facebook and Instagram, with Schurter citing “too many sketchy moments,” and Young saying “the organisation by [events company] Klassmark left a lot to be desired.”

As well as complaining about the start time being changed multiple times and issues with timing chips so “no one actually knew their finishing time or position”, Young accused the men’s 520 ‘Adventure’ race winner Victor Bosoni of cutting the course. 

Replying directly to Young on social media, Bosoni admitted to “small mistakes”, but said there was “…absolutely no intention to cut the course to gain an advantage.”

“I’ll make sure to be even more precise and focused on having the cleanest possible track in the future. Like you, I want this sport to stay fair, honest, and respected”, added Bosoni. 

Schurter and Young’s posts triggered a chain reaction of outcry about The Traka, with allegations targeted at just about every single aspect of the event. There are so many, in fact, that we need to employ a bulleted list:

  • Illegal drafting.
  • Illegal help and resupply from friends.
  • A GPX track that took riders through a river bed instead of a bike path.
  • The start time and day of the 560 changed multiple times.
  • The course for other races changed multiple times.
  • Timing chips not working.
  • The Adventure route winner (Bosoni) allegedly cut corners by 400m.
  • Age-group men unintentionally starting ahead of pro women.
  • Dangerous descents.
  • Massive amounts of litter reported – despite Klassmark deploying a litter-tracking system.
  • Riders casting doubts on ex pros coming back from doping bans.

The Traka is yet to publicly acknowledge any of the grievances. 

Elsewhere, plenty of finishers and spectators only had good things to say about the event, not least under the victorious posts on social media from British gravel racer Maddy Nutt, who won the women’s Adventure race in a course record time of 26hrs 31 mins. 

“The Traka has a growing reputation for wanting to try and be bigger and better than everything around it, rather than building gravel as a whole and supporting the sport,” Australian pro gravel cyclist Nicole Frain posted on her website.

“Is gravel getting big enough, and professional enough that it needs a governing body? Does it need a riders’ union so that we can deliver first hand our concerns without fear of repercussions for speaking up?”