On Friday, Peter Stetina (Canyon) and Carolina Migone (PAS Normal) took the win in the muddy Traka 360. Stetina swept the top three North American places in the men's category of the race, the central event of the Girona-based European gravel scene.

Stetina held off Canadian Rob Britton (Factor) for the win. Although the weather improved on this day, the course was shortened to 340 km due to the lingering effects of the recent heavy rains. Giro d'Italia stage winner Chad Haga (PAS Normal) was the rider to watch as he successfully rode alone on the 360km course in October. Italian rider Mattia De Marchi, winner of the last three editions, was forced to withdraw from the race due to mechanical problems.

Migon pulled away from SD Works-Protime gravel specialist Gehrke Schloos on the uphill to finish ahead of Gehrke Schloos.

"I pushed on the last climb. I thought this was my chance. I felt really good and I left Gee [Gerike Schleuss] behind and just kept pushing on the flat."

The Swiss-based Polish rider suffered from stomach problems early in the race and was out of form throughout the 360 laps, but he was able to recover after a good rest and reset in the feeding zone.

Men's winner Stetina and runner-up Britton also did not have a smooth ride over the 360km gravel route, which included steep climbs, singletrack, and hike-a-bike sections.

"I'm so emotional. After the start today, I didn't think this was possible. We had a mechanical problem in the first 100km and lost more than 6 or 7 minutes, so I thought the race was over. We were two motivated riders and I can't believe I caught up to them and passed them."

The experienced gravel racer, fresh off his win in Utah and the Belgian Waffle Ride Tripel Crown, stressed that there is no easy road in a race like the 360.

"My secret is to just accept the worst. The point is to break even," Stetina said.

"If anyone is sad that you're not feeling well or that you're going to break, just realize that you have ups and downs throughout the day. Luckily for me, I had a down moment early on, but as soon as I saw those players, I was inspired at the end.

The Traka 360 is the longer of the two Traka events in the Gravel Earth Series, with the high-profile 200 taking place on Saturday. The scheduled Toraca 560 km was cancelled due to heavy rain.

More details will be provided as soon as official results are released