The Hegau Gravel Festival, happening on Sunday, June 30th in Singen, Germany, is gearing up to be an exciting new event, thanks to the city’s rich history of cycling and the experienced organizing team behind it. Singen has been hosting cycling events for over 20 years, including finishes for the Tour of Germany and more than 20 UCI MTB Marathon World Cups, topped off with the 2017 UCI MTB XCM World Championships.
Anja Salscheider, the event manager, gave us the insight on what to expect from the course.
Anja talks about the Course:
Anja explained that the course features a mix of a 52km main lap and a 33km secondary lap. Younger riders will tackle two big loops before finishing with the shorter 33km lap, while older riders will do one big loop followed by a smaller one that skips part of the main loop.
When asked if the course is similar to the MTB marathon route, Anja mentioned they kept some parts but swapped out the single tracks and technical zones for faster gravel sections to make it more gravel specific.
As for the terrain, Anja mentioned the course has a total elevation gain of over 2600 meters, even though the highest point is only 200 meters above the lowest. The climbs are frequent and challenging, especially a steep 1.5km ascent around the 16km mark on each lap.
Anja also highlighted that there are twelve significant climb sections within the main loop, making it quite demanding.
Why Attend the event?
Anja pointed out that aside from the challenging course, the festival always draws a big crowd of spectators, creating a fantastic atmosphere. With Singen’s history of successful events and its location near Switzerland, France, and Austria, she expects the gravel festival to attract a diverse international audience, especially given the global rise in gravel cycling interest.
The Hegau Gravel Festival promises to carry on Singen’s legacy of hosting top-notch cycling events, making it an event not to be missed!
