Lukas Postlberger (Rose Racing Circle) and Sofía Gómez Villafane (Specialized Off-road) triumphed in The Traka 200 on Saturday, both riders arriving alone with small margins of victory.
The 200, following on from the 360 and the Adventure events, is the flagship race of The Traka, a key part of the Gravel Earth Series, with a 202km route featuring 2,650 metres of elevation gain around Girona, Spain.
In the men’s race, it was a tale of roadie versus mountain bikers, as former WorldTour pro Lukas Postlberger was chased in dramatic fashion by a trio of Bryden Lange (Canyon x DT Swiss All-Terrain Racing) and the Buff BH duo of Martin Stošek and Wout Alleman, with MTB legend Nino Schurter not far behind.
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That anxiety was highest on the narrow technical singletrack inside the final 6km, where Postlberger led by just 10 seconds. But the chasing trio couldn’t work together in the closing couple of kilometres to set up a sprint finish. Instead, it was a sprint for second place, 20 seconds down on the winner, which Lange won, with Stošek taking the final spot on the podium.
“It’s the biggest gravel race in Europe and winning here is really special,” said Postlberger, whose winning time was 6:04:42. “You dream, you train, you work hard you make a plan, and today everyhing went perfectly.”
In the women’s race, Villafañe doubled up, retaining the title that she won 12 months ago. It was a similar story to last year, with a long-time companion dispatched close to the finish line.
Nele Lain (Canyon x DT Swiss All-Terrain Racing) rounded out the day’s podium…
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