Derby is well-known as a mountain biking mecca, but the flavour of Saturday will be all about gravel roads.

The event is the brainchild of Blue Metal Cycling and Tas Gravity Enduro and has been organised in the last two months.

Participant Gareth Sutcliffe said he was looking forward to the challenge ahead.

"Gravel cycling is a form of road cycling, venturing onto the dirt road and it's just booming around the country - and it's just waiting to explode here in Tasmania," he said.

"You can go out and ride all day without seeing a vehicle, into some of the beautiful back country Tasmania has to offer and has plenty of ... it's a growing form of off-road adventure.

The event is aimed at people who ride regularly, with support crews and first aid on standby if necessary.

Set on existing roads, more than 120 people from Tasmania and interstate are expected to take the challenge - initially named as a joke.

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"One of our good friends who is quite the cycling connoisseur, he just coined it as a bit of a joke and it just stuck - it summed up the race, where we are and the time of the year, summed it up to perfection really," Mr Sutcliffe said.

"Hopefully everyone has a big dirty grin from ear to ear, because the course itself is quite challenging and the weather is looking like it's turned up to play as well, so there's going to be some testing moments out there, but that immersion into nature always leaves people smiling."

The event kicks off at Derby at 8am Saturday with both a short and a long course option with participants finishing at Branxholm, to be followed by presentations at the Dorset Hotel.

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