Throughout 2025, Rouleur will be the media partner for Focal Events, the event organiser behind many of the UK’s top gravel events.
From the popular Dirty Reiver event through to Gravel Rocks, Frontier 300, Dalby Grit, and Just Gravel Grizedale, Rouleur will be at the forefront, sharing some of the stories from the trails and those riding.
Focal Events co-director Neil Atkinson said “As long-time readers of Rouleur and also visitors to the excellent Rouleur Live event each year, we’re proud to be partnering with the team to bring our gravel events closer to Rouleur’s community.
“We’ve got some exciting content plans in the diary for the season ahead and will be bringing to life different ways of connecting Rouleur’s readers with our events throughout the year.”
Focal Events founded Dirty Reiver in 2016 – ‘the first and largest gravel event in the UK’. The 200km-long event (with 130km and 65km route options) has become a popular destination in the gravel world.
The event was based on the Gravel Grinder format found in the mid-west of America and sees riders traverse gravel forest access roads on the border regions of England and Scotland. It has grown in popularity since its inaugural event; and the 2025 event sold out in a matter of hours, with 2,000 gravel riders making their way to Kielder this April.
Focal Events’ other events have also become important in the UK gravel calendar. Gravel Rocks is the company’s enduro-style gravel race with a festival atmosphere. The event in the North York Moors is spread across two days and includes experiences such as a 10km night ride, social rides, and family activities.
Gravel Rocks’ racing element includes seven timed stages over the two days. But there is a twist: the exact locations of the timed stages ‘remain a mystery until you discover them en-route’ according to the Gravel Rocks website.
Frontier 300 is a coast-to-coast challenge, which can be completed in one or two days in June, from the Irish to the North Sea, journeying through the heart of the old Border Marches via quiet lanes and gravel trails.
Focal Events also has another race in June, called Dalby Grit. This is a new gravel race this year. The 110km-long course is set within Dalby Forest on the southern edge of the North York Moors National Park and features over 1,800m of climbing, making it a challenging one.
Later in the year, Focal Events runs Just Gravel Grizedale in September. This event has three routes, including a route for families (15km), a route for fun (32km) and one that is aimed at challenging participants (45km). The event is for all abilities – with guaranteed places for female riders and families, free child entries and bursary places for those on low income – and takes place in the Lake District’s Grizedale Forest.
In addition to new media partner Rouleur, each one of Focal Events’ gravel races and challenges is in partnership with a range of cycling brands, including: Panaracer, crankbrothers, SCOTT, Wahoo, SRAM, Camelbak, Clif, POC, Lauf, Topeak, Le Col, Ergon, Exposure Lights, Action Medical Research, and more.
www.focal.events
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