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2026 Gravel Earth Series Latest News and Results

Sep 07, 2026 - 2026 The River By The Traka Results: Mads Würtz Schmidt and Geerike Schreurs Crowned 2026 Gravel Earth Series Champions In Bouillon

Aug 06, 2026 - 2026 Megre Gravel Results: Rait Arm and Marjolein van’t Geloof take Victory

Jun 15, 2026 - Ruby Ryan and Matthew Wilson Fastest at the 2026 Lost & Found Gravel Festival

Jun 07, 2026 - Mads Wurtz Schmidt and Rosa van Doorn conquer 2026 Ranxo Gravel by The Traka

May 02, 2026 - Sofia Gómez Villafane and Lukas Postlberger Triumph at the 2026 Traka 200 Gravel Race

Apr 12, 2026 - Wurtz Schmidt and Schreurs take Victory at 2026 Gravel Desert

Mar 28, 2026 - Lasrissa Hartog and Bradyn Lange take Victory at 2026 The Hills Gravel Race

Feb 15, 2026 - Villafane and Schmidt take overall victory for Specialized Off Road racing team at 2026 Santa Vall in Girona

Feb 14, 2026 - Villafane and Schmidt Take Victory on Stage 1 of 2026 Santa Vall in Girona

Oct 04, 2025 - Rosa Kloser and Magnus Bak Klaris Crowned 2025 Gravel Earth Series Champions

Jul 22, 2025 - Rosa Klöser and Magnus Bak Klaris Dominate The Rift Gravel 2025 with Solo Victories

Jan 04, 2025 - Gravel Earth Series announces 2026 series calendar

2026 Gravel Earth Series Coming Events

Feb 13, 2027 La Santa Vall - Register Here

Apr 10, 2027 Gravel Desert - Register Here

Apr 30, 2027 The Traka - Register Here

Jul 07, 2027 Oregon Trail Gravel Stage Race - Register Here

2026 The River By The Traka Results: Mads Würtz Schmidt and Geerike Schreurs Crowned 2026 Gravel Earth Series Champions In Bouillon

Both overall leaders also win The River By The Traka, sealing the titles in a first edition that brought 1,000 riders to the Belgian Ardennes.

No calculations were needed in the end. Mads Würtz Schmidt and Geerike Schreurs arrived in Bouillon leading the Gravel Earth Series and leave Belgium as the 2026 champions after also winning The River By The Traka, the final race of the season.

The first edition of the event brought 1,000 riders to Bouillon, with the GES Queen Race 160K providing the final competitive stage of a season that has crossed Europe, Africa and the United States. On a fast and demanding course through the forests and valleys of the Belgian Ardennes, Würtz Schmidt took the men's victory in 4:36:43, while Schreurs dominated the women's race in 5:23:13. Their victories completed two very different championship campaigns. The Dane confirmed the advantage he had built throughout the season and ends the Gravel Earth Series with 220 points. Schreurs arrived at the final only 23 points ahead of Axelle Dubau-Prévot and responded in the clearest possible way: by winning the race and closing the championship on 210 points. The Last Dance ended with both series leaders on the top step of the podium.

Würtz Schmidt finishes the season with another win

Mads Würtz Schmidt arrived in Bouillon with a significant advantage in the overall standings, but he did not approach The River as a race to control. The Specialized Off-Road rider was the fastest over the 160 km Queen Race, crossing the line in 4:36:43 at an average speed of 34.7 km/h, three minutes ahead of an extraordinarily tight chase group. Célestin Guillon finished second in 4:39:43, with Petr Vakoc taking third just one second later in 4:39:44. Behind them, the margins were almost non -existent. Nils Brun and Joel Suter also stopped the clock at 4:39:44 to finish fourth and fifth, while South Africa's Tristan Nortje was sixth in 4:39:45. Just two seconds separated second from sixth place. Belgian riders Gilles De Wilde and Floris De Tier finished seventh and eighth in 4:41:35, Adne Koster was ninth in 4:41:36 and Lawrence Naesen completed the Top 10 in 4:41:38. Hugo Drechou, who arrived in Belgium second in the Gravel Earth Series standings, finished 11th in 4:41:50.

The result caps a season in which Würtz Schmidt has repeatedly delivered on the biggest days. Earlier in the year, he won The Traka 360 in Girona after almost ten hours of racing. Bouillon demanded something very different: a shorter and much faster race, repeated accelerations, constant changes of rhythm and a chase group compressed into seconds behind the winner. The outcome was the same. Mads first.

Geerike Schreurs answers the pressure with victory

The women's race began with a much more open championship situation. Geerike Schreurs arrived at the final on 194 points, only 23 ahead of Axelle Dubau-Prévot, second with 171. With the four-best-results scoring system still capable of changing the final order, Bouillon was a genuine title decider. Schreurs chose not to wait for the mathematics. The Specialized Off-Road rider completed the 160 km in 5:23:13, opening a gap of 5 minutes and 34 seconds over her closest rivals and securing a victory that also settled the Gravel Earth Series title.

Behind her came one of the closest finishes of the day. Larissa Hartog, Axelle Dubau-Prévot and Karolina Migon all finished in 5:28:47, taking second, third and fourth respectively. Maaike Coljé was fifth in 5:29:14, followed by Hanne Van Loock in sixth with 5:33:25.

Nathalie Eklund finished seventh in 5:36:08, with Clara Koppenburg eighth just one second later. Sophie Wright took ninth and Elena Hartmann completed the Top 10.

Schreurs had been one of the most consistent riders of the season and arrived in Belgium after also winning CORE4, the penultimate round of the Gravel Earth Series in Iowa. In Bouillon, she finished the job. Not by defending. By winning.

2026 The River By The Traka Results: Mads Würtz Schmidt and Geerike Schreurs Crowned 2026 Gravel Earth Series Champions In Bouillon

Würtz Schmidt and Schreurs are the 2026 Gravel Earth Series champions

The final Gravel Earth Series classification is calculated from each rider's four best results of the season, meaning The River was not simply a final addition of points. For several riders, the result in Bouillon replaced an earlier score and reshaped the final standings.

Würtz Schmidt finishes the year as champion with 220 points, extending the advantage he already held before arriving in Belgium. Hugo Drechou retains second place with 146 points, while Petr Vakoc's third place at The River lifts him to third overall with 140. Célestin Guillon's second place in Bouillon also has a major impact on the final standings, moving the Frenchman up to fourth with 128 points. Tobias Mørch Kongstad, winner of CORE4, completes the overall Top 5 with 116.

2026 Gravel Earth Series 2026 Overall Champions Men Top 10

1. Mads Würtz Schmidt — 220 pts

2. Hugo Drechou — 146 pts

3. Petr Vakoc — 140 pts

4. Célestin Guillon — 128 pts

5. Tobias Mørch Kongstad — 116 pts

6. Benjamin Perry — 107 pts

7. Nils Brun — 86 pts

8. Julian Siemons — 65 pts

9. Aaron Van Der Beken — 46 pts

10. Eddy Le Huitouze — 45 pts

In the women's classification, victory at The River takes Schreurs to a final total of 210 points. Axelle Dubau-Prévot finishes second overall with 186, while her second place at The River moves Larissa Hartog onto the final championship podium with 161 points. Karolina Migon, fourth in Bouillon, also finishes fourth overall with 151 points, ahead of

Nathalie Eklund, fifth with 141.

2026 Gravel Earth Series 2026 Overall Champions Women Top 10

1. Geerike Schreurs — 210 pts

2. Axelle Dubau-Prévot — 186 pts

3. Larissa Hartog — 161 pts

4. Karolina Migon — 151 pts

5. Nathalie Eklund — 141 pts

6. Sophie Wright — 128 pts

7. Hanne Van Loock — 109 pts

8. Elena Hartmann — 91 pts

9. Theresa Rindler-Bachl — 85 pts

10. Sarah Diekmeyer — 72 pts

The River also brought the Gravel Earth Series Age Group season to its conclusion, extending the competitive story far beyond the front of the PRO race. Across the same 160 km course, riders in the different age categories were fighting for their own final positions, podiums and season titles after months of racing across the series. A final inside the final. From headlights in the fog to sunshine over the Ardennes

The day had started many hours before Würtz Schmidt and Schreurs crossed the finish line. At 6:45 AM, as Bouillon was only beginning to emerge from the darkness, the ULTRA 220K riders opened the first edition of The River with their headlights still switched on. Fog covered the Semois valley and temperatures were cool. During the opening hours, moisture, forest and low light created a very different image of the Ardennes from the one that would define the afternoon.

Then the conditions began to change. The fog gradually lifted, the sky opened and the sun took over, leaving almost ideal

temperatures for racing. That transition revealed the two faces of the territory that defines The River: the dark,

damp forests of early morning and, a few hours later, the Semois valley under clear skies. On the Queen Race, the terrain demanded a race of accumulation. There was no single major climb where everyone could wait for the decisive selection. The difficulty came from repeated ascents, fast forest roads and constant changes of pace. Würtz Schmidt's 34.7 km/h average speed says more about the intensity of this first edition than any adjective could.

1,000 riders and four ways to race The River

The Gravel Earth Series final carried the main competitive focus of the day, but around it Bouillon hosted a much bigger race. 1,000 participants took the start in the first edition of The River By The Traka. The ULTRA 220K opened the day before sunrise. The 160K Queen Race, with PRO, Age Group and Open fields, provided the main sporting focus, while The River 120K and The River 70K completed the programme.

Four distances and very different ways of experiencing the Ardennes. Some riders were racing for an entire season. Others for an Age Group podium. And for hundreds more, the race was simply their own: complete the chosen distance and make it back to Bouillon after hours following the Semois and riding through the forests of southern Belgium. They all returned to the same place.

Bouillon closes the season

The River By The Traka arrived at this weekend with an unusual responsibility: to be both a first edition and the grand finale of an international season. Organised by Klassmark and LetzXplore, the event brought the By The Traka universe to Belgium for the first time, adding Bouillon, the Semois and the Ardennes to a family of races built around the identity of each territory.

And its first edition delivered racing until the very end. Mads Würtz Schmidt winning solo, while five riders finished within two seconds of each other behind him. Geerike Schreurs arriving with a 23-point championship lead and answering with victory. Larissa Hartog, Axelle Dubau-Prévot and Karolina Migon crossing the line in the same

second.

The Age Group classifications also reaching their conclusion.

And 1,000 riders spread across four courses from before sunrise until well into the afternoon. Bouillon now has its first The River.

Mads Würtz Schmidt and Geerike Schreurs are the 2026 Gravel Earth Series champions. And The Last Dance is now history.

2026 The River By The Traka Results Top 10 Elite Men

1. Mads Würtz Schmidt — 4:36:43

2. Célestin Guillon — 4:39:43

3. Nils Brun — 4:39:44

4. Petr Vakoc — 4:39:44

5. Joel Suter — 4:39:44

6. Tristan Nortje — 4:39:45

7. Gilles De Wilde — 4:41:35

8. Floris De Tier — 4:41:35

9. Adne Koster — 4:41:36

10. Lawrence Naesen — 4:41:38

2026 The River By The Traka Results Top 10 Elite Women

1. Geerike Schreurs — 5:23:13

2. Larissa Hartog — 5:28:47

3. Axelle Dubau-Prevot — 5:28:47

4. Karolina Migon — 5:28:47

5. Maaike Coljé — 5:29:14

6. Hanne Van Loock — 5:33:25

7. Nathalie Eklund — 5:36:08

8. Clara Koppenburg — 5:36:09

9. Sophie Wright — 5:37:08

10. Elena Hartmann — 5:40:08

Link to 2026 The River By The Traka Results: https://therivergravel.com/results

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