Gravel Ground by Maxxis: New gravel festival in the Pott celebrates its premiere

It was all about gravel bikes at the Ewald colliery at the weekend. The premiere of the "Gravel-Ground-Festival by Maxxis" has shown: Gravel and the Ruhr region fit together like a glove. From 26 to 28 September, the colourful programme, plenty of sunshine and everything to do with gravel bikes attracted around 15,000 gravel fans from all over Germany to the grandiose industrial backdrop.

Delius Klasing Verlag has found the perfect location for the new gravel format with the special venue at the disused coal mine in Herten, North Rhine-Westphalia. Culture, nature and urban life come together here and provide the ideal setting for a weekend full of gravel fun for all ages.

For three days, the visitors (many of whom had come by bike) strolled around the expo with around 60 well-known brands and exhibitors, found out about trends and technology, borrowed one of the more than 100 test bikes and rode up and down the gravel tracks of the Hoheward spoil tip. Which gravel bike suits me best? Which bikes are brand new on the market? Many visitors tested their way through the current range of models at the trade fair.

Rose Scary Gravel

Once again, it became clear that gravel riding really does have something to offer everyone - from everyday riders to touring enthusiasts and racers. The latter took centre stage at the "Rose Scary Gravel" race on Saturday morning. Around 250 gravel bikers had registered for the sporting highlight. The sun came out just in time for the starting signal at the foot of the Hoheward spoil tip - and stayed for many hours. Cheered on by family, fans and friends, the participants set off on seven laps of 6.66 km each with 110 metres of climbing over single trails, tarmac and, of course, plenty of gravel.

Enduro pro Ines Thoma was the first woman to tackle the course, only to present her book "Allgäu Gravel" on the event stage shortly afterwards. In the men's race, a leading group of three made it exciting for a long time. It was only on the last lap that the experienced cross-country rider Markus Schulte-Lünzum was able to outpace the road expert Campo Schmitz. The decision was made on the last tarmac climb, said the winner at the finish.

From then on, it was just a case of "get up and stay up until your legs break". In the Masters category, local hero Dennis Gnaase from RC Buer took first place on the podium. Initially in the leading group, he had already realised from lap two that it would be difficult to keep up on this day. Felix Kruse finished as the fastest junior ahead of Jan Billy and Ole Schomakers.

Excursions of all kinds and even with celebrities

The free guided tours organised by event partner radrevier.ruhr were also very popular. A total of 24 varied tours, led by volunteer locals, were on the programme and some of them were fully booked within a short space of time. The routes, ranging from 24 to 54 kilometres, offered different routes for every ability level - all with magnificent panoramic views over the Ruhr region. A special highlight were the night rides, which not only featured beautiful light installations, but also had an exclusive surprise in store: The participants went underground, through the Recklinghausen training mine.

Giant had another special up its sleeve: fans and interested parties went on tour with former professional cyclist and multiple world champion Tony Martin a total of three times. And for those who simply wanted to relax with delicious food, coffee and tech talk, there was plenty of opportunity to do so on the exhibition grounds - whether at the evening market on Friday or at one of the presentations in front of the stage at the food market.

"Gravel is a future project for us," explained Christoph Lottritz, Ruhrtourismus, at the opening. "We still have a lot in our quiver." Linda Wanzke, Event Manager at Delius Klasing, also ventured a look into the future, which clearly points towards a repeat: "After this great premiere, I am convinced that there will be another Gravel Ground Festival in Herten in September 2026."