Safety concerns, camera bans and startline chaos: A post-Traka debrief

Harry Talbot

Joe Laverick is a pro gravel racer, writer, and semi-frequent Escape contributor. He wrote a piece on his Substack__that caught our eye, diving into some of the controversies bubbling up around The Traka gravel event in Spain. So we asked him to expand upon it for us here.__

The Traka is the biggest gravel race in Europe, and has quickly grown to international prominence. First ‘raced’ in 2019 with around 100 local riders, the 2026 edition saw 5,000 riders at the start line, and with it, international coverage. The organisation behind it, Klassmark, remains small relative to behemoths like Life Time and should be commended for creating, in just a few years, what is now a mainstay of the European gravel calendar, generating buzz and sitting at the center of a humming gravel economy.

The Traka 100 finally gave me the gravel bugSceptical, soaked, and slightly convinced: Europe’s premier gravel event (mostly) won me over.Escape CollectiveAlex Hunt

Interestingly, the main comments leaving The Traka this year were not about the winners, but the larger situation around the race. Gravel has experienced myriad growing pains since it took off in the middle of the last decade; The Traka, it is clear, is experiencing some as well. Many top pros, including Nino Schurter and Romain Bardet, discussed their concerns around safety, and there have been questions raised by the race organisation’s treatment of the media around the race.

Escape Collective reached out to Klassmark last week with a list of specific questions and requests for comment on the topics below, but has not yet received a response.

The safety question

Concerns around safety are what have gained the biggest traction. The Traka has changed. When it first started in 2019, it was a small local event; now, in 2026, it is an internationally recognised event. With that change comes new requirements for safety. The speed at the front of the race is much higher, and with success at The Traka equalling big contract dollars, risk is on the table. Safety is non-negotiable.

The debate around safety is two-fold: one argument around the course itself, and another that looks at the environment that exists around the course. The course does have many areas that are best described Gravel++, and it’s very easy to argue that many parts would be much better ridden on a mountain bike. However, safety of the terrain itself will largely be a matter of personal opinion. Those with a mountain bike background will argue it’s not bad at all, those with limited technical experience will argue it’s dangerous. The truth sits somewhere in the middle.

Away from the course, the main safety argument is the presence of open roads. In an interview after the race, Romain Bardet said: “I think gravel needs to find [its] own rules. You know it’s getting more and more competitive. The way it works right now, it’s not good enough for the safety of the riders.” Nino Schurter also commented on his Instagram: “But in all honesty, this race needs to address rider safety. Too many sketchy moments!”

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