Hosted by our very own Matt Page, Gritfest is the first gravel event of 2021, with 360 people descending on the Cambrian Mountains for a six-stage gravel enduro epic. Thanks to restrictions easing, the event is set to take place on June 19/20, but entries have already sold out!

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Gritfest is an annual cycling event that began in 2018. Designed with gravel bikes in mind (although open to all off-road bikes), it's one of the UK's biggest gravel events on the calendar. The sell-out event takes place over two days, made up of six timed stages, all within mid-Wales. Riders will race through the Tywi Valley over open tracks and forest road, with all timed sections being off-road.

Day one, of two, will see entrants cycle 75km with 1,700m of vertical ascent straight out of the gate. This leg-burner is followed by a further 68km of riding with 1,350m of climbing on day two, with an almost entirely new course for returning riders.

This year, the event can occur because Wales has moved into 'level one' on the restriction scale, allowing events with up to 4,000 people to participate. Although social distancing measures will be in place and some aspects of the event have been altered.

Gritfest was due to take place for its third time in 2020 but was postponed due to COVID-19. This year's Gritfest edition is the first time that gravel riders in the UK will be able to amass as lockdown eases.

Matt Page, owner of Gritfest says, "After an incredibly difficult year for events, we are very thrilled that Gritfest is able to take place next weekend on June 19/20th. The First Minister in Wales has recently announced a change, giving more possibility for outdoor events. We came very close to a deadline that we had given ourselves to decide if the event could occur but kept pushing and requesting a safe return of outdoor events. We had to make a small number of changes to the event, but the riding remains the same, and it is some of the very best gravel cycling that the UK has to offer.
We look forward to welcoming riders back safely and showing everyone what the area has to offer."

Entries have now ended for the event, so those eager to experience the gravel enduro event will have to prime themselves to sign up next year.

• gritfest.co.uk

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