'One for the racers': introducing brand new UK gravel event Dalby Grit

The UK's famous Dirty Reiver gravel event will have a competitive sibling in 2025, as organiser Focal Events launches the Dalby Grit.

Held over the weekend of Fri-Sun June 27-29 next year, the events will comprise a 110km (68.3 miles) signature gravel race featuring 1,800 metres of vertical ascent on the Saturday, as well as practice laps on the Friday and a social shakedown ride on the Sunday.

It will be all off-road on tracks and trails in North Yorkshire's Dalby Forest. Event information promises riders "close racing on punchy climbs, fast descents and long flatter sections where you can really get the power down!

Event organiser Bryan Singleton said: “Dalby Forest provides the perfect race setting, with its pristine gravel and rolling parcours, for the very best gravel riders to descend upon and race head-to-head."

Focal Events had been working closely with Forestry England to secure the routes, he added.

Dalby Grit is very much a race as opposed to a challenge ride, according to organiser Singleton, with a pro-elite category as well as categories from all ages between 18 and 84.

“Dalby Grit is for the racers,” he says. “This is really the event for those wanting to let loose their competitive spirit and test their skills against the country’s best riders. It's the natural addition to our portfolio.”

Early bird entry, which runs until midnight Friday, is £80, at which point it increases to £85. There will also be limited camping available, with provision for camper vans too.

Dalby Grit's competitive focus is in contrast to the Dirty Reiver, which is very much a challenge event – although its 130km / 200km options around the Kielder Forest in England's far north will offer as hard a day out as anybody could wish for.

Focal Events also organises the Frontier 300 – a mixed-surface coast to coast ride that takes participants from Scotland's Solway Firth to England's North Sea coast; and the Crankbrothers Gravel Rocks – an enduro-style gravel event in North Yorkshire that features timed sections.

Those seeking race action may wish to check out the Gralloch, held in Scotland's Galloway Forest Park next May, and the Graen Cymru in Wales next September – both of these are part of the UCI Gravel World Series.

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