CANYON LAUNCHES ALL-FEMALE DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE TRAKA GRAVEL EVENT

‘Making Tracks’ coincides with a new initiative created to support women to take the leap and participate at The Traka in Girona, Spain next May.

11:00 CEST, Wednesday 1st October: Global bicycle brand Canyon is proud to release a new Youtube documentary that follows several inspiring female cyclists during their participation at the highly popular The Traka gravel cycling event in May 2025.

The film can be watched now on Canyon’s YouTube channel, and its goal is to help encourage more women to sign up for the 2026 event, with entries now ringfenced for female applicants.

‘Making Tracks’ follows American multisport legend Heather Jackson racing the 360 km distance for the first time, as well as young Danish gravel phenomenon Klara Sofie Skovgård Hansen attempting to go one better than her 2nd place in the 200 km race in 2024.

Showcasing and supporting a wide range in experience and abilities – which is a key objective for The Traka race organisers Klassmark, and the event’s title sponsor Canyon – the film also follows the fortunes of GRL PCK, a group of German female cyclists whose mission is to break down the barriers of entry to the sport, and newcomer Flaminia Cooper, who joins the GRL PCK in the 100 km race distance – her first ever cycling event.

Now in its seventh year, The Traka is not only Europe’s biggest gravel event, but a destination for riders from around the world. There’s something for all the 3,000 participants – distances start at 100 km offering a great objective for anyone’s first gravel event, to the pro-coveted 200 km, a 360 km all-day epic that mimics US-style gravel racing, right through to the multi-day 560 km adventure for riders who really wish to test their limits.

In the professional gravel scene, The Traka is up there with the likes of Unbound as the race all riders want to win. Canyon athletes riding the Grail CFR have enjoyed a fine run of success – German champion Caro Schiff is a two-time winner of The Traka 200, sharing the top step in 2024 with Petr Vakoc who took out the men’s race. In The Traka 360, Peter Stetina soloed to the win in 11 hours 42 minutes.

‘Making Tracks’ follows a series of inspiring female athletes through their participation at The Traka. The most well-known of the group is Heather Jackson.

The Canyon-sponsored athlete is part of a new frontier of sportswomen competing at the highest level in multiple sports. The former ice hockey-playing, ultra trail-running, Ironman-winning and now gravel pro-racing 41-year-old from the United States is a strong believer that you can set your mind to anything you want:

"Whenever I am scared to try something new or something out of my comfort zone, I always ask myself: what is the worst thing that could possibly happen? Why or what am I scared of? Usually, it’s an unjustified fear of nothing and I’m able to shift my mindset to: you won’t regret the time you tried that new thing. You never know if it is the next thing you fall in love with and becomes a new passion in your life, but you won’t know if you don’t try. What are you waiting for?" - Heather Jackson

In ‘Making Tracks’, Jackson shows true grit to come back from being dropped early on to finish 4th place in her first attempt at the blue riband 360 km event. The long distance clearly suits the American, as later proven by her epic win at the prestigious Unbound XL gravel race one month after The Traka.

The film’s other pro athlete is Klara Sofie Skovgård Hansen. A Canyon rider like Heather, the 22-year-old represents a new breed of gravel pro athletes, focusing on the fast-growing sub-discipline of bike racing at a young age, unlikely many road cyclists or mountain bikers who transition over to gravel later in their careers.

In the film, the talented young Dane welcomes the cameras into her Girona apartment, and reflects on the excitement of living her dream as a pro, in a beautiful new city – the scene of where her career, and life, changed for the better following a 2nd place at the Traka 200 in 2024. She also speaks about her recovery from a recent spine fracture, which has set her fitness back, and while the 2025 race doesn’t go quite as planned, she remains steadfast in the beauty of Traka:

“For anyone considering racing Traka, I believe it’s a no-brainer. In my opinion, it offers a wide range of options—from entry-level riders to professionals. No matter your ambition, there’s a race for you. Canyon’s presence at the event this year definitely elevated the experience for both athletes and amateur racers. The expo area was excellent and served as the perfect service course for anyone who owns a Canyon.” - Klara Sofie Skovgård Hansen

Born of a desire to encourage people to start cycling their own way and not feel pressured to follow the expected path, GRL PCK are a group of German female cyclists whose tongue-in-cheek slogan is #collectkissesnotkoms.

The group regularly travel to cycling events and rides around the world, spreading the message to break down some of the many barriers to entry that affect female cyclists more than male.

GRL PCK went to The Traka with the aim of supporting new female cyclists. The group hosted a ‘Bikes & Bubbles’ workshop with a pro bike mechanic from components manufacturer SRAM offering tips and tricks for maintenance on the trails before a glass of local cava. They also put out a call for solo female riders for the 100 km distance to ride with them, forming a true ‘girl pack’ who all stayed together while riding on the day.

“When I first saw The Traka on Instagram a couple of years ago, my feed was full of super-muddy-out-of-breath-cyclists in race-suits, I found myself very intimidated and immediately thought that this was never going to be for non-competitive people like me. So, when discussing this within our GRL PCK group we specifically wanted women to overcome and trade these thoughts for just having fun, enjoying the beautifully scouted and closed routes around Girona and the actual really cool vibe during the whole event. Without pace-pressure and surrounded by a supportive girl-gang.” -Amélie Graef

One of the riders who joined GRL PCK on the day was Flaminia Cooper, who features in the film as a complete newbie and who overcomes a few tricky moments to complete the 100 km. Her experience at The Traka represents perfectly how doing difficult things that are outside of your comfort zone can be transformative in many ways:

“I signed up for The Traka on a whim, having never really ridden off-road or used clipless pedals until a couple weeks before the race. Cycling does feel like it’s quite male-dominated, but I try to approach things with a “if they can do it so can I” attitude, and even though the event was much harder than I expected, pushing through to cross that finish line gave me an immense feeling of accomplishment. I was prepared to go it alone, but I was very grateful that GRL PCK was there to support. I think it’s important for women to realise that they can enjoy cycling the way they want to, and that events like The Traka provide an excellent platform to test your limits while also enjoying the ride.” - Flaminia Cooper

Gravel racing is unlike any other cycling discipline. Whether a rider’s objective is to race, or their personal goal is simply to cross the finish line, the spectrum of riders and objectives is broad: everyone has a seat at the table.

The open arms and inclusive nature of the gravel community is what truly sets it apart and The Traka is one of the trailblazers in this regard. Canyon came on board as title sponsor for the event in 2025 with the specific aim of committing to assisting The Traka to hit the ambitious goal of 35% female participation for all registered riders by 2027, doubling the number of female riders from the 2024 event.

This October, The Traka is launching ‘FORCE’, a new mentoring and support programme created to invite women to take the leap and participate. Through inspiring videos, such as ‘Making Tracks’ by Canyon, useful resources from professionals (such as nutritionists, coaches and mechanics), and the mentoring and energy of their ambassadors, organisers Klassmark hopes to build a safe and motivating space.

There will also be a private Whatsapp community group, and women’s hygiene products will be made available at feed zones during The Traka events as well as extra dedicated spaces to stop for bathroom breaks.

If any female rider – new or experienced – is looking for a great cycling event to join in 2026, The Traka is reserving slots exclusively in all distances. Visit thetraka.com for more information