Routt County Commissioners will hold a public hearing Tuesday as they work to review a permit application submitted by SBT GRVL organizers for their planned event next summer.

Commissioners last discussed the world-renowned gravel cycling event at their meeting last month when a decision was made to encourage limiting participation for the event to 1,800 riders with added direction to remove any “racing” component.

The decision came after Routt County Sheriff Doug Scherar and Colorado State Patrol Capt. Ryan Parker told commissioners last month that 3,000 riders participating in the event would not be workable for their officers in the future.

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Despite the direction issued by commissioners last month, SBT GRVL organizers have submitted a permit application requesting clearance for 2,500 riders with a race component for the event.

SBT GRVL organizers have set rider limits at 2,000 riders in 2019 and 2,500 in 2021 before upping the ceiling to 3,000 riders for 2022, 2023 and 2024.

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Participants in the annual gravel cycling event, along with their family members and friends, collectively contribute more than $5 million to the Routt County economy, according to event organizers’ estimates.

As an independent business, SBT GRVL also says it directly spends more than $200,000 with local businesses each year, and the group has donated roughly $136,000 to local nonprofits since the event was first held in 2019.

According to the permit application submitted Sept. 26 by SBT GRVL organizers, the limitations suggested by county commissioners would force them to cut back on operations maintained to ensure rider safety and would threaten local investments made by the group.

“In order for SBT GRVL to continue as a viable business, maintain the same level of medical and safety operations and offer the same positive financial impact to local businesses and nonprofits, the minimum number of participants required for a successful event weekend is around 2,500,” the 2025 permit application reads.

The application goes on to explain that the removal of the event’s race component “would cause the business to be discontinued within the next year.”

Amy Charity, founding partner and CEO of SBT GRVL, explained how the impact of the reduced rider limit and loss of a competitive race component would ultimately compromise the event’s positive impact locally.

“As we start to cut the numbers of riders we have, we are making tradeoffs of what we are going to do,” she said Thursday.

Charity explained how hosting more riders allows event organizers to enhance operations and safety measures while also allowing for free entries for various nonprofit organizations along with SBT GRVL’s financial donations.

“At 1,800 riders, that cuts our revenue by 40%, so just imagine any business trying to stay in business when almost half of their revenue is gone,” said Charity. “It would put us in a position that wouldn’t be able to continue in a way that is safe and giving back in ways that we want to and then also keeping our employees.”

Charity said the competitive component to the gravel event in Steamboat “is something that it was founded on, and that is, we are inclusive to all types of riders.”

“If you are a world-tour cyclist, you are excited to come to this event. It’s one of the biggest events on the calendar. It’s also one of the key decision-makers of who goes to gravel worlds,” said Charity.

Beyond the attraction for professional riders, Charity said there are segments of riders from the junior level to women over the age of 70 who also seek a competitive component.

“Those riders, those juniors, all the way through those age groups, they want something competitive, and they want to know their time and want to know how they stack up against other age groups, and that is a very different look and feel than what could call a Grand Fondo,” said Charity.

Scrutiny around the race has stemmed primarily from Routt County’s rural ranching community who say the bikers’ unruly behavior and other inconveniences caused by the race outweigh the economic benefit it might bring.

This summer, SBT GRVL events held the week of Aug. 18 came with enhanced messaging to riders, course route changes and added portable toilets, along with the implementation of a command center to keep tabs on the riders and their impact on the local community.

The incident log compiled by the race organizers included 25 reported incidents ranging from a property owner who reported trash cans and portable toilets were placed on his land “with no one talking to him” to residents reporting discarded energy gel packaging. However, most concerned traffic disruptions and cyclists riding outside of the “two-abreast” limit.

One report noted a “gentleman going to the bathroom right on the side of the road.” Another came from a pedestrian who said a group of cyclists came within “an arm’s reach” of the individual on foot.

Not all of the incidents reported during the gravel race involved unruly bikers. On Aug. 18, cyclists reported two incidents involving drivers who were allegedly harassing them.

“Angry neighbor was driving around in large black F-150 pushing riders off course, speeding, honking,” reads one incident report.

“Received call from volunteer that is reporting that a man in a UTV is attempting to run riders off the road,” reads another.

For the event planned for next year, SBT GRVL organizers said they plan to continue operating a command center and will build on safety and rider awareness efforts established this summer.

The event would also be held over two days in June to avoid the haying season and include 1,800 participants starting and finishing on Yampa Street in Steamboat on Saturday, June 28, and 750 professional and amateur racers cycling on a 37-mile circuit course starting and ending in Hayden on Sunday, June 29.

Routt County Commissioner Sonja Macys said Thursday that she and her fellow commissioners hoped the gravel event’s organizers would submit a permit for 2025 asking for permission to host “a ride and not a race with a cap of 1,800,” but that a review process would still proceed.

“I think we have to follow our process of reviewing the permit application as submitted,” said Macys. “I don’t think we have any choice than to consider the full application as is presented to us.”

Macys said she had not reviewed the full SBT GRVL permit application for 2025, but she felt it would be important to hear from Hayden officials over how the town might handle the Sunday competitive race. She also said her concerns over the overall safety of the event remain.

“We have heard a lot from businesses in Steamboat Springs about the importance of this event to their business, but we haven’t heard about what people can bring to the table about enhancing their safety elements,” said Macys.

Routt County Commissioners will hold a public hearing on the 2025 SBT GRVL event permit application at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday inside the historic Routt County Courthouse.