First came the new category of “gravel” bikes; then, of course, there had to be gravel racing. This is a discipline that has seen explosive growth in less than a decade. An excellent new video from Pas Normal Studios showcases the PAS Racing team at one of Europe’s toughest gravel races, The Traka.
The video follows the early season activities of the PAS Racing team, which is a part of the Copenhagen-based Pas Normal Studios (PNS), a brand of contemporary technical cycling clothing. PNS has eight retail stores around the world and offers riders the chance to participate in group rides and special events through its International Cycling Club. PAS Racing, formed in 2024, is a step higher and in a short time has become a real power in gravel racing.
The team has some 15-18 riders representing nine different countries, ranging from the United States and Canada to Denmark, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Australia. It operates as a loose confederation: PNS is the common sponsor providing everyone with the company’s race-specific “Mechanism Pro” clothing, along with helmets and eyewear. There are other sponsors, such as Fizik and Pirelli, but the riders have personal sponsors as well which is why in the video team members appear with different brands of bicycle. PAS Racing covers rider travel costs and will provide a monthly stipend. While PAS Racing is a team there is considerable flexibility in which races riders choose. This reflects the difference in operation compared to a World Tour pro team, for example. As “Road to Traka” unfolds we come to realize that gravel racing is its own creature.
Although PNS has offered short videos on its YouTube channel, “Road to Traka” is its first full-length documentary. The video opens in rainy Copenhagen, where we meet Tobias Kongstad coming to the office at Pas Normal Studios. Although he is an employee of the company, his workday is unusual. On arrival he sets up in shower on a smart trainer and proceeds to do an episode of heat training. Pretty quickly it is apparent that he and his teammates are very serious about their racing. Training in the cold Danish rain at night can’t be that much fun but Tobias cheerfully takes it on. Family members appear as well in the video, providing the emotional support needed in a demanding profession like bike racing.
The team comes together for a pre-season training camp in preparation for the first races in Spain. Major gravel racing events are divided into three groups: the UCI’s own series; the Life Time Grand Prix races in the United States; and the Klassmark events. The last include The Traka as well as other races around the world in the Gravel Earth Series, such as The Migration in Kenya (a video about which we reviewed HERE).
The first race in the video is the two day Santa Vall, put on by Klassmark in Girona, Spain. It is here where we meet the three main protagonists. Tobias Kongstad not only races but seems to be The-Man-in-Charge of the team. His tasks include doing the shopping and looking after musettes. At 28 he has raced extensively for more than a decade, from the club level to as high as the second-division rank UCI Pro Team. A strong sprinter, in 2023 he began to do high-level gravel events as he shifted from road racing. In 2024 he was on the podium for 3rd place at Life Time’s Unbound Gravel race in Kansas.
New to gravel racing is all-rounder Mads W. Schmidt, a former World Tour professional and Danish national road race champion. His career on the road reached a high point in 2021 with a stage win at Tirreno-Adriatico but was subsequently derailed by personal issues and injuries. As the team prepares for Santa Vall he is not sure what to expect.
On the women’s side is Australian Cassia Boglio, who had a short but unsatisfactory outing in Europe with a third-division Women’s Continental team in 2022. She returned to race in Australia but then in 2025 raced in Europe on the road with another Continental team as well as doing gravel races with PAS Racing. Her particular strength is as a climber.
The two stages of the Santa Vall race in February were 80 and 110 kms, with 1,100 m and 1,400 m of climbing respectively. Critics have suggested that the UCI’s World Gravel Championships are not very gravelly compared to US events. However, the region around Girona certainly does not appear to offer easy riding. There are sections of the trail that would probably be easier on a mountain bike. PAS Racing does very well at the event and Mads Schmidt tells his partner after the first stage that gravel racing was easier than he expected. Things don’t go as well on Day 2 for him but nonetheless the stage is set for the main event of the video, The Traka.
First run in 2019, The Traka has become perhaps the major gravel event in Europe. It features distances comparable to Unbound in the United States. The 200 km version offers 2,500 m of elevation gain, with 3,700 m for the longer 360 km version, both with more climbing than the Unbound equivalents. At this point in the video the protagonists are Mads Schmitz, believing he can win The Traka 200, and Tobias going for the longer race. No spoilers here but PAS Racing also had defending champion Karolina Migon present for the 2025 Traka 360.
I watched the live feed of Unbound and found it excruciatingly dull. Happily, credit here goes to filmmaker Sebastian Krogh for making “Road to Traka” compelling viewing. The coverage of the actual races in Spain is gripping. The viewer actually has an idea of where the riders are progressing in the event. The press release for “Road to Traka” accurately states: “The film captures the emotional, mental and physical journey to the start line, where ambition, adversity, performance and aspiration meet.”
Moreover, it serves as an excellent introduction to the world of gravel racing, a discipline in transition. While teams are present the tactics are different from road racing but more like cyclocross to me. It seems riders don’t really work together but avoid chasing each other. Perhaps this is something the Dutch women’s team at the UCI World Gravel Championship should have thought about! Ouch.
Participation is impressive as many events have registration limits. When 4,500 people show up, as was the case at The Traka, something is in the air. Gravel racing has a reputation for being open to all. It gives amateurs the chance to ride a course that professionals are doing at the same time. We see here professionals willing to make an investment for the future. Life Time Grand Prix has increased the prize money for its gravel events. It remains pretty stingy for the Klassmark ones and is essentially non-existent for UCI races.
Although modest in set-up by the standards of a World Tour team, PAS Racing does not lack for ambition. Team Manager Lars Moss says in the film that the team’s 2025 goals are to win The Traka and Unbound. The team’s results from this year must put it in the top rank for gravel racing globally. The riders are already making plans for 2026. “Road to Traka” is a fascinating portrait of something that is becoming the big noise in bike racing. Well done, Pas Normal Studios!
Pas Normal Studios Presents Its First Ever Documentary: “Road to Traka”
Directed by Sebastian Krogh, also responsible for principal photography
58 Minutes, with subtitles in English
“Road to Traka” will be released on November 12, 2025. It can be seen on the Pas Normal Studios YouTube channel HERE.
See the Pas Normal Studios website HERE.
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