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GRAVL: traka 2025

5/6/2025

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It’s been a bucket-list type of race. The kind I had to try at one point. The biggest Gravel event in Europe - TRAKA. With 4 different races and distances over the course of 4 days, it seemed more like a little bike festival than anything else. I decided to do the 200km race on Saturday, which seemed to be the most competitive in the not-ultra-long gravel scene. I mean, the longest distance you could sign up for was 560?! Mama Mia. And also the 200 was a distance that for me would be challenging, but achievable, while still feeling kind of ultra…
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I arrived to Girona the Wednesday before the race, and G town was already buzzing with gravel cyclists. The energy was through the roof. 
I was there with my clothing sponsor, GripGrab, who had rented a big country house outside town. Incredibly beautiful and with a Catalan charm. It was a mix of other GripGrab ambassadors and people from the office. It was so cool to get to know the people behind the brand even better. 
​The crew there also raced either the 200 or 100, but was mostly there to embrace the GG brand, connect, share,
​and ride their bikes. But for me I had a little goal in the back of my mind. It was actually great for me to stay in a easy-going, non-performance-focused environment, it made me relax, because inside of me the little competitive bike racer was starting to fire up. 
I had no idea what to expect, as I hadn’t raced on the world stage of gravel, and I had never done 200km in my life. But nevertheless, I still expected myself to be able to race well out there, because I’m a bike racer after all. 
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I had no idea what to expect, as I hadn’t raced on the world stage of gravel, and I had never done 200km in my life. But nevertheless, I still expected myself to be able to race well out there, because I’m a bike racer after all. ​
We started at 7.00 in the morning, I had the route downloaded to my Garmin, a bunch of energy with me and one of the guys to hand me fresh bottles at kilometre 119. Did I have enough? Was my stomach going to survive? I had no idea, but you never learn if you never try - so out of the gate we went and up the first climb. ​
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I felt quite strong, but a little scared about the speed they took off with, as I knew the race would be more than 7 hours, so I found myself in the second group just behind the leaders. In this group we stayed together for the first three climbs and more or less also on the long flat section. I felt good and absolutely thought I totally got this long distance thing. But around 4 hours in I made 3 mistakes in a row, that really made me struggle. 
 First I took a wrong turn with the front of my group and we had to hunt back the lost time and distance. This effort I felt and when I saw a feedzone in the horizon I quickly took of my hydration pack and got ready for the FZ action. Unfortunately it was not the correct feed zone for me and I had to get the bag back on again, lost the group, hunted them down, got to the 'pro' feed zone, didn’t really know how to do a quick shift of two bottles and a hydro-pack so I lost my group’s wheel ones again. .. Oh, how we learn, ey haha, some lessons are more painful than others.
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Almost caught them again, and then the biggest climb of the day came as a wall in front of me. 
The temperature was rising up to 30 degrees, we were almost 5 hours into the race at this point, and I was having my first proper crisis. Time to find the famous 'panic'-gear (the smallest I had). 

After the downhill, there was a longer flat section again, where a group from behind caught me. I did my best to stay with this group, but I really felt how the pain and efforts were creeping up on me. And there were still 60km and 2 climbs left. My mind was questioning everything at this point. I had no more left in me, I felt how my brain started to work more slowly and how the effort made me dizzy. How much longer? 
​
I was in this situation for almost 2,5 hours and when I crossed the finish line I was so empty. Holy moly. 

In those hours, I promised myself to never do this again. Now it's Monday, as I’m writing this, and I’m already kind of keen to try something similar again. Haha. How the brain works. 
​
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One of the best parts of the day was my equipment to be honest, the bike was so comfortable to ride. Okay, well, on the rocky sections I definitely missed some suspension (but which mountain biker wouldn’t want that??). But the way the Scott Addict gravel is handling the corners, climbs and downhills is so cool. And the gears and brakes, just wow, was an absolute pleasure. For mechanical emergencies, I had a saddlebag with a tube, tools and CO2. Besides this, I also carried a pump and a plug ready to go. I had all my fixing stuff with me from Topeak, which I fortunately didn’t have to use. I was terrified to flat on those little tires tbh. 

An overall great experience with a fun group of friends and a challenging yet spectacular race to finish it off!

What now? Maybe it’s time to shift to another bike for the next month? A little change never hurt nobody ;-) 
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Success is not a limited resource

3/9/2025

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Yesterday I watched the race in Albenga and it inspired me write this: 

Today, on International Women’s Day, I’m at a mountain bike race on the Italian coast. I’m not racing today, but standing on the other side of the tape, and I’m reminded of something bigger than just racing. I mean today it’s about the women here—racing, supporting, working behind the scenes—each of them contributing to the incredible cycling community.
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In racing, the essence of it is to win, to have the best position on the result list when you pass the finish line. This concept contradicts what I want to talk about today, but I think, precisely because of this, it becomes even more relevant and important.
​
So, the sound of the start gun silence the crowd and the race has begun. Martina Berta and Sofie Heby is power up the climb in front.  And I'm thinking...
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I think, too often, women are quick to compare, to measure us against each other, to see another woman’s success as a reflection of their own shortcomings. In sports, we obviously measure ourselves up against each other, but I think it is so important to add a perspective to it. 

To me, this mindset is not only important in sports, I think it comes across in all corners of life, it can really hold us back or lift us up.


​Imagine if, instead of feeling threatened by someone else’s achievements, we saw another woman’s success as proof of what’s possible, as inspiration rather than intimidation. ​​
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So in the spirit of Women's International Day, we should lift each other up. Cheer for the woman standing next to you. Support the one who dares to chase big dreams. Recognize the strength in those who push through challenges, on and off the bike.

Success is not a limited resource.
​
I know today there was only one woman who won, but next weekend is another chance.
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So today, I want to shine a light on the women who make this sport what it is. The racers giving their all out there. The racers who celebrate each other on the other side of the finish line. The teammates offering a word of encouragement. The mechanics, coaches, managers, volunteers, sisters, mothers, and fans who show up and make it all possible. You are seen and you are valued.
Let’s keep showing up for each other. Let’s keep pushing boundaries. Let’s keep riding—together.

/Malene
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It feels scary because it’s unfamiliar territory, not because I’m incapable

2/3/2025

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I couldn’t fall asleep for two nights, and the hotel breakfast on Saturday morning suddenly seemed unappealing. Friday afternoon, I drove 4 hours to a place called Ulricehamn in the southern part of Sweden. I was at the seemingly unappealing breakfast buffet because I had signed up for the Danish/Greenlandic national Championship in cross-country skiing. More precisely, the long-distance freestyle competition which took place Sunday morning. And I’m a total beginner. 
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It all started 4 weeks ago, when a Nordic skier from Denmark, who also happens to ride mountain bikes, saw that I posted on my social media, how I had found a new fun way of training - xc skiing! He send me the information about the National Championship and told me to check it out if that could be something. I straight away called my family and asked if they would be keen on a family weekend trip to Sweden in a few week's time. 
To participate in a sport where I had no experience whatsoever seemed thrilling. And I had promised myself that in 2025 I wanted to challenge myself in racing. Try out new things and new events. So, this challenge aligned with my goals. The only problem was that I had no equipment in Denmark and I wasn’t actually good at this sport. My fitness would carry me through - not my technique, thatwas my game plan. 
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The days leading up to the race I was filled with doubts. I was so surprised about my reaction - I have pinned a number on for the past, what, 15 years, and THIS made me restless?
But there was something about the unknown that scared me. When I finally got my skies, poles, my start number, chip, and tried out the course and conditions I felt such a relief. Okay, I was going to be alight. 33 kilometre of skate skiing in the Swedish snow would be manageable. On race morning I wasn’t nervous anymore, now it was just about finding the flow and having fun. And that was exactly what I did. Well within my limits, hah. 
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Flow is maybe not the right word, think flow as in a state of mind, not flow as flowing well on the snow. Technique is quite something in this sport, and I haven’t mastered it - yet. So, my strong cycling muscles carried me through to 4th place overall and 2nd in my age group. I also didn’t know how to fuel while being stuck to two sticks, so I just ran 1 hour 51 minutes without any fuel at all. As a reference, I take one gel every 20 minutes in a MTB race + carbs in my bottle. I crossed the line empty. I hadn’t been able to use my full physical capacity because every time I tried to go faster I lost my balance on the thin skies, but I had tried so hard for almost two hours. 
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I learned two things: “It feels scary because it’s unfamiliar, not because I’m incapable.” (Michell C Clark), and that “yet” is a word I need to use more. I haven’t *** yet. I don’t know *** yet. 

So many opportunities, so many adventures ahead. January has treated me well, and in 2025 I wanted to challenge myself and try new things. We’re off to a good start. 

/Malene
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