Diary Of A Gravel Racer Episode 1

Training in Girona

Affer a long few winter months training in the UK I decided to add a few weeks on to my trip to Girona before the Santa Vall Gravel Earth Series race so I could train in drier weather on better roads.

All-Weather Athlete

I’m usually out in all weather in London - Julian will attest to this as I arrived at Cyclefit just before I left for Girona soaking wet from doing an hour in Regents park before getting final checks on my bike. But there’s no denying that a more forgiving climate is much more enjoyable to train in.

Holly Two-Jobs

Even though I was in Girona to train, I was still working full time (Quoc Shoe graphic-designer) so my time there was very busy! Squeezing training in where I could - waking up early to work so I could catch the afternoon sun.

The weather was usually very cold in the morning but warm and sunny by the afternoon so most people schedule their training around the weather.

My Girona - A Life On The Road

A lot of my training is much easier to do on the road but where I could I included as much gravel as possible! The ‘gravel’ in the UK gets so muddy during winter I hadn’t ridden off-road for a while so I wanted to get used to it again. Girona has a really good mix of gravel - you can choose super smooth ‘champage gravel’, more rocky rough gravel or even do some of the easier mtb trails.

I was ultimately in Girona to do the Santa Vall 2-stage gravel race which is part of the Gravel Earth Series - a series of gravel races throughout the year located all over the world.

Being in Girona a few weeks before the race was perfect as I could recce both routes and practise any difficult technical sections or descents. If you can, it’s always a good idea to at least have recced the start and end of the race route so you can get the best start possible and also be ready to drop your group at the end of the race.

Race recap - day 1 - 80km, 1100m elevation

I was very nervous for the Santa Vall race as it was my first race of 2025 and I knew the level was probably going to be one of the highest in 2025! I didn’t really know what to expect and I wasn’t sure of how strong I was yet so didn’t know how I would compare to some of the super strong female riders. We were also starting very early… 8am… which meant that we had our own female start which was great but also meant it was pretty cold on the start line.

Plan du Jour

My plan was to go hard over the first climb - a steep gravel climb - to make sure I could stay with a strong front group. I managed to do this and the small group I was in chased on to a larger group in front.
I stayed in this group for a while but as we went through a very winding part of the course I realised putting myself towards the back of the group was making me quite tired as the elastic-band effect started to take place… the band eventually snapped and I found myself alone.

I nevertheless pushed on, making sure to refuel, and quickly found myself in a group again and we worked quite well together to get a pace on. I knew there was a climb in the last 20km so decided to push over this and try and get away from the group because I had a feeling that some of them were quite tired. My plan worked and I got away with one girl and we worked hard right until the end to keep away.

Race Recap - Day 2 - 113km, 1600m elevation

After some rest I was back on the start line again at 8am the next day in 5 degree weather.

The route started with some punchy road climbs which kept the group together mostly but I was absolutely freezing! My hands were almost numb which was a bit worrying, but eventually once I settled into a group it warmed up.

The route had a long steep climb at around 35km so I tried to conserve energy in the group so that I could be strong on the climb. I kept at my own pace all the way up the climb which left me with just 2 other riders and then after the descent there were only 2 of us left.

Workshare

We started to work together to catch whoever was in front of us when I saw that the girl I was riding with teammate was ahead… I happened to be on the front at this moment and she took the opportunity to attack to catch her teammate which I could not follow. I then spent the rest of the day…60km… alone which was a pretty big mental battle. My goal was to stick to watts I knew I could do for the next 60km and make sure I fueled well. I did both of these well and eventually crossed the line only 20 seconds behind the rider in front (although I could never see her!) with quite a big gap to the next rider behind me.

Overall I’m happy with my racing at the Santa Vall - the course was technical, very muddy in parts and had some difficult climbing and descents which I think I rode well. I finished 24th in the Elite women category for the weekend. I also got my all-time best 1hr and 10 minute power so it can only be up from here!

My next race will be The Traka in Girona, Spain at the end of April - another race in the Gravel Earth Series.

2025 Gravel Race Calendar

May 3 - Traka 200, Girona, Spain

May 17 - UCI Gralloch, Scotland

June 15 - UCI Millau, France

July 19 - The Rift, Iceland

August 16 - UCI Gravel Grit n Grind, Sweden

August 30 - UCI Houffalize, Belgium

September 6 - UCI Graean Cymru, Wales

September 12-14 - British Gravel Champs

Holly's Girona Training Routes:

Girona Route: 50km road and gravel mix

Girona Route: 80km road loop