photo credits @GravelEarthSeries23
Organized by Klassmark, the Girona-based company has culled together upwards of seven gravel races around the world under the umbrella of the Gravel Earth series, which will make its debut in April 2023.
According to Klassmark co-owner Cristina Freixes, the idea behind the series was to expose more cycling fans to off-road racing. To wit, “what we wanted is to choose different kinds of styles of races but all in amazing places. To provide more of an experience than a competition,” explains Friexes.
Despite Freixes promise to make the event more of an experience than a competition, there is still a slight competitive element incorporated into the events, wherein a points system has been set up so that the top male, female and non-binary finishers of each event will be awarded a certain amount, while each gravel event will also be weighted differently depending on the difficulty of the course.
Klassmark’s inaugural Traka took place in April of this year, with the Belgian rider Gianni Vermeersch winning the first event.
Since then, the race has attracted the attention of gravel proponents like Lachlan Morton and Nathan Haas, who have since become consultants to the new Gravel Earth series.
Here’s a schedule of next year’s events, with the possibility of one or more races being added to the calendar.
2023 Gravel Earth Series qualifying events
When: April 29-30
Format: three single stage options
Distance/Elevation: 100k/1,000m, 200k/2,000m, 360k/4,500m
When: June 20-23
Format: stage race (4)
Distance/Elevation: 650k/8,000m
When: June 26
Format: single stage
Distance/Elevation: 300k/2,640m
When: July 1
Format: timed segments
Distance/Elevation: 155k/4,450m
When: July 23
Distance/Elevation: 200k/2,165m; 100k/1,050m
When: August 12
Distance/Elevation: 180k; 116k (elevation TBD)
You must be logged in to post a comment.
