Amy Charity on American gravel moving to Finland: FNLD GRVL, Valtteri Bottas, and the future of gravel

This article originally appeared on Velo News

Riders from all over the world are converging in the small city of Lahti, Finland for the inaugural FNLD GRVL race. The event is part of an ever-growing set of gravel bike races in Europe. The difference here?

This one is led by none other than Amy Charity, founder of SBT GRVL, one of the biggest gravel races in the United States.

"SBT GRVL is a gravel cycling event in Steamboat Springs that is for all abilities, from beginner to world tour pro cyclists. We also include a weekend of activities from rides to expo and more. At its core, it's a bike race, but at the heart, it's so much more. We wanted to build an event where entire families would show up for the weekend rather than a single racer looking to cross the finish line and head home, Charity tells VELO in the buildup to the race.

Read more: Keegan Swenson sprints to redemption at Unbound Gravel

"The whole idea started in 2018 after I had just raced Unbound Gravel and on the drive home, I just kept thinking about how I felt riding gravel, especially compared to road racing. I loved the types of people but especially the atmosphere and community.

"I’ve lived in Steamboat Springs (Colorado) for 10 years, and we ride the gravel roads around here from the time the snow melts until it falls again. We have a great playground for gravel cycling in Steamboat, so when I came back to town, I felt like it was the perfect place to put on a race. I started building and marketing the concept with my business partner in the time during fall 2018. It sold out in just six days."

How SBT GRVL has found success

The demand for gravel bike events has soared over the past few years. There are several reasons for this: an ongoing sense of wanderlust or the idea of self-sufficiency needed to be successful are two ongoing reasons. But the most important reason for popularity likely comes down to the community feel to gravel events.

"Steamboat is used to accommodating thousands of visitors through the year, but especially in the winter for skiing. The infrastructure to support an event was already there: lodging, transportation, and restaurants. And being surrounded by a ranching community with more than 600 miles of unpaved ranching roads in the area makes it an ideal location to host a large gravel cycling event," says Charity.

"Maybe most importantly, we were passionate about cycling and our hometown of Steamboat Springs. We knew that we could put together something together that we truly loved and would have a positive impact on these communities."

"We mapped out our vision of an ideal bike event. There are a enough stresses when it comes to race days, so how could we make stress as low as possible? Build signs for navigation so riders don't get lost. Have coffee at the start. Make sure people have neutral aid stations all around the course for water and food. Put up a ton of porta potties so people don’t have to wait twenty minutes to use the bathroom at the start. And after, have a great meal and party at the finish."

"Just show up and focus on riding the bike and we'll take care of everything else. Turns out, that's what resonated with people."

On bringing that success to Finland with FNLD GRVL

There are a number of races in North America with ties to the community. Unbound Gravel is the big one, but the array of Belgian Waffle Rides as well as Barry Roubaix, Mid South, and others also strive to be more than just a single race. None of those events have tried to carry that success - largely an American cycling phenomenon to this point - to another continent.

Charity and her team hope to do just that with FNLD GRVL.

"We’ve been fortunate to create an event that so many people enjoy, so we’re constantly thinking about what’s next. How do we build the brand and continue to create great experiences for more people?" says Charity.

"We had been thinking about new U.S. locations but we thought the U.S. market was saturated. Europe became the next logical destination."

"Gravel has become known as an American sport but it’s gathering traction in Europe for sure because there are just so many great places to ride. How can we take these experiences we created at SBT and have that appeal to an overseas audience?"

"Expanding to Europe had been on our radar and Valtteri (Bottas) helped accelerate the plans, and having Tiffany Cromwell join as a partner in the fall has helped us tap into a new cycling demographic. While Valtteri suggested a location and the roads, it was Tiffany who lent over a decade of Pro European road racing knowledge and experience to our team."

If you've been around gravel cycling, you've likely heard the name Valtteri Bottas. After riding SBT GRVL in 2021, the Alfa Romeo Racing F1 driver told VELO that he enjoyed riding the gravel roads around his hometown of Lahti, Finland, and would like to put on an event there someday. Not only has the race come to fruition, but the Finnish driver's team Alfa Romeo F1 Team KICK signed on as title sponsor for FLND GRVL, cementing the size and reach of this inaugural gravel event.

Having a name like Valtteri Bottas behind an event adds a whole lot of cachet to what is still a phenomenon in its infancy in Europe. That doesn't mean it makes planning FLND GRVL any easier, however.

"We've learned a lot in putting together an international race." says Charity.

"The Finnish people we've hired for on-the-ground operations have helped a ton. They've helped us with things like language differences, culture differences, and more. We're constantly working through something new. A 9-hour time change has also been something new. Our team has had to adjust their morning schedules a bit"

"There have certainly been challenges. But overcoming challenges is what makes anythign worthwhile, whether it’s persevering to the finish line as a racer or sending off riders on race day. They've been fun and interesting in keeping us motivated."

Read more: F1’s Alfa Romeo Team KICK partners with FNLD GRVL for inaugural gravel race

Moving gravel to Finland and beyond

Okay, so FNLD GRVL is on the map. Based on the wide range of athletes and gravel biking celebrities making the trek to Lahti, it looks like the weekend of community atmosphere will likely be a successful transplant. Key to that growth, however, is spreading the SBT magic that people travel for to other parts of the world.

So where's next?

"The way we are looking at this, we're considering a new event a year. Portugal is a really appealing country. Portugal checks the boxes as a great destination that people would love to visit. The gravel is good, but the food, culture, and scenery make it awesome. Also receiving a warm welcome from the country helps, too," Charity told VELO.

"We're planning on having a camp there in September, and potentially, an event there in spring 2024 if everything works out."

"There are a number of Western European countries on a shortlist. We'll have to look at existing sponsorships to understand priorities and what the GRVL brand is all about. But if we can maintain long term, possibly add Portugal, and possibly another event in 2025, that is the ultimate goal."

This weekend, a number of riders and elite pro racers will line up at the start line, both pros and novice riders alike. Will FNLD GRVL capture the same energy and enthusiasm for the community that SBT GRVL has in the United States? Hard to say. American-style gravel events are shaping the flavor of gravel in Europe. But Europe isn't the same, with a strong basis on tradition and a hesitancy to change.

Based on the track record of SBT GRVL - and a helping hand from Valtteri Bottas and Tiffany Cromwell - their jump to Europe seems to be in good hands.

Learn more at fnldgrvl.com.

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