The Spanish UCI Gravel race in Berja-Almeria this weekend saw great battles on a course in reverse order compared to last year. The 96km track in between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sierra Nevada mountain range towards an altitude of 2100m was hard and fitted pure climbers.
Valverde, on the brink of his 44th birthday, replicated his victory from 2023 by finishing 44 seconds ahead of mountain biker Hugo Drechou from France, with Portugal’s Tiago Oliveira Ferreira finishing third, two minutes behind.
In the women’s race, Karolina Migon from Poland outpaced last year’s champion, Carolin Schiff of Germany, by nearly two minutes. Danish cyclist Klara Sofie Skovgaard Hansen claimed the third spot, trailing another two minutes behind.
There was also a shorter 51km distance as qualifier for the men over 60 and women over 50.
The event witnessed significant participation growth, attracting over 1000 riders from the gravel and mountain biking communities, a substantial increase from the 600 participants last year.
