Saturday saw the biggest and best edition of the Panaracer Dirty Reiver to date as 2,000 riders descended on Kielder Forest to ride between 65 and 200 kilometres of some of the best gravel in the country.

The success of the Dirty Reiver, delivered by leading British gravel cycling pioneers Focal Events, confirmed the continued growth and strength of the gravel scene in the UK.

The scene continues to see increasing numbers of both participants and events in the calendar, with Focal themselves running three more events this year - the SCOTT Frontier 300, crankbrothers Gravel Rocks and the all-new gravel race Dalby Grit.

Riders enjoying the 2025 Dirty Reiver.
Riders enjoying the 2025 Dirty Reiver.

The Dirty Reiver is firmly established as one of the biggest tickets in town, and places sold out in just a matter of hours when entries opened back in November.

The bumper field took to the start line on Saturday morning under sunny skies, supported by 18 brand partners and exhibitors at the event's Gravel Expo. And, once again, the Dirty Reiver delivered on its reputation and kicked off an exciting season of events for Focal.

"Each year we try to further refine and improve the highly anticipated sell-out event that we know people already love and talk about throughout the year, and this edition was no different," explained co-director Bryan Singleton.

"A few small tweaks to our start timings aimed to help those riders travelling from further afield, whilst a couple of adjustments to our course and layout helped further improve the overall rider flow. Sometimes it's the small details that aren't noticeable to most which actually make a good experience even better."

Entries are now open for three more Focal Events gravel rides in 2025.
Entries are now open for three more Focal Events gravel rides in 2025.
The Panaracer Dirty Reiver kicks off Focal's summer of events with the ultra-endurance, coast-to-coast SCOTT Frontier 300 and inaugural Dalby Grit race taking place this June, followed by the second edition of Gravel Rocks presented by crankbrothers this July - an action packed weekend celebration of gravel riding and racing.

Entry for the 2026 edition of Dirty Reiver will open later this year with next year's event set to go one better once again, celebrating its 10th anniversary.

"We're already looking forward to next year's celebrations and the interest from our brand partners and the wider industry to support this event continues to grow," added Bryan Singleton.

"We'll have a number of extra special celebrations alongside the usual agenda in 2026 - watch this space!"

Riders looking to enter other Focal events this summer can still register at:

SCOTT Frontier 300 - 7 June 2025

​Dalby Grit - 27 June 2025

​crankbrothers Gravel Rocks - 11 July 2025

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