The Traka Adventure: Victor Bosoni and Svejna Betz win first running of 560km gravel challenge

The gravel racing is flowing at the seventh edition of The Traka in Spain, with the first finishers of The Traka Adventure crossing the line in Girona on Friday morning. Victor Bosoni claimed the men's win by covering the challenging 560km course in 24 hours, 9 minutes and 42 seconds while Svenja Betz was the women's victor with a time of 28 hours, 52 minutes and 9 seconds.

The race, which was set to be introduced in 2024 but was cancelled due to the conditions, got underway at 6am local time on Thursday, May 1 in dry weather, though rain did threaten for those who were still out on course after the top riders came through. The long-distance of 560 kilometres included a 56% unpaved course with 10,000 metres of climbing.

The first arrivals in the gruelling challenge had been expected to roll over the line around 28 hours after the start, but Bosoni – who last year finished 15th in The Traka 360 – set a scorching pace and came in hours earlier. The French rider beat his nearest rival Sebastien Breuer by more than an hour in a tight finish with third-placed Benjamin Koch.

"I pushed so hard, I can't believe it," said Bosoni in a brief interview on race social media, after lifting his bike in the air in celebration after crossing the line.

Betz, the winner of the 560km Unbound Gravel XL in Kansas last year, had an even bigger margin in the women's category, crossing the line well over three hours ahead of her nearest rival, Cynthia Carson while Ada Xinxo was third with a time of 32 hours, 22 minutes and ten seconds.

"It was amazing but it was so hard," said the German rider.

The Traka Adventure started the four days of racing in Europe's flagship gravel event, with the pro riders in the Traka 360 taking off Friday morning, just before Bosoni arrived at the finish line. 

The 360 riders arrived back Friday evening with Tobias Kongstad (PAS Racing) and Karolina Migoń (PAS Racing) taking the victories. The Traka 200 will play out on Saturday while the 100 will close the racing on Sunday.