Meet Our Dynamic Gravel Racing Duo
Introducing two exciting British gravel riders we are proud to be supporting in 2023
The British gravel scene is growing. With more events and races appearing on the calendar, there’s new opportunities and challenges for riders to get stuck into. This year, we’ve hand picked two dynamic British riders to equip with Factor’s lightening fast off-road bikes.
Danni Shrosbree and Harry Evans, both London-based, will be representing Vires Velo throughout the 2023 season. These exceptional riders both have a background in road racing and have recently found success on gravel. Danni is the reigning British Gravel Champion and Harry is a 2-time winner of the Dirty Reiver.
Read on to find out more about Danni and Harry, explore their upcoming races and discover the cutting-edge equipment that will accompany them in 2023.
Danni Shrosbree
Danni is the current women’s British Gravel Champion and was crowned at the Kings Cup race in 2022. After winning the UK title, she headed to the inaugural UCI World Gravel World Championships in Italy where she placed 17th against a field of the world’s best riders. On the road she races for a British Pro-Continental Team and came into the spotlight after a 60KM solo breakaway in the 2022 edition of the Tour of Britain.
Danni’s hard work on and off the road led her to a place at this year’s prestigious Lifetime Grand Prix Series in the US. A gruelling series of 7 off-road events, combining both gravel and mountain bike races. She is one of the only British riders taking part in the series. Check out the Lifetime Grand Prix documentary on Youtube to get a feel for this tough race series. Next up in the US for Danni is the popular Unbound Gravel, a 200-mile gravel race in Emporia, Kansas.
Danni aims to retain her British gravel title this year and will be hoping to qualify for the UCI World Championships again. She will be taking to the start line at The Gralloch in Scotland to try and qualify.
Beyond her cycling pursuits, Danni also works as a brand manager for a footwear brand, showcasing her multifaceted talents both on and off the bike. She is a tenacious rider with a great personality and we’re delighted to have her on board.
Oh, on top of all that she also has her own YouTube channel and you can follow her journey here.
Harry Evans
We first met Harry when he got in touch to say he’d won the Dirty Reiver on his Factor LS. We were impressed. Then his name appeared at the top of our inbox the following year to say he’d won it again. He had our full attention. Dirty Reiver is a 200km event held in the Kielder Forest, it’s a ‘gravel grinder’ and an event akin to the US-style gravel races. We were keen to get Harry on board.
Harry’s day job is in finance and he’s also a keen road and mountain bike rider. This year he is hoping to qualify for the UCI World Gravel Championships and will kick things off at The Gralloch qualifying event in Scotland. Harry already finished second at the Fred Whitton Challenge this year, covering the 180km course with 3,500m of elevation in an astonishing time of 5 hours and 26 minutes.
He’s got an eye for detail and was very involved in the set-up of his new bike. He aspires to head to the US and take on some of biggest gravel events in the world. Harry’s undoubtedly a strong rider and with Factor’s fastest equipment available, we’re excited to see what he can achieve this year.
Factor OSTRO Gravel
Danni & Harry will be lining up at their respective gravel races on Factor's fastest aero gravel bike, equipped with Black Inc wheels
The OSTRO Gravel takes its ‘win everywhere’ mentality from its road racer stablemate, the OSTRO VAM, and is likewise developed to dominate its category with incredible aero, superior handling, high stiffness and low weight. With a tyre capacity of 45mm, it’s ready to go anywhere, fast.
Gravel racing is fast and aero really matters, but it isn’t as fast as road racing so the requirements are different. The OSTRO Gravel frame is carefully optimised for the speeds at which gravel races take place.
