Desert Gravel Announces Panaracer as Official Tire Sponsor for 2020 and 2021

August 28, 2020

FRUITA, COLO. (August 28, 2020) — Desert Gravel is proud to announce Panaracer as the official tire sponsor for the 2020/2021 Desert Gravel Races. The inaugural Co2uT gravel event (slated for October 10, 2020) starts and ends in Fruita, Colo., and travels around and across the Colorado-Utah borderlands.

Panaracer’s “GravelKing” tires are amongst the most popular gravel tires on the market, making this partnership a match made in gravel racing heaven.

“Tires can make or break a race, and can be something you overlook…until you slash a sidewall, lose traction or get multiple flats. A reliable and sturdy yet fast-rolling tire makes all the difference in performance and confidence — especially in the desert,” said event director, Morgan Murri. “Partnering with Panaracer was something we’d hoped would happen before we even announced this event.”

As part of their sponsorship, Panaracer will be providing tires for swag, age groupers and Strava segment awards.

“Panaracer receives a tremendous amount of sponsorship opportunities every year we’re very particular about which organizations we partner with,” said Jeff Zell, Global Go-To-Guy for Panaracer. “We’re really happy to come on board with Co2uT and Desert Gravel. Morgan has a great vision for gravel and we’re really excited to be a part of these crown jewel events.”

As the COVID pandemic stretches on and State restrictions change weekly, it’s difficult to predict with certainty whether an event will proceed. Should COVID restrictions cause the inaugural Co2ut event to be postponed to April of 2021, Murri remains hopeful and is looking at it in the big scheme of things.

“We’ve had a tremendous outpouring of support from the Mesa County Communities as well as the athletes who have already registered. Folks are emailing and calling us with words of encouragement, excited about the event whether it happens in October or April,” said Murri. “Our long-term plan was to push the Co2uT to April and then add an additional longer gravel event in the fall. We may be fast-tracking that plan in 2021, knowing we have full support from our athletes and the phenomenal sponsors (like Panaracer) that we have on board.”

As a Team Evergreen event, proceeds from the event will go to local non-profits within the host community. For more information visit www.teamevergreen.org.

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Media Contact: Katie Macarelli / Thorpe Marketing – katie@thorpemarketing.com

Partnership Opportunities / Race Information: Desert Gravel – info@desertgravel.com

About Co2uT: The Co2uT chemical equation can be broken down as follows: Co=Colorado, 2=to, uT=Utah. This kick-ass gravel race will take you from Colorado to Utah and back. Morgan Murri, a long-time regional local, designed each route to offer mind-blowing, gravel-loving terrain, quad-busting hills, breathtaking views, and of course, EPIC FUN.  For more information visit: www.desertgravel.org.

About Panaracer: High-quality and thoughtfully sourced materials blended with wonderful Japanese craftsmanship to create and offer the finest tires you can cycle on in all categories; gravel, racing, touring, urban and off-road cycling. www.panaracerusa.com