La Indomable was the first of the UCI World Gravel Series events to be held in Spain this year. With a course that suited strong climbers and the chance to win a coveted “lucky pass” to this year’s UCI Gravel World Championships, 400 passionate gravel riders lined up on the start line. Jorge Padrones was competing and sent in this great ride report of how it went.
As we all know, gravel is a very wide concept which covers a multitude of different cyclist, bikes and terrain. It was born as an alternative to the existing cycling genres and in the beginning we all associated gravel with adventure and discovery. The gravel concept and gravel bikes continue to evolve. So-called Fast Gravel is a definite ‘thing’ nowadays and in the last few years we can see how gravel racing is becoming attractive to road pros and ex-pros that are looking for a different way of racing compared to the pro road circuit.
The UCI did not want to miss the opportunity as competitive gravel cycling established itself as an entity and two years ago, they started with the UCI Gravel World series, which also serves as a qualifier for the Gravel World Championships. The number of Gravel World Series events is growing every year and in 2024 there are a total of 26 different races aligned worldwide on all continents. The World Gravel Championships 2024 will take place in Belgium for the lucky ones who finish in the top 25% of their category and so get the "magic pass".
La Indomable is the first of the two Gravel World Series races that are being organised in Spain in 2024 and it attracted riders from 25 different countries looking forward to racing over a hard and difficult course. Famous names on the start line this year included Alejandro Valverde, the former pro who was 4th in the last gravel world championship, Tiago Ferreira, Sergio Mantecón and Mattia de Marchi. There is also of course a long list of slightly less well-known names, but also many amateurs who filled up the entry list of 400 gravel cyclists.
The course was really demanding, with a very easy to remember profile - it was shaped like an inverted V. The first 40 km went up and then there was 55 km of downhill, although with some surprises in the form of climbs in the middle of the descent, to make 95 kilometres and a total of 2,500 meters of climbing. The course was the same as last year but reversed, so we climbed where we descended last year and vice versa.
This reversing of last year's route made the ascent harder as you reached the same point but in less kilometers, resulting in a steeper climb. Fortunately, there were just a few technical zones and it was never too steep, but there was still almost 40 km of ascending without any rest. The descent was easier than last year with a better surface and it was less technical, but still tricky - one of those descents in which you cannot relax for one second and you have to put all your attention on the course. Also, there were some areas to roll and some false flats where you have to pedal with strength and some climbs that made our legs suffer in the way that only some climbing after a long time spent descending can do!
The scenery of course was beautiful. The course was located in the Alpujarras Almerienses – a range of mountains that sit to the south of Sierra Nevada and Pico Mulhacen. You could see the snowy peaks in the background while you were pedalling, but we rode in very mild temperatures even at the maximum 2,500 meters of elevation above sea level. It was a privilege to have a race in such a beautiful area just surrounded by nature. We didn’t cross through any villages or inhabited territory in the whole course. It is undoubtedly a perfect qualifier to whose who like to climb and a perfect race or event for those who like mountains and nature.
On the competitive side, in the women’s elite category Karolina Migon won and in the men’s elite category Alejandro Valverde repeated his win from last year.Aside from the famous names, many less well-known riders were competing to qualify for the Gravel Worlds and to dream of wearing their own rainbow jersey. Fortunately, the boy who grew up dreaming of the rainbow jersey was able to qualify again and so my dream of wearing the jersey will continue for one more year.
Images courtesy of La Indomable except where credited