GRAVAL 2024 was supposed to take place on November 1st, but the torrential rain and floods that impacted eastern Spain, with the Valencia province being the most affected, triggered the understandable decision to suspend the event. A couple of weeks later, participants received the good news of its rescheduling, and suddenly we had a goal to keep us motivated during the winter period. We wanted to pay tribute to everyone affected by the natural disaster, and also support Andrei – the organizer – in the difficult decisions he had to make.
The original track had to be modified, but the essence of the GRAVAL Bikepacking Adventure remained the same; an unsupported challenge of 400 km and more than 7,500 meters of elevation, in which drafting was allowed and the time limit was set at 60 hours, starting on February 28th at 5 AM.
Around 50 participants, mostly local or from neighbouring regions, took on the challenge. During the briefing the day before, we engaged in different conversations and realized the varied strategies. Some were convinced of completing it nonstop, others had already booked accommodations, and some people preferred to wait and see how their bodies responded during the day. What group were we in? There is a clear answer.
Sector 1: Valencia – Navarrés
After a 3 km neutral start that brought us out of the city, we headed to l’Albufera National Park. It was obviously dark so we could not appreciate much of this particular natural setting. During the first couple of hours, we rode on the paths (paved and unpaved) that local farmers use on a daily basis to access the rice plantations.
The first climb was El Tello. At that moment around 10 riders were in the lead. By the time we hit the descent, there was already some daylight. A rolling segment brought us to La Gitana climb, a concrete wall with ramps above 20%. The following kilometers were probably our favorite part of the route, riding in an exposed area with perfect wide gravel paths.
We descended almost back to sea level and reached Sumacàrcer. There, everyone in front of us decided to stop for breakfast but we kept riding. Or kind of. Just as we left the small village behind, the hike-a-bike segment started. It was already present in the 2023 edition, so we checked with previous participants how rideable it is. As guessed by them, we were able to ride some parts, but most of the time we were pushing our bike without hurting our lower back in excess. We also took advantage of this slow section to try to fix the bent disk rotor caused by a rock hit, without success. 310 km to go and with rubbing brakes, exciting!
Sector 2: Navarrés – Cofrentes
The first virtual checkpoint was located in Navarrés. Unlike the supported events we are used to attending, here there was no food station, no mechanical assistance, and absolutely no one cheering our name. It was a humbling moment. We descended the countless hairpin turns from the church and proceeded with our effort.
Spain has some very remote areas, and we rode past some of them. There are few villages around the Caroche Massif, located between the Iberica and Betica mountain ranges, and not even wildlife made an appearance. We had not refilled yet, and we were running out of water. We were told there was a water source at the top of the Caroche climb, but when we arrived there, surpassing the 1,000 m of elevation for the first time in the day, we didn’t find it. The most certain resupply point was CP2 in Cofrentes, 35 km ahead.
It is not that we were extremely thirsty, because the temperatures were mild, but eight hours on two bidons and a hydration pack was not ideal. Cofrentes was our first real stop. It was 1.30 pm so a perfectly timed lunch. An omelette sandwich, a necessary dose of caffeine in the shape of a double espresso, and two big 1.5L bottles to make sure we had enough water for the next stretch.
Just as we were leaving the bar, a pair of riders came in, and apparently, two more had kept going. Losing the lead was not a drama, and starting a chase would have been fatal in the long term. We simply focused on the path ahead and turned on the music for the first time, because we were starting to need some sort of moral boosters.
Sector 3: Cofrentes – Requena
Compared to the original track, this alternative version due to the October floods presented an easier segment between the second and third checkpoints. The different crossings of the Magro river were deleted, and with that, some of the climbs were no longer accessible. Even then, we checked firsthand the impact that the disaster had on the entire province, with roads and bridges being rebuilt left and right.
How can it be that we are writing this less than 48 hours after crossing the finish line and we don’t remember the type of terrain we faced from Cofrentes to Requena? Maybe we lost some memory after our crash around km 210. For better or worse, there was a photographer in front of us, so at least there is proof of it.
Sector 4: Requena – Chelva
Some clips on our phone remind us that we rode past several vineyards and ancient villages, and after Requena we joined a main road for almost 20 km until Chera, once again due to the natural disaster that forced the rescheduling of this edition of GRAVAL. Halfway there we were overtaken by the two riders who we thought were still ahead, but they had stopped to resupply in Requena, while we were planning on doing so in Chera. They were clearly faster, and we thought we would not see them again.
After a quick stop in a small supermarket to get some salty food to compensate for all the sugary stuff we had been eating for the previous 12 hours, we were ready for the last couple of hours before sunset, although it had been cloudy the whole day. Probably not many participants could appreciate that beautiful segment within the Alto Turia UNESCO Biosphere Reserve during the daylight, so we enjoyed it to the fullest.
When it was time to turn on the lights, we realized we had lost our headlamp, most probably in the crash. We had a front lamp attached to our GPS mount, but it was not the ideal setup to tackle the technical terrain ahead. We had already convinced ourselves to push through the night until we reached the finish line, so the remaining hours of riding were going to be interesting for lack of a better term.
Sector 5: Chelva – Valencia
The fifth and last virtual checkpoint was in Chelva, 280 km from the start. As easily appreciated by looking at the profile of the course, we concatenated three climbs in which we accumulated 1,500 meters of elevation in 40 kilometers. The only good thing is that, once we reached the “cima Coppi” of this edition of GRAVAL, the remaining 80 km were mainly downhill.
It was in the first of them when we experienced our lowest point. The surface was too rocky, we had not seen anyone in the last handful of hours, by that time we were usually in bed… We embraced the fact that everyone has to go through those moments at least once in an ultradistance event, and adopted the “tunnel vision” approach – which is literally engraved on the stem of our gravel bike – to continue counting down the kilometers until reaching our end goal.
We caught the leading duo one last time on our way to La Bellida, but there was barely any exchange of words. We assumed they had stopped a few hundred meters before the top, located at 1,329 of elevation, to put on all the extra layers they had, which is something we also had to do at some point. Double gloves, double thick socks, and a windproof jacket. We didn’t pack anything else, and we hoped it would be enough for the long descent with just above-freezing temperatures.
Luckily, the forecasted rain was delayed so we at least stayed dry. We saw the first lights of civilization, but they were still very far ahead. The turn cues of our Hammerhead indicating that we had to continue descending through the same twisty gravel path for more than five kilometers were not very encouraging. In another situation, with daylight and properly working brakes, we would have loved it, but not in the circumstances we were facing. We had lost appetite and didn’t really want to drink anything cold. We felt that our body was starting to feel the consequences of the prolonged effort, and we had no one to complain to or ask for advice. Ultradistance is very hard both physically and mentally, even more so as a solo rider.
Finish
After riding in the dark for the last eight hours, and getting lost multiple times in the closing kilometers in an attempt to preserve the residual battery in our front light and GPS unit, we reached the finish line in Valencia. It was around 3.30 AM on March 1st, a few minutes after the aforementioned pair. There was first a virtual finish at the entry of the city and then a neutral segment until the famous City of Arts and Sciences. We came across a lot of people getting ready for the club, and we really wanted to shout to them “We have been riding for the last 22 hours, covering 408 km with 7,800 meters of elevation, and we are proud of ourselves!” but we let them do their thing.
Andrei was waiting for us, and we were given the medal that certifies us as finishers of the GRAVAL Bikepacking Adventure 2024 2.0. Even if sleep-deprived, we spent some minutes there to share our feedback, and appreciate the effort made by him and the entire team involved in GRAVAL for not giving up and rescheduling this edition rather than canceling it so that cycling enthusiasts like us could have an ultradistance challenge to look forward to during the winter months.
GRAVAL is growing, and over the next few months, three different versions of the event will take place, all of them unsupported. The “official” 2025 edition is happening on October 30th, with a completely different route that will bring riders further south. Those looking for an extra challenge can add the GRAVAL Extreme and its 800 km with 13,000 m of elevation gain to their calendar, and the roadies among our audience will be happy to know that this year there is a Road version of the event happening on May 2nd, featuring 600 km and 11,000 m of elevation gain.
