The Traka | preview and set up!

Pack your things, we’re flying to Girona!

After going back to events, we’re finally putting a number on our backs once again! 

And no, we’re not going to do that in a countryside circuit (even though those are clearly as poetic), but we’ll be at one of the most interesting and hyped gravel races in Europe.

The Traka is an event with two identities. A race – 100 and 200 kms – and the adventure version – 360 km without any support. Do we really need to say that we will take part in each of the versions?

Let’s proceed with order, tho. We’re leaving right now for our first trip abroad as Enough. Is everything ready? Answer for yourself. No, better yet we’ll answer, because there’s some distinctions to make. Bikes are ready, everything else is a big mess we can already picture: Arriving at the airport, packing the bags in the parking lot, someone forgetting to check-in beforehand, the van waiting for us in Madrid instead of Barcelona. But mainly: Frank emptying the duty free, Asja getting lost, Mattia breaking something and Fede Bassis getting an additional check because he’s got his multitool, which he could use to disassemble the seats on the plane.

If and only if our heroes will be able to get to Girona, they’ll divide on the three distances. When we’ll see them at the starting point, we’ll probably get a little emotional and we’ll try to understand if the bikes are in fact ready as we prepared them. 

Here you can find the race profiles and the setups we’ve chosen for our team, starting from the most awaited event of the weekend of Girona. 

2600 meters of elevation, with the two longest climbs in the central part while the last kms are false flat slope to get back to Girona. The ones who still have legs will make the difference on that, even though we don’t know how to handle the strategy on this occasion. 85% of dirt road and lots of space to give everything – that’s how Mattia and Asja will face this. 

A set up to try and do well in the race. Mattia chose to risk a bit, mainly to give it all during the race and to go back and taste the competition, which he has missed for so long. 35mm tired and few bags on the bike, so he can be as light as he can. 

Asja wants to challenge herself in a gravel race and she’s taking it as an occasion to build up as much experience as possible. That’s why her set up will be a bit more relaxed, to give more space to comfort and avoid any problem. 650B wheels and 45mm tires. One bag for some food and a few accessories: if we catch her stopping, she won’t have many excuses. Got it?

Mainly off-road for the shortest race. With just 1000 meters of elevation and climbs no longer than 4-5 kms, this is an event for the big guns! In this case, too, the final part is a long slightly uphill section, where if someone has something left in the tank can say bye to the others and meet them at the end for a pint all together. Frank is ready for this race, that seems to be made just for him: we’re curious to see him after years away from competitions.

Frank is so excited to fly on the gravel outside Girona that he will follow the advice of the Captain and go for a fast and competitive setup. 40mm Fulcrum Wind wheels, 35mm Pirelli wheels and basically no bag attached. Did you say Pippo Ganna?

Here things change – there‘ll be many more hours on the bike and the elevation is quite interesting. 5000 meters and a course with just 50km of asphalt. You gotta push but also balance your effort, being an unsupporterd event. These things don’t frighten our Federico, of course.

The kind of setup toride for 15 to 20 hours, if things go the way they should. 650B wheels and big tires, with a 7L Miss Grape Cluster bag on the back, an Internode frame bag and a Moon bag on the handlebar. A distribution that clearly tells Federico doesn’t want to stop and sleep. Kind of a heavy asset, one would say. Maybe it is, if there’s the certainty of good weather. If the forecast won’t be so good on the other hand, a lot of this space will be occupied by rain clothes. You shouldn’t also forget that if there’s free space, you can fill it with food. Every sandwich is an unnecessary stop avoided on the road. Every stop you can avoid, it’s 10 minutes gained.

See you in Girona!