F1 driver Valtteri Bottas has a new gravel race
F1 driver Valtteri Bottas has a new gravel race
Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas, known cycling enthusiast and one-man cheer squad for pro racer Tiffany Cromwell, has announced the creation of a new gravel race in his native Finland scheduled for June, 2023.
The event, created in conjunction with SBT GRVL, will be called FNLD GRVL and will take place in Bottas’s hometown of Lahti, Finland, about an hour north of Helsinki. It will feature two distance options and a 20,000 euro prize purse.
“We’re trying to create a great rider experience like Steamboat, where people can bring their family and friends to a weekend event that’s fun for everyone,” SBT GRVL’s co-founder Amy Charity told VeloNews. “A racing element but also the fun element, similar to what we’ve set up for SBT GRVL.”
Bottas rode SBT GRVL in 2021 and loved the feel of the event, he said. SBT GRVL Amy Charity and marketing pro Chris Lyman later reached out about a partnership.
“I’ve been riding gravel around my hometown of Lahti, Finland for years, and discovered SBT GRVL in Steamboat Springs, CO in 2021,” Bottas said in a press release. “I was impressed with such a world-class event. When Amy Charity and Chris Lyman reached out to me about partnering on a race in Finland, I saw it as a tremendous opportunity to build something similarly special in Lahti.”
Registration will open in the fall of 2022. The race already has a site up and running at FNLDGRVL.com and can be found on social media at @FNLDGRVL.
