3RIDES Gravel Race

Date
Saturday 13.05.2023
Distances
78 - 136.5 km
City
Aachen
Country
Germany
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3RIDES Gravel Race is a new gravel event and part of the bigger 3RIDES in Aachen’s CHIO complex, which hosts the annual World Equestrian Festival. The 3RIDES weekend has a big bike expo, features road bike rides, esports, music and lots of side events. The gravel race is the main competition during the festival.

Course

The course is designed surrounding the CHIO compound in Aachen and will be ridden on a 19.5km lap. Riders have to do either 4 laps (men 60+ and women 50+) or 7 laps (men 19-59 and women 19-49).

The route starts with a lap on the CHIO horse complex located on the north side of the city with a mix of gravel and asphalt. The paved sections are located in the beginning and the end of the lap. The middle section has a long stretch of cobbles and a sector in the woods in between Aachen and the towns of Würselen and Kohlscheid.  71% of the course is offroad.

19.5km lap

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The 19.5km lap has a first easier part on the complex and going out of CHIO with some road sections and cobbles. The difficulties are in the middle with a few short but steep climbs.  The lap has 200m of elevation, meaning that the older riders will have a total elevation of 800m at the end of their race while all young riders will have 1400m after having done their 136km.  

LAP

Aachen region

The city of Aachen has outstanding significance for Europe’s history, with settlements pre-dating the Roman colony and thermae. Emperor Charlemagne made Aachen his residence and ordered the construction of its cathedral, a UNESCO world heritage site since 1978, It is the westernmost city of Germany and sits at the heart of the StädteRegion Aachen, an innovative organisation of communities near the borders of Belgium and the Netherlands.

The area is famous for its cultural heritage, its scientific achievements, but also for its options for hiking and biking. Other big cities in the German state of Nordrhein-Westfalen like Cologne, Bonn and Düsseldorf are within short reach, with lots of possibilities for shopping, wining and dining and arts just a short weekend trip away.