Organisers of the inaugural Gravel Earth Series, Klassmark, confirmed that the seventh and last stop for the collection of seven off-road races will conclude in Cardona, Spain at the Earth Final on September 16.
Gravel Earth Large is the longer of two events for this new event with 180km and 2,000 metres of climbing across the province of Barcelona. None of the routes, which use dirt paths and some roads, are marked except for the last 3 to 4 kilometres.
“After three years of the idea and having travelled all over the world to know all the events, we come out with the first independent gravel series in the world. For now, the recognition to be the best or one of the best [is the series prize], but without a doubt by 2024 we will reward with money,” Gerard Freixes, CEO and founder of series organiser Klassmark, told Cyclingnews. He added that another objective for 2024 was to add 'ultra-distance' for the Earth Final.
Series leaders Amity Rockwell (Trek/PAS/Maurten/Schwalbe) of the United States and Mattia De Marchi (Enough Cycling Collective) of Italy will lead the elite fields. Rockwell won The Traka 360 and Migration Gravel to carry the most points into next week’s The Rift Gravel in Iceland. De Marchi won the men’s division of The Traka 360 and has two other top 10s.
The women’s inaugural title will be up for grabs with second-placed Maddy Nutt of Great Britain confirmed to race, just 16,000 points back. The Traka 200 winner Carolin Schiff will join the fray, alongside Emma Porter, fifth overall in the series with a third place at The Traka 360 and sixth place at Octopus Gravel, and Maria Gudmundsdottir, who was third at Migration Gravel.
On the men’s side, third-placed Ivar Slik is currently 32,400 points behind De Marchi, with points on offer at the next three events where he can close the gap. Petr Vakoč, who finished second at Octopus Gravel; Nathan Haas, second at The Traka 200; and Paul Voss, winner of The Traka 200 will also be on the start line for the men.
The first champions will be crowned at the conclusion of the Earth Final, with maximum points of 72,000 on offer at the required Earth Final that will be combined with the top two scores from the prior six races. Gravel Earth Series rates the challenges adhered according to the difficulty, mileage and positive gain, and the level and prestige of the event. Scores of 24,000 (level 1) to 48,000 points (level 3) are assigned across the first six events.
The next round of the Gravel Earth Series is The Rift Gravel Race on July 22. Level 2 points will be provided to men and women in the 200km event, while level 1 points will be awarded at the 100km distance. Both routes of The Rift cross black lava roads on the rugged highlands of Iceland, which provides 20 hours of daylight in summer.
The final two events in the Gravel Earth Series go up against the off-road races in the Life Time Grand Prix series in the US. August 12 is Leadville Trail 100 MTB in Colorado and September 16 is Chequamegon MTB Festival in Wisconsin. Neither De Marchi nor Rockwell are part of the Life Time series. However, Octopus Gravel winner Brennan Wertz and runner-up at The Traka 360 Sarah Sturm are contenders in the Life Time Grand Prix and are not expected to line up at Earth Final.
Gravel Earth Series standings
Gravel Earth Series 2023
- The Traka (Spain) – April 29-30
- Migration Gravel Race (Kenya) – June 20-23
- Nature is Bike (France) – June 18
- Octopus Gravel (Switzerland) – July 1
- The Rift (Iceland) – July 22
- Nordic Gravel Series: Bergslagen (Sweden) – August 12
- Earth Final (Spain) – September 16
