The Traka is one of the most famous gravel races in the world, and Durango’s Cobe Freeburn’s experience on May 1 turned into a what-could have-been story because of a feed zone.
Freeburn finished 32nd in the 200-kilometer pro men’s race that started and ended in Girona, Spain. He was competing at the top of the field with some of the top gravel riders in the world when he thought he had to turn around to go to a building where a feed zone was.
The feed zone wasn’t there. It was further down the road, and Freeburn cost himself a few minutes looking for it. Despite the hiccup, he and Ellen Campbell were the two Durango riders to finish the Traka 200.
“I didn't really have any big goals or expectations,” Freeburn said. “I always want to do well at races, but I was not putting any kind of number value next to it. I just kind of wanted to get the experience and see how things were. That part of it was good. I learned a lot, which was good, a different style of racing.”
Freeburn finished The Traka 200 men’s pro race in six hours, 19 minutes and eight seconds. Lukas Pöstlberger won the race in 6:04:41, followed by Bradyn Lange in second in 6:05:00 and Martin Stošek in third in 6:05:00.
It was Freeburn’s first time racing The Traka, so he got to Spain very early so he could ride the entire course before race day. Racing gravel in Europe is much different from in America with a lot more narrow roads, punchier climbs and twistier turns in Europe. This creates more of an emphasis on positioning and bike handling, Freeburn said.
The field of riders from all over the world and multiple disciplines brought a discussion about safety to the forefront of the conversation. The Traka, like most major gravel courses, is mostly in the middle of nowhere without a big spectator population, and there can be problems with course markings.
“There were a lot of road parts that were narrow descents with blind corners … there’s definitely some safety issues,” Freeburn said. “It’s funny because a lot of the Euros were complaining about the race being unsafe, but it’s safer than your normal U.S. race, more or less, which was pretty funny. They had a lot of the intersections closed, which a lot of races in the U.S. don’t have intersections closed.”
Freeburn started the race around the top 20 and was with the lead group until his feed zone incident about 70 km into the race. It was bad timing because the lead group was on a flat part when he turned around, so he lost the lead group and couldn’t get back on with them.
The Durango rider was with a rider or two for the rest of the race, and Freeburn sprinted at the finish to beat Alexander Miller for 32nd.
Next up for Freeburn is Unbound Gravel from May 28-31 in Emporia, Kansas. He will not defend his Iron Horse Bicycle Classic title.
Campbell finished the pro women’s Traka 200 in 7:45:16. Former Fort Lewis College rider Sofía Gómez Villafañe won in 6:54:42, with Larissa Hartog in second in 6:55:51 and Nele Lang in third in 7:02:33.
The Durangoan thought her performance was decent and that it felt good to finish mid-pack at the biggest gravel race in Europe.
“It's definitely a really fun course for gravel racing,” Campbell said. “It's definitely a course that suits me but European gravel has a lot more variability than gravel in the United States. Unbound, for example … it’s all basically the same terrain. But if you go for 200 kilometers in Spain, you have climbing, you have flat grasslands, you have just rocky chunks, you have smooth parts. You have just like so much variability.”
Campbell stayed in around 30th for the entire race. She was in a group of five girls before she broke away. Another racer caught up with her, but couldn’t stay with Campbell for the finish.
Durango resident Michaela Thompson didn’t finish the race as she was dealing with some illness. Fellow Durango resident Maude Farrell didn’t finish The Traka 360.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
