SBT GRVL — Black Course
SBT GRVL's flagship race — 108 miles, 8,189 ft of Colorado mountain climbing through Steamboat Springs with separate elite and amateur fields and a $22,000 prize purse.
The vibe
The real deal — 108 miles of Colorado high country
The Black Course is SBT GRVL in its most complete form: 108 miles, 8,189 feet of climbing, 70% gravel through Steamboat Springs’ backcountry. Separate elite and amateur fields with staggered starts, time cutoffs strictly enforced, and a $22,000 prize purse for the pros who come to race it properly. This is the version that put SBT GRVL on the map as one of the premier gravel events in the US.
The course takes full advantage of the Steamboat area — high-altitude ranch roads, mountain passes, and the kind of sustained gravel climbing that doesn’t let you forget where you are. The 6:30 AM elite wave goes out before the amateur fields, which means the course is spread out quickly and you’re spending most of the day riding in beautiful, relatively uncrowded terrain.
Amateur registration is competitive and sells out well before the event. Time cutoffs are real — the back section of the course gets difficult to support as the day goes on. Target a conservative finishing time based on your training, not your best-case scenario. The finish-line scene in Steamboat is one of the better post-race parties in Colorado gravel.