Organizers cancel SBT GRVL race

Organizers cancel SBT GRVL, citing the safety of the Steamboat Springs community during the coronavirus pandemic.

SBT GRVL is the latest mass participant cycling race to pull the plug on 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In an email to participants Wednesday morning, race directors explained that, although they considered many alternative event scenarios such as canceling the expo and eliminating podium celebrations, they have decided to take the safest alternative of all and cancel the event for 2020.

“These precautions and changes would only represent a handful of tradeoffs that would be necessary to be considered for hosting a safe mass gathering in 2020. With these potential adjustments and being unsure of what the future holds, we still don’t believe that we could responsibly and respectfully guarantee everyone’s safety,” race organizers wrote.

In its inaugural edition last year, the Colorado event experienced unprecedented success with a large turn-out of pro riders, a large cash purse, and 30 percent women’s participation.

For 2020 SBT GRVL sold out all 2,500 spots in just 25 minutes. Now, those 2,500 participants have two options: Defer their entry to 2021 or request a refund. The deferral is the default option. Although the race has not previously offered a refund, organizers are making an exception given the unprecedented circumstances.

Like many event organizers, the team at SBT GRVL hopes to keep the spirit of gravel alive despite the challenging times. On or before June 1, they will announce a way to keep the original race date of August 16th on the calendar with a virtual option.

“We will introduce a localized plan to get people all over the world riding one of the four distances of SBT GRVL with each other, aligned with our core values of fun and safety until we reconnect in Steamboat next year,” organizers said in a release. “Stay tuned and look out for #SBTVRTL. It will be free, open to everyone, easy to find routes, people to ride with and easy to stay connected to share a version of SBT GRVL in 2020. We’ll make sure that it’s an event filled with prize giveaways from our sponsors and if you want, you can help some of our advocacy partners along the way.”