The popularity of gravel racing seems to have been growing exponentially over the last few years and fields measuring in the 1000s are pretty common. However, despite being more than 50% of the global population, women currently make up a relatively small proportion of the fields. Klassmark, who organise one of Europe’s biggest gravel races, The Traka, have recently launched a scheme to help grow women’s participation in gravel racing and we’ve taken a look at the details. 

“The reality is clear: despite the unstoppable growth of gravel, women’s participation remains limited and too often shaped by social, cultural and logistical barriers. The Traka Force was created to change this and to send an unequivocal message: representation cannot be just an aspiration, it must be action.” That was one of the opening paragraphs in the press release sent out by Klassmark, the organisers of The Traka, one of Europe’s largest gravel races. The Traka is held in May each year and offers a variety of races with distances from 100km, 200km, 360km and the monster 560km. While the event does attract a mix of genders, Klassmark’s aim is that by 2027, 35% of registered riders will be women – doubling the number who entered the 2024 event. 

The Traka Force is built on four essential pillars that translate Klassmark’s vision into practical commitments:

• Equal opportunities: priority access and reserved slots to guarantee women’s presence across all race distances.
• Care and specific support: hygiene products at feed stations, additional toilets and details designed for greater comfort and confidence.
• Inspiration and community: ambassadors and mentors sharing authentic stories and creating support networks in private communication channels.
• Long-term commitment: not a one-off project, but a statement of principles that seeks to transform gravel culture worldwide.

The Traka Force has been designed to offer support at all key stages of the event – Before, During and After:

• Before: dedicated entries, private communities and mentorship programs with experts in training, nutrition and mechanics.
• During: active presence of ambassadors on the course, adapted services and a dedicated space within the village as a hub of support and visibility.
• After: active communication channels, newsletters and exclusive content that keep the community alive and extend the impact beyond the finish line.

The Traka Force commitment not only focusses on women riders, but also on event partners and sponsors. One of the headline sponsors for event, Canyon, has got heavily behind the initiative and have put together a fantastic film to help celebrate the launch of their partnership with The Traka Force:

The film features pro gravel racers Heather Jackson and Klara Sofie Skovgård Hansen, but also features the GRL PCK, a group of pioneering female cyclists from Germany who are breaking down barriers and helping get more women into gravel riding, bikepacking and gravel racing. During the 2025 Traka event, they organised a group of solo women riders into a genuine ‘girl pack’ and then rode the whole event together as a makeshift team.

“When I first saw The Traka on Instagram a couple of years ago, my feed was full of super-muddy-out-of-breath-cyclists in race-suits, I found myself very intimidated and immediately thought that this was never going to be for non-competitive people like me. So, when discussing this within our GRL PCK group we specifically wanted women to overcome and trade these thoughts for just having fun, enjoying the beautifully scouted and closed routes around Girona and the actual really cool vibe during the whole event. Without pace-pressure and surrounded by a supportive girl-gang.” -Amélie Graef, GRL PCK

With the launch of The Traka Force, Klassmark aims to “lead the way and inspire other organisations and events to adopt the same model. What begins here has a global vocation: it’s not about localising change, but about sharing it with the entire international gravel community. The Traka Force seeks to be much more than a programme tied to an event. It is a cultural movement that aspires to change the way gravel is understood worldwide. The message is clear: the future of gravel is also female.”

You can find out more information about The Traka here.

Images courtesy of Canyon