The Gravel Earth Sequence returns for a second yr with nearly triple the variety of off-road occasions, which now whole 20 throughout 13 nations. The factors system has been modified throughout the collection and a brand new €12,500 whole prize purse might be provided, break up equally among the many high 10 in male, feminine and non-binary divisions.
Among the many new occasions on the calendar are two within the USA – the five-day Oregon Path Gravel stage race in Oregon and Ukiah Mendo Gravel, which is the fourth and remaining occasion in subsequent yr’s Grasshopper Journey Sequence in northern California.
“To see this spirit of biking and competitors unfold world wide is superior. During the last 27 years we have seen a giant change in biking and we’re stoked to be a part of this collection,” Miguel Crawford, director and organiser of Grasshopper Journey Sequence (GAS), informed Cyclingnews.
Crawford mentioned he met Gerard Freixes, CEO of Klassmark that operates the Gravel Earth Sequence, in Spain when he was creating Girona Velo, week-long gravel journeys for leisure cyclists. He mentioned they “hit it off straight away with our ardour for all times and all-things-two-wheels” and the brand new G.A.S. gravel occasion was invited to be a part of the worldwide umbrella.
“The give attention to group constructing and the atmosphere has all the time been a spotlight of the Hoppers. Additionally, creating occasions that enchantment to the elite riders in addition to age group contenders and people new to gravel trying to uncover new routes and private challenges has all the time been the objective of the Hoppers,” Crawford mentioned.
“The Ukiah Mendo Gravel Epic is our collection finale and likewise a fundraiser for the Moriah Wilson Basis. So, to be a part of the World Earth Sequence will make for a stellar occasion in NorCal.”
Final yr with seven whole occasions on supply, the Earth Last determined the ladies’s champion when Annabel Fisher (Café du Cycliste) of Nice Britain received the ultimate race and jumped from fourth to the highest spot within the girls’s standings. Mattia de Marchi of Italy led the lads’s standings all yr together with his win at The Traka 360 and secured the collection title with a fourth-place end within the Earth Last.
For a second yr of the circuit of worldwide challenges, The Traka, Migration Gravel Race and The Rift Gravel return. The trio might be joined by Oregon Path Gravel and Falling Leaves Lahti within the Gravel Earth World class.
There are 14 occasions on the calendar with the second-tier scoring, opening with X Santa Vall in Spain, a three-day stage race from February 16-18. The collection has expanded to incorporate a second occasion in Kenya, the Safari Race Sequence on March 10, and a first-time journey to South America, Saga Gravel Race in Chile on September 14 to wrap up the collection.
Earth Last will return to Spain on October 12-13, which might be hosted at Ranxo Gravel. Ranxo, The Traka and Santa Vall are all occasions operated by Klassmark, the Girona-based firm that operates the collection and oversees environmentally-friendly sporting initiatives.
The worldwide circuit, referred to as a “revolution” for gravel racing by organisers Klassmark, will once more be segmented into two regular-season classes and a grand finale. Prime finishers in the primary three divisions earn scores between 750 to 1500 factors, primarily based on the class. Because of this the “finest scores” might not mirror the “finest outcomes”.
5 World challenges supply considerably increased factors for riders within the high 5, 760-1000 factors, with 750 factors probably the most a rider can earn at a typical occasion. General winners are decided by the entire factors, not finishes, from The Earth Last plus the sum of the 2 finest scores from the opposite 19 occasions.
The Gravel Earth Sequence launched in 2023 as a standard collection, with six present occasions throughout Europe and South Africa offering category-specific factors primarily based on issue of every occasion and the Earth Last in Spain. There was no prize cash on supply.
Gravel Earth Sequence 2024 calendar
- Feb 16-18 – X Santa Vall, Spain
- March 10 – Safari Race Sequence, Kenya
- April 12-14 – Gravel Ibereólica, Spain
- April 20 – Iron Gravel IG360, Spain (two distances)
- April 27 – Utopia Gravel Fest Baza, Spain
- Might 1-5 – The Traka, Spain (World occasion)
- Might 11 – Ukiah Mendo Epic, California, USA
- June 18-21 – Migration Gravel Race, Kenya (World occasion)
- June 21-23 – Lauf Gritfest, Nice Britain
- June 26-30 – Oregon Path Gravel, Bend, Oregon (World occasion)
- June 29 – Octopus Gravel, Switzerland
- July 6 – Gravel Mexico, El Mastranto
- July 20 – The Rift Gravel Race, Iceland (World occasion)
- August 3 – Megre Gravel, Lithuania
- August September 11 – Gravel Weekend, Latvia
- August 24 – NGS Bergslagen, Sweden
- August 31 – Nordic GRVL Grinder, Denmark
- September 21 – Falling Leaves Lahti in Finland (World occasion)
- September 14 – Saga Gravel Race, Chile
- Oct 12-13 – Ranxo Gravel in Spain
