For the past few years, The Traka has been one of those races I’ve followed from afar, always thinking it looked a little different. A long day on gravel is one thing, but a long day with real technical terrain, extended descents and multiple sections of singletrack? That’s what pulled me in.
After finally lining up, I can say the course lived up to it. It was challenging, dynamic and honestly just a really fun way to race a bike… (with the exception of the final 60 miles, which turned into a pretty lonely fight into a headwind!)
Up front, things went about as well as I could’ve hoped early on. I made the lead group, felt composed through the first ~75 miles and tried a couple times to sneak away with a small group before the bigger climbs with the goal of getting a head start on the field, but no luck. Once we hit those, the race quickly exploded and I found myself in a strong, motivated chase group and we started reeling riders back in one by one, never giving up.
Eventually, on the last big climb with ~65 miles to go, I hit my limit and had to let that group ride on. From there, it was a long, steady push to the line just me, the course and that headwind.
20th place isn’t quite what I came for, but it’s a performance I can stand behind in a field with that much talent.
Back home in Tucson now and excited to keep building for the big one in a few weeks from now!
📸:
@justas_juozaitis
#lookcycle #rideshimano #traka #gravelcycling #gravelgrinding
