I've tested Halmstad, but not raced it. I found that course to be largely OK, but I didn't like that there was over 30km of asphalt, but also some extremely rough gravel sectors in the forest. It made equipment selection tough - do you go semi slick to focus on the asphalt or grippier tyres for the forest gravel? In the end, I decided to head back to the UK to race at Graean Cymru, which is a course that suits me better (a little shorter, much hillier and more technically demanding) and I qualified 3rd out of 86 in my age group.
I will ride Halmstad this year though, as it's at the end of September rather than August. Heat is my enemy!
As regards the Gravel SM course, it's mostly OK. Oscar has done a very good job on the course creation with one exception (that I'll come to). I just need to stipulate that I absolutely hate flat courses. I actively avoid riding anywhere without hills.
There isn't really any champange (ie, really smooth) gravel anywhere on the course. It's all ranging from moderately smooth to really rough.
At the end of the neutralised section, you swing right into the forest and you have some fairly rough double track. Quite overgrown, with bushes hanging out into the track. It remains pretty rough for a couple of kilometers, You turn right onto a larger gravel road (careful on the corner - it's one of many, many very sharp, loose corners) and it drags gently uphill for 3.3km (elevation gain of 20m). Smoothish gravel, but loose in places.
At the top, it's fast for a while on smoothish gravel. Forgive my lack of a precise recollection, but much of the course looks like much of the rest of the course. Basically, it's smoother and faster at the start of the lap (except for the first 2km) and slower and more technical later on.
The issue for me (and I've discussed and debated this with Oscar) is the inclusion of some extremely rough single track right at the end of the lap. This rough section is preceded by just over 1km of really nice single track - it's fast, flowy, requires good bike handling, but there is always a smooth line through.
The idea is that just before the end of the lap that the course will split and there will be two single tracks to choose from. A rougher, shorter one and a smoother, longer one. I've only ridden the rough one as the smooth one isn't finished yet.
The rough one is really quite extraordinarily rough. Loads of big rocks and roots everyehere. Unavoidable too. There are 2-3 actual drops where you have to ride down 15-20cm drops off boulders.
I rode the course with a friend who races MTB and he said that whilst he could have pushed harder to go faster (he already dropped me on that section) he was worried about breaking his bike. I should add that we're both on gravel bikes with MTB tyres.
I tried quite hard to persuade Oscar that I don't think technical MTB trails should be in gravel races, but we have had to agree to disagree. It seems like the inclusion of a technical MTB trail that's 800m long gives an unfair advantage to those with an MTB background as well as increasing the risk of mechanical issues and crashes.
But I've made my feelings clear and I wait to see what the alternative, longer and easier route looks like.
In terms of equipment choice - big tyres and fairly big gears are recommended. I was riding 2.1" Schwalbe Racing Rays, and my friend Martin was riding Thunderburts with a 2.25" up front and a 2.1" back.
You spend a lot of time on this course railing around high speed corners on less than perfect gravel. You need lots of grip. There is also a lot of rough gravel where you won't find grip with skinny tyres. Similarly, the numerous extremely sharp corners on the course are all loose and challenging. If you ride skinny tyres on this course, you will be at a disadvantage everywhere (and especially on the single tracks).
I had 1.4 bar front and 1.6 bar back and I'm 99kg.
Here is the segment for the full lap:
