Valtteri Bottas to host FNLD GRVL event in 2023
F1 star is partnering up with SBT GRVL to bring new gravel race to his home town of Lahti, Finland.


Formula 1 driver and boyfriend of WorldTour pro Tiffany Cromwell (Canyon-SRAM), Valtteri Bottas is partnering up with the organizers of SBT GRVL to host FNLD GRVL, a new gravel event in Lahti, Finland in June 2023.
Together they're hoping to to create "the premier gravel event in Europe".
SBT GRVL, the brainchild of Amy Charity, is among the most successful gravel events in the U.S. despite being a rather new event. Held in the picturesque mountain town of Steamboat, Colorado, SBT GRVL was started in 2018 and has quickly grown to an event with some 3000 riders, live race broadcasting and a prize purse of $22,000 USD.
Bottas attended SBT GRVL in 2021 and bested some 500 riders to end up in fifth place overall in the 64-mile distance.
“I’ve been riding gravel around my hometown of Lahti, Finland for years, and discovered SBT GRVL in Steamboat Springs, CO (USA) in 2021,” said Bottas 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.”
F1 driver Vallteri Bottas on the podium at SBT GRVL in 2021
Lahti lies an hour’s drive north of Helsinki, at the edge of Finnish Lake Country, a region defined by more than 55,000 lakes that dot a forest-covered plateau, including a UNESCO Global Geopark. The region’s gravel roads weave around the lakes and make for endless route combinations.
The inaugural FNLD GRVL will offer two routes of differing lengths, as well as a 20k Euro pro prize purse. Organizers expect to attract more than 1500 gravel riders from around the world, who will be offered a full weekend of activities and entertainment.
With Lahti being the 2021 Green Capital of Europe, some of the event's emphasis and advocacy efforts will be made around environmental sustainability and climate change.
“Lahti shares so many similarities with Steamboat Springs and what we feel has made SBT GRVL successful: incredible scenery, endless gravel roads, and a community that understands hospitality and infrastructure for hosting a major sporting event,” said Amy Charity.
Registration will open in the fall of 2022.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Cycling Weekly's North American Editor, Anne-Marije Rook is old school. She holds a degree in journalism and started out as a newspaper reporter — in print! She can even be seen bringing a pen and notepad to the press conference.
Originally from The Netherlands, she grew up a bike commuter and didn't find bike racing until her early twenties when living in Seattle, Washington. Strengthened by the many miles spent darting around Seattle's hilly streets on a steel single speed, Rook's progression in the sport was a quick one. As she competed at the elite level, her journalism career followed, and soon she became a full-time cycling journalist.
-
-
Fabio Jakobsen 'fairytale' keeps Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl flying high at Tour de France
Yves Lampaert might have lost the yellow jersey, but two wins in two days mean an almost-perfect Grand Départ
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Wout Van Aert into yellow on Tour de France stage two after 'boring' bridge
Belgian finishes second for 25th time, but this podium placing came with a bonus
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Enve premieres its Survivor-style bicycle reality TV game show on Youtube
“I have no hope of them finishing,” says game show host Ronnie Ronmance
By Anne-Marije Rook • Published
-
This US gravel race has a prize fund of $50,000
Riders at the Belgian Waffle Ride in California will be competing for the largest ever prize fund at a gravel race
By Adam Becket • Published