Gravel Alpine Challenge!
This Sunday I will be racing the Alpine Gravel Challenge! This race is part of the Trek UCI Gravel World Series and is located on the Portes du Soleil, hovering the border between Switzerland and France. Starting in Monthey and finishing in Champery- Grand Paradis Switzerland, the route is extremely challenging with only 94km of racing but featuring 3,190 meters of climbing. There is no doubt this will be a tough race! I am nervous, but I have spent a significant amount of time thinking about and planning for this race. I want to do well and perform to my best abilities. I have put pressure on myself for this race, but more as a form of motivation to go out and do what I know I can. In this blog I will go over the course as well as my race strategy, nutrition, and bike set up. I hope you enjoy!
Climb to the top!
My Sister supporting me this weekend!
As I mentioned, this course is very challenging. In terms of climbing, this will be the hardest gravel course I have ever competed on. In training, my rides have either replicated an equal or higher amount of climbing to get the feel of what this effort will be like and how I should manage my effort and nutrition. After my last race in Steamboat Springs, I left the race disappointed and wanting more. My biggest mistake in that race was my starting line position. Starting too far back and being stuck behind crashes, I spent too much energy chasing in the first part of the race. This is something I need to avoid in Switzerland. For the Alpine Gravel Challenge, since it is a similar mass start, I need to arrive at the start line earlier than normal to make sure I am in a good position. Mass starts make things more difficult and increase the risk for crashes, thus starting at the very front will help me avoid potential crashes. It is also important to be at the front as the first 20km is a climb! Being in good position here will avoid using unnecessary energy to chase the front group. However, with such a long and hard climb right from the start, the group should split quick. This is where I hope to make the selection with the top women.
The climbing doesn’t stop until approximately 55km in, with only a few descents to catch my breath. The next 20 km is mostly downhill, on gravel, with some technical parts to be aware of. This part of the course is also very crucial for me. If all goes well, I hope to be in the select group over the top of the climbs. However, with a long technical descent anything can happen. Something I have been trying to work on is technical gravel descending and I do not want to find myself losing time after working so hard on the climbs. This is an area I will really need to stay focused on if I want to keep up with the lead group. After descending, the rest of the race of predominately climbing. By this point, I hope to be in the front group to sprint to the finish!
My goals for the race are simple. I intend to start well, stay with the top women up the climbs, and not loose time on the descents. As I said earlier, I have put some pressure on myself to succeed in this race. I have been thinking about this race for the last few months and it has been a goal of mine to come out on top. I am feeling extremely motivated after the disappointment of my last race and I really want to prove myself, especially in a race that plays to my strengths. As well, there has been an exciting development in the last few months – a partnership with a new sponsor, The Feed! A critical component of gravel racing is nutrition, and my partnership with The Feed will help me achieve my nutrition goals for this race. The Feed is a website that offers various brands of sport nutrition, alongside vitamins, supplements, and recovery tools. For this race, I will be using a mix of AMACX drink, turbo and caffeine gel, the fast bar, and the turbo drink mix. I will continue my strategy of using 90-100 grams of carbohydrate per hour. This strategy has worked well for me so far. As for recovery and sleep, I have been using Pillar Performance triple magnesium recovery. The Pillar Performance triple magnesium recovery features three bioavailable forms of magnesium that help with increasing overall recovery from hard training rides, supporting a healthy nervous system, and reducing muscle cramps. I have been taking 1 scoop per day before sleep for the best results! If you are interested in The Feed and the products I mentioned and want to continue to support my journey you can use my referral link, https://thefeed.cc/gabby_traxler for your next order!
On the bike side of things, I have been thinking quite a bit about my set up for this race. The first climb is long and on pavement, but the later descents are rockier. For me, (maybe this will change with more experience) I always lean more on the side of caution. Especially since my race in Scotland where I had a major sidewall slash, and I couldn’t finish the race. With everything in mind, I have decided to stay true to my favorite tires, the Kenda Alluvium Pro 40c with Cushcore inserts for extra protection, with 28/26 tire pressure. These tires work perfectly for almost any condition. I will also be using my HUNT, limitless gravel aero wheels, wearing my CAPO cycling kit, and using the GRX Shimano 11 speed.
Making sure the bike is clean and ready to go!
Thank you for reading and stay tuned for my post-race update!
