An intro to the Gravel Earth Series
Global gravel series adds even more American rounds for 2025
The Gravel Earth Series has quickly become the primary gravel race series that connects races across Europe, North America, Africa, and South America. The series features a diverse array of events, from stage races to one days, and offers a unique format for pros chasing the series overall. Read on for more on that, but first, here’s the schedule for 2025.
Feb. 15-16 - Santa Val - Spain
March 1 - Giro Pio - Costa Rica
March 28-30 - The Hills Gravel Race - Italy
April 11-13 - Gravel Ibereolica - Spain
May 1-4 - The Traka - Spain
June 6-8 - Festivus of Gravel - Canada
June 14 - Lost and Found - United States
June 18-21 - Migration Gravel Race - Kenya
June 25-29 - Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder - United States
June 26-29 - Brutal Gravel Race - Colombia
July 5 - Gravel Mexico - Mexico
July 12-13 - Alpine Gravel Challenge - Switzerland
July 19 - The Rift - Iceland
July 19-20 - The Range - Canada
Aug. 2 - Megre - Lithuania
Aug. 14 - Core 4 - United States
Aug. 20-23 - Gravel Worlds - United States
Aug. 28-31 - Rebecca’s Private Idaho - United States
Sept. 5-6 - Falling Leaves Lahti - Finland
Sept. 8-10 - Gravel Weekend - Latvia
Sept 14. - Saga Gravel Race - Chile
Sept. 27-28 - Ranxo Gravel - Spain
The series starts out in February in Spain before heading to places as far flung as Kenya, Colombia, and Iceland. The series then finishes in September with races in Finland, Latvia, Chile, and Spain. Notably, there are more races in North America this year with five rounds in the United States, two in Canada, and one in Mexico.
Of the American rounds, Lost and Found kicks off the summer with a classic gravel race in Northern California, and Oregon Trail offers stage racing in July. (Listen to Chris Mehlman talk Oregon Trail 2024.)
Core 4 is a newer event in Iowa, while Gravel Worlds is added to the mix, offering a large prize purse and quality live stream. Rebecca’s Private Idaho is a mainstay on the American circuit run by former pro racer Rebecca Rusch.
Scoring & Format
Given that the calendar is so comprehensive and stretches across the globe, the series allows riders to pick and choose races. At the end of the year, riders’ best four results are tallied to determine the overall results.
The baseline score for 1st place is 1,000 points, and points decrease for 2nd place and so on. Some races are considered more prestigious, and offer either 10% or 20% more points. The most valuable races, offering 1,200 points for the win, are The Traka, Oregon Trail, Migration Gravel Race, Gravel Worlds, and Ranxo Gravel. Riders going for the overall must race Ranxo, and the Spanish race will serve as a tie-breaker in the case of a tie.
There is an equal cash purse for the series overall rankings for male, female, and non-binary categories, starting at 2,500 euros for first place and filtering down to 600 euros for 10th.
Sustainability and Values
Gravel Earth Series is notable for including language about sustainability in its rulebook. “Events must calculate their organizational carbon footprint and participant travel emissions, offsetting through the ClimateTrade platform. These figures must be reported to the Gravel Earth Series for global compensation across all events,” states section 2.3.
It’s a commendable position at a time when the sustainability and climate change impacts of cycling are becoming increasingly talked about.
The series’ Core Values section reads “respect for the sport, the environment, and the territory prevails over competition,” another nod to the type of environment Gravel Earth seeks to create.
The values section of the rulebook also includes notes on gender equality (including a non-binary category at all races), cultural value (sharing storytelling from each event and region), and course design (prioritizing off-the-beaten-track routes that minimize pavement).
Past Results
Simen Nordahl Svendsen of Pas Normal clinched the men’s overall title this year, with the Americans Griffin Easter and Pete Stetina rounding out the top three. In the women’s contest, it was also a Pas Normal rider, Karolina Migon, in first place, with Sarah Sturm and Morgan Aguirre rounding out the podium.
In 2023, the men’s overall was decidedly a European affair, with Italy’s Mattia De Marchi winning, followed by German Lukas Baum and the Dutchman Diederik Deelen. Anglophones dominated in the women’s field though, with Great Britain's Annabel Fisher taking the win, followed by American Amity Rockwell, and British Madeleine Nutt.
Easter, Marchi, and Fisher will all compete in the Life Time Grand Prix this year so could be less of a presence at the Gravel Earth Series. The American ‘Spirit of Gravel’ Stetina has bowed out the Grand Prix, however, so could be seen at some of the races.
I’ll be keeping tabs on the Gravel Earth Series as it kicks off in mid-February. Stay tuned for future coverage!