Header image courtesy of Irongravel360/Rafa Romero
Timo Rokitta has ridden in gravel events all over Europe and was looking for a new challenge for Spring 2024. When he spotted IRONGRAVEL360 he realised he had found his early season goal – a gravel event which covered 360 km and included 5000m of climbing sounded ideal. If you would like to find out he got on, then read on.
After participating in The TRAKA 200 and The TRAKA 360 in the past two years, I was seeking a new challenge for the 2024 gravel season. Due to the likelihood of better weather, I wanted the event to be in southern Europe. That's when I stumbled upon IRONGRAVEL360 in Alicante. The gravel ride is organised by Miguel Angel Garcia Marti, a Spanish gravel biker who has participated in events like Badlands multiple times. The IRONGRAVEL ride is being held for the third time in 2024 and is considered a hidden gem among insiders, now also being part of the Gravel Earth Series.
However, IRONGRAVEL doesn't just offer an ultra-long route of 360 kilometres and 5,000 meters of elevation gain. There are also routes of 100 and 200 kilometres with correspondingly lower elevation gains.
Image courtesy of Alfredo Maiquez
When I arrived at the starting area just before 5 o'clock in the morning, there were 10 policemen with their motorcycles ready to accompany nearly 60 participants for the first sections out of the city. Participants from 22 nations around the world had travelled to Alicante to take on the challenge. My Garmin showed me that there were 21 climbs to conquer today, which made me a bit thoughtful.
Just before the starting signal, I briefly chatted with the German gravel racer Svenja Betz, who told me that she was riding the IRONGRAVEL360 as preparation for THE TRAKA 360. It's worth mentioning that she had participated in the Tierrra de Campos Gravelrace just one week previously and achieved an excellent third place overall.
At exactly 5 a.m. the field of riders set off. The Spanish police blocked all roundabouts and access roads. After 12 kilometres, the real challenge began with the first climb of the day, or rather the night.
I positioned myself at the front of the pack to avoid getting involved in a crash in the darkness. When turning onto a gravel path, the front of the pack got lost and when everyone suddenly turned around, I found myself almost at the back of the group. Now, in the darkness, it was getting steeper uphill, but my legs were still fresh and I was in good spirits. Only my fingers were a bit stiff from the cold up there. Especially challenging was one particular bumpy descent on gravel, which required a forward-thinking racing line. As dawn broke, we rode on some very rough roads near remote farms, where dogs barked loudly from time to time. A stretch on an old railway path – Via Verde – was very fast to ride afterwards.
Shortly after, on a curve, there was a scooter parked beside the track with a photographer stationed near it. The driver loudly shouted "Aqua" to me, but it was already too late. The track led straight through a deep puddle. After that, I was soaking wet from head to toe. In the still-cold temperatures, it was very uncomfortable and I felt even colder.
A bit of variation then came with a so-called 'Rambla’ - a dried-up riverbed with many large rocks. I pushed my gravel bike for a few meters here to avoid crashing or getting a flat tyre. After about 80 kilometres, the route became flatter and at the Salinas de Santa Pola, I could maintain a steady high pace.
After two singletrack sections, the track followed the Rio Segura. For 25 kilometres, it was flat, always along the river and speeding over white crushed rock paths that strongly resembled the Italian 'Strade Bianche'. Just before Orihuela, the fun ended. The route turned north and it became a bit hillier. I seriously wondered how one could reach over 5,000 meters of elevation gain if it continues like this. But I would be very wrong here!
At the first refreshment station at kilometre 153, I only briefly stopped. The helpers shouted to me that the tough part of Irongravel360 was about to come – they were right and now I would suffer.
The landscape changed abruptly and we entered a wild mountain world that strongly resembled old Wild West movies. At a steep section, the filmmaker Thako Harris was waiting and he ran alongside me as I climbed a 30% ramp on concrete with full effort. He clearly enjoyed it and cheered me on – lactic acid built up in my legs and my pulse reached 160 beats per minute.
In the following sections, it was repeatedly up and down on loose gravel. The climbs got steeper and steeper, so I had to push several times. My 40-tooth cassette with a 38-tooth chainring wasn't optimal here. Subsequently, narrow singletrack trails constantly alternate with extremely steep inclines. It was only after 200 kilometres, at the 'Alto de Monte Coto' near a marble quarry, that the route became less extreme and the descent compensated for the previous efforts. The 'Alto del Cabezon de la Sal' was the last mountain before the refreshment station in Pinoso.
At a small restaurant, everyone got paella and cool drinks for refreshment. I leisurely ate a large plate of rice and drank an ice-cold cola. Knowing that I'd passed the most difficult part, I was now confident about finishing successfully. A tailwind pushed me forward beyond Pinoso as I rode on perfect gravel paths. Alicante, here I come – but I celebrated too early. After a difficult rocky passage in a wooded area, there was an ultra-tough climb up to the 'Alto de la Sierra de Salinas.' The road up was littered with potholes and full of gravel. The gradient was constantly between 10 and 15%. When I tried to stand up out of the saddle, my rear wheel span, so I rode the entire mountain in the smallest gear. Throughout the climb I didn't encounter anyone and even during the fast descent, I didn't meet anyone, racing down at almost 70 km/h into the valley.
Now riding on fast trails, we passed by some remote farms. The pace was initially high, but my momentum was about to be abruptly slowed down. I rode into a stretch of deep sand at high speed. My gravel bike started to sway and suddenly the front wheel was perpendicular. I could barely prevent a crash. I had to jump off and start pushing the bike. Running alongside it, my feet sank into the sand up to my ankles.
Before Villena, I was moving forward again. The track led into the city on a Via Verde. After that, it continued slightly uphill towards Biar on the Via Verde. I knew this part of the route from last year when I crossed southern Spain from Valencia to Gibraltar on the Via Verde bike paths. Besides the Via Verde, countless holes in the ground were visible. Thousands of rabbits lived here, some of them daringly ran across the path just in front of me.
The last refreshment station was below the picturesque castle of Biar. The path up to the castle led scenically over a singletrack. The Spanish helpers cheered enthusiastically when they saw me. They immediately offered me cake and held my gravel bike. Kindly, they filled my bottle with cold cola and asked me how I was doing. I smiled in a somewhat strained manner but tried not to show the effort.
Finally, it was uphill to the highest point of the entire IRONGRAVEL360 route in the 'Sierra de Biar.' This section was the highlight of the entire IRONGRAVEL360 route for me. A wide path led through an impressive landscape and in the background, the sun set, bathing the landscape in a mystical light.
I now rode a bit faster because I wanted to be back down before darkness fell. Just before it got completely dark, there was one last narrow singletrack trail. Luckily, the organiser had marked the turns with bright green arrows otherwise, I would have surely got lost here.
The rest of the route, I rode like in a trance. It was very cold, but I just wanted to finish and enjoy a hot shower. After a total of 18 hours, I crossed the finish line and am glad to have made it through without a crash or breakdown. That I finished among the top 10 makes me even happier in retrospect.
The IRONGRAVEL360 is an absolute challenge for gravel bikers who want to push their limits. Out of the nearly 60 starters, only 35 participants reached the finish line. For those who want it more relaxed, they can also try their luck on the 100 or 200 km routes. A breathtaking and remote landscape, as well as an enthusiastic organiser team, complete the overall package. The IRONGRAVEL360 is definitely a good alternative to THE TRAKA 360.
If you would like to try out Timo’s route, you can find it here:
Text and images by Timo Rokitta, except where credited.