Hey TR - I’m racing the Traka 360 on May 2nd in Girona, Spain. Currently on a TrainerRoad plan that has me riding 5 times a week and around 8 hours. I live in Canada and haven’t been able to get some real long outdoor rides in just yet, but hoping to very soon. I’m an experienced cyclist who regularly does 12-20hr weeks in Spring, Summer, and Fall. I have no problem with 200km+ rides on my gravel bike and really love getting out for long solo rides. 360km is a bit of a different story when the whole purpose is to stop as little as possible. I’ll have support at the feed zones.
Wondering if anyone could share some insight on anything more I should be doing over the next 2 months before the race. Any personal insight from anyone who has done a race like this would be greatly appreciated!
I would search the forums for older threads on both Unbound and Leadville…while neither is as long as the Traka 360 (although Unbound comes close), there are tons of great tips and insights for training for long events like this.
If you have done multiple 200+km rides, then you largely know the drill, nutrition and pacing being the critical issues. For a race like Traka, you’ll have the additional element of trying to decide how long to stay with a fast group at the beginning of the race vs. settling into your preferred pace.
I’ve lived in and around Girona for many years, though not at the moment. My recommendation is that you have a good strategy for pacing. The level of riders in Catalonia, and specifically all the riders coming to the trakka is insane. So don’t get caught up in going too hard, enjoy the beautiful route and pace yourself for an even or negative split.
Tire choice, 40-50mm seems ideal. I always run inserts. There are twisty/techy gravel roads in the area, but lots of flat and some paved sections in the route normally.
The jump for 200 to 360km I find mentally challenging. I can do a 200km gravel ride and never be down. doing a distance like 360km, I’ll have periods of wanting to give up, and questioning life decisions, and sometimes technical difficulties. Being prepared for the down moments is important.
I also found going for a bikepacking trip helpful when training for a long race if you normally struggle will volume. Fly somewhere nice and ride for 10 hours a day/5 days.
I think following the plan as best as you can and supplementing in some longer rides once the weather gets nicer for you will be the bulk of your preparation.
Of course, make sure to experiment with nutrition/hydration, bike fit, and equipment as you prepare so you can get all of that dialed in.
And as @Power13 said, poke around on the forum for other topics on long-distance events – there’s a solid community of athletes on here who are into that type of racing.
Thanks very much! Pacing is super valid point. There are so many high level riders doing events like Traka that it’s so easy getting caught up in a lead group and just burning match after match.
Very good points and advice, thank you! I spent almost three weeks in Girona in November and only brought my gravel bike. The riding is simply amazing! My favourite ride was going north of Figueres into the mountains there doing a reckon of this year’s 360 route. I was running Pathfinder 42’s with xc cush core and they handled everything well, no punctures.
Great point about bikepacking. Last September I did a 560km gravel bikepacking trip over 3 days and it’s such a good option for volume and the mental down moments you mention. I wish I could fit in a 5-day bikepacking trip, but with work and already going to Spain for 3 weeks for the race I don’t think I can manage that. Will be doing back to back long rides on weekends very soon here.
