British Gravel Champs to be held in North Yorkshire and will feature time trial
It's Dalby Forest in 2025 following last year's King's Forest move
This year's British Gravel Championship is to be held at Dalby Forest in North Yorkshire and will include a time trial event, organiser Red On Sports has announced.
The events will take place over the weekend of Fri-Sun 12-14 September.
All categories, from junior through age groups to elite will race over a 120km (74.5 miles) course that includes 2,000m of climbing and will be based on a 30km lap.
Red On promises it will feature "forest tracks, rugged sections, epic climbs and thrilling descents".
The time trial will be a flatter affair with a 16.1km / 10-mile distance that will be very familiar to any British riders who have dabbled in time trialling before.
The junior and age-group championships are set to take place on the Saturday, with the elite events on the Sunday. This apparently follows feedback from age-group riders who suggested they would like to be able to spectate at the elite races.
As well as the racing there will be expo areas with bike demos, entertainment and dedicated spectator areas. There will also be a night-time challenge ride – details of which have yet to be announced.
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The championships underwent a last-minute venue change last year from their original home – the King's Forest in Norfolk – after issues with forestry fees.
They became part of the Raiders Gravel – another Red On event, along with The Gralloch – and were won by Connor Swift (Ineos Grenadiers) in the men's and Annabel Swift (Classified Ridley Factory) in the women's race.
This year's host venue, Dalby Forest, is no stranger to bike racing, having hosted World Cup mountain biking in the past.
Red On co-founder Malcolm Smith said: "We are beyond excited to bring the 2025 British Gravel Championships to Dalby Forest. Over two years ago, we first explored this incredible venue, and we knew right away that it had everything needed to create a world-class gravel race.
"Dalby’s rich history in hosting elite cycling events and its varied terrain make it the perfect setting for our most exciting edition yet."
The gravel championships remain, for now at least, one of the few national cycling championships in which you can actually win a tricolour jersey that is open to all. If you're interested, early bird entries are open now at www.britishgravelchampionships.com.
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After cutting his teeth on local and national newspapers, James began at Cycling Weekly as a sub-editor in 2000 when the current office was literally all fields.
Eventually becoming chief sub-editor, in 2016 he switched to the job of full-time writer, and covers news, racing and features.
A lifelong cyclist and cycling fan, James's racing days (and most of his fitness) are now behind him. But he still rides regularly, both on the road and on the gravelly stuff.
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