Gravel Grit ’n Grind
Date
Saturday 17.08.2024Distances
104 - 133 kmCity
Halmstad
Country
SwedenGravel Grit n Grind is a three day stage race in Halmstad, a city located on the western border in the south of Sweden in between Gotenborg and Malmo. Only the event on Saturday counts as official qualifier event for the UCI Gravel World Series. It´s possible to do a single race, two stages or the full three day stage race.
Program
Gravel Grit n Grind Stage 1, Halmstad, Friday 16/8 2024
Individual Gravel Time Trial prolog 19 km
Gravel Grit n Grind Stage 2, Halmstad, Saturday 17/8 2024
Official UCI Gravel World Series Qualification race 136 km / 82 km
Gravel Grit n Grind Stage 3, Simlangsdalen, Sunday 18/8 2024
Gravel race 96 km
Course
Gravel Grit n Grind is a three days stage race with a 19km time trial on Friday, a long gravel race on Saturday and a shorter gravel race on Sunday. There is an overall competition over the three days.
Only the event on Saturday counts as official qualifier event for the UCI Gravel World Series. The race starts and finishes in Halmstad.
The stage starts on gravel racing through the extensive Wapnö farms and then hits the hills for the first section of the race, real gravel, real backcountry almost immediately. The halfway point hits the village of Torup and an incredibly steep, short climb before heading towards the remote village of Gräsås (Gray-sauce) and north towards Getinge on small challenging forest tracks. Finally, homeward bound over Harplinge and Nyårsåsen with tricky roads and rocky descents before finishing back at Wapnö’s beer tent!
The race splits in two in a shorter 82km course and a longer 136km course. The 82km is the qualifier distance for all men 60+ and women 50+ while the longer course fits as qualifier for the younger age groups. Both distances have the same start and finish with a shortcut.
104km
official qualifier distance for men 60+ and women 50+
133km
official qualifier distance for men 19-59 and women 19-49
Profile
The profile of the qualifier event is a route that has a lot of rolling hills that are never very steep. The 133km has an elevation of 1210m while the 104km as 810m of elevation so quite similar to the profile of 2022, although the course has now changed.
104km
133km
Halmstad
Halmstad is located on the Swedish west coast in the south of Sweden. Not far from Gothenburg if you follow the coast in the north direction or the Danish capital Copenhagen in the south if you travel over the bridge of Öresund.
Halmstad is the capital city of the Halland Province and has more than 100.000 inhabitants. The Nissan River splits the city into two sides before it finds its way to the sea.
An idyllic west coast city with rich food culture and a wealth of outdoor activities, cycling, surfing, and golf, Halmstad is the capital of golf in Sweden.
With a perfect mixture of sandy beaches and lush forests, this coastal city is worth visiting from so many perspectives.
