Challenging conditions resulted in a plethora of setup solutions for one of Europe’s biggest gravel races
The Traka has established itself as one of Europe’s premier gravel events, with five route choices – from 50km to 560km – and a start list that sees racing royalty rub shoulders with privateers and everyday enthusiasts.
Anyone arriving in Girona expecting spring sunshine had a rude awakening, however – thunder, lightning and heavy rain peppered the days leading up to the 2024 Traka. In fact, conditions became so bad, Thursday’s ultra-distance race was revised, before being postponed and then scrapped altogether.
Conditions out on the course ranged from well-drained sandy gravel through to bottomless clay mud. A sunny forecast after this week’s deluge has only complicated matters further, with the result being a whole host of tyre choices and setup solutions.
We’ve been in Girona to take a look at this year’s Traka. In this round-up of tech choices from the 200 and 360km races, we have long-distance rigs, the local tyre choice and plenty of aero mods.
Finding traction
Tyre choices ranged from rubber designed to chase pure speed to riders looking for every bit of grip possible.
The eminent model on show was Pirelli’s Cinturato tyre. Though this comes in many forms, the majority used the M version.
One local Girona rider told us that many of the city’s bike shops carry Pirelli tyres.
Have some riders, who arrived in Spain expecting sunshine, been scrambling to purchase tyres with more tread as the course became slicker through the week?
The threat of peanut butter
It may be tempting to see the muddy conditions and fit the widest gravel tyres your bike will take.
The risk, however, is that sections of the course turn to mud thicker than peanut butter, as we saw at Unbound 2023.
This mud can clog a frame in just a few kilometres, forcing a rider off their bike and potentially ending their race.
As a result, several riders, such as Team Amani’s Kenneth Karaya, sized down.
The Traka 360 racer opted for 38mm Vittoria Terreno Mix tyres, telling BikeRadar he preferred the aero tyre profile, additional frame clearance and how the tyre cut down into the mud.
It’s all about aero
Despite the lengthy distances of the 360km and 560km races, where comfort might be seen as the overriding concern, many riders made at least some effort to optimise their bikes for aero gains.
Sherry Cardona travelled to Girona for the 560km race but, after its cancellation, she chose to do longer training rides, rather than switch her entry to the shorter 360km race.
Her Fara F/Gravel bike features a ControlTech Sirocco mini clip-on aero bar, mounted to the Fara drop bar via a 3D-printed custom riser.
Sherry told BikeRadar that the additional riding position is ideal for efficiency on road sections. It also aids comfort, which is crucial on long days.
Elsewhere, we saw a host of narrow bars and long stems.
Incredible paintwork
Pro road racing might provide some bling bikes, but nothing compares to a gravel event when it comes to tasty paint.
The mud of a pre-race spin couldn’t hide this hydro-dipped paint on Sam Andrews’ Titici Relli.
Freddy Ovett had a beautiful burnt orange design with aero splatter detailing and logos from his sponsor, Zwift.
Meanwhile, Cynthia Carson’s 3T Extrema Italia featured a chalky purple finish on the upper part of the frame, which really popped in the sporadic Girona sunshine.
But winning the day, in our eyes at least, was Kenneth Karaya’s Factor Ostro Gravel with a wild white-to-green fade and giraffe pattern.
CeramicSpeed SLT dominates
Hidden inside many bikes, such as SJ Coventry’s Standert Kettensäge, were CeramicSpeed’s SLT (Solid Lubrication Technology) headset bearings.
This, according to CeramicSpeed, is a self-lubricating and corrosion-resistant design which, judging by the numbers we saw pre-race, has been keenly adopted by gravel racers.
Lights, cameras… charging stations
Bring together a collection of gravel pros and eager amateurs, and it truly is a case of lights, cameras and charging stations.
Tour Divide winner Ulrich Bartholmoes fitted his drop-bar BMC hardtail mountain bike with a custom 29er front wheel featuring a Son dynamo hub.
This is linked up to a Supernova M99 DY Pro headlamp, helping light his way through ultra races.
The dynamo also powers a charging station, accessed by removing the rubber cap on top of his steerer tube. In here is a USB-C port, enabling him to charge his GPS computer, phone and any other device in need of some juice.
Elsewhere, Sam Andrews had a neatly integrated Insta360 camera mounted under his out-front computer mount. This enables him to quickly record sections of his races for use in post-race edits.
Excess baggage
How much a rider carries with them in a race depends largely on the time it will take to complete the event and the conditions to be faced.
The older Canyon Grail pictured above, with its double-decker front end, is fitted with a roomy strap-on frame bag from Post Carry.
The back of the bike has a large saddle bag with a Link My Ride mug dangling (Link My Ride is an app designed to help riders find fellow cyclists and organise bike rides). It’ll likely need a wash before anything is drunk or eaten from it.
Meanwhile, this Ninja T multi-tool is a very neat solution. The rider has taken the additional step of placing some foam padding under the tool to prevent any rattling while riding.
BikeRadar’s video manager, Felix Smith, was absolutely smitten with the frame bag mounting system on Sherry Cardona’s Fara F/Gravel.
The proprietary bag sits sleekly in the frame before detaching incredibly quickly. Sherry told BikeRadar that this feature is especially handy when staying in hotels on multi-day rides.
Other racers, however, took a more basic approach to the storage of spares.
Mudguards galore
With plenty of rain leading up to the race, some riders chose to use mudguards.
The Ass Savers Win Wing Gravel was easily the top choice of the week.
This gravel-specific mudguard is designed to offer rear protection from mud and spray, even if your bike doesn’t have mounts.
Who needs suspension?
While the gravel suspension market has been growing in recent years, the Traka didn’t seem to be the place for these short-travel forks.
In fact, several sponsored racers chose lightweight and aero gravel race bikes over a brand’s shock-equipped model.
Defending Traka 360 champion, Freddy Ovett, opted for the Specialized Crux. His S-Works model relied on 42mm Specialized Pathfinder tubeless tyres for cushioning.
We did, however, spot this pair of Specialized Diverge STRs, with their Future Shock systems front and back.
While the jury’s out on suspension for an event such as the Traka, the notable exception was Ulrich Bartholmoes, who rocked up on a drop-bar BMC hardtail mountain bike.
His build featured a RockShox Sid Select Plus with 100mm of travel.
Fitting the lockout for this requires a custom-made mount.
If the suspension wasn’t enough, Ulrich uses 50mm Hutchinson mountain bike tyres. A Tundra up front should provide plenty of traction, while the Touareg at the rear features a lower profile for faster rolling speeds.
Sat on the Beast XC30 carbon rims, these balloon out to 55mm.
