A Gran Fondo is a type of long-distance road cycling ride originating in Italy in 1970, and roughly translates into English as "Big Ride". Italian Gran Fondos are officially defined and certified by the Italian Cycling Federation as a bicycle event at least 120 kilometres (75 mi) long, and are individually chip-timed (start to finish) races with prizes for the fastest riders in each category. The starts are done en masse, and the format allows for riders of every level to participate, much like a marathon, where most participants are competing against the clock instead of other participants. Traditionally a large meal is served to the participants at the end of the event, and roads are shut down.
23-675: The UCI Gran Fondo World Championships are the culmination of a series of mass participation cycling events in the Gran Fondo / cyclosportive tradition. Unlike the UCI Road World Championships , which are considered an elite professional event, the Gran Fondo World Championship are targeted at mass participation and cyclists not in full-time professional teams, uniting amateurs and retired professionals, dedicated club cyclists and age-group competitors. Qualification for
46-770: A Gran Fondo World Series , incorporating some of the Gran Fondo events listed below as qualifier events, and a final race to award the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships to elite and masters amateur riders in their respective age groups. Recent finals took place in Perth (Australia; 2016), Albi (France; 2017), Varese (Italy; 2018), Poznan (Poland; 2019), Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina; 2021), and Trento (Italy; 2022). Upcoming finals will be hosted by Glasgow (UK; 2023) , Aalborg (Denmark; 2024), Melbourne (Australia; 2025), and Victoriaville (Canada; 2026). The first Gran Fondo
69-456: A chance to turn pro each year. Others either end their cycling career, have to continue racing small circuit races, or compete at Gran Fondos, which explains the competitiveness at Gran Fondos and their popularity. Argentina In Argentina, Gran Fondo cycling is still a rather new concept. In 2013, the first one was held in San Luis, which many consider the cycling capital of Argentina, given that
92-399: Is a popular event with an international field of participants. Also known simply as Granfondo Yunnan, it not only offers tough mountain courses but also focuses on the cultural, ethnic and culinary features of the province. Colombia Colombia is a country where enthusiasm for cycling is near Italian levels and bigger than in most other countries. Thanks to the new generation of cyclists in
115-518: Is one of the most notable globally, held along the Great Ocean Road, with 2,500 riders completing the Gran Fondo distance. On the west coast, Perth has been holding a successful Gran Fondo race that has featured as “UCI Granfondo World Championship” . In the north, Darwin's Top End Gran Fondo was the third Gran Fondo in Australia starting in 2012. The Top End event has become an annual event in
138-634: Is typically held on a hilly course through the northeastern part of Luxembourg known as the Mullerthal , towards the Ardennes low mountain range in the north of the country. Since 2008, the race has a start and finish in Echternach and takes place in early September. The 2018 edition gathered about 1200 riders for one of the two parcours lengths, 153 km and 89 km. Since 2017, the Schleck Gran Fondo
161-595: The Gran Fondo Boyaca Mundial is being held inside the department of Boyaca. An updated list can be found on Gran Fondo Guide Denmark In Denmark, Gran Fondo Copenhagen was held in 2014 and 2015 until it got cancelled in 2016. Dubai The Dubai Gran Fondo was held for a few years but cancelled in 2016. The Dubai 92 cycle challenge is UCI Grand Fondo-approved for 2016. France Gran Fondos are called “ Cyclosportive ” in France and they are just as popular as
184-685: The Wicklow 200 have been popular in Ireland for many years. In recent years, some Gran Fondo events have appeared, but most of them are non-timed bike tours. Israel The first Israeli Gran Fondo the "Clal Health Gran Fondo", took place in April 2012. Since then it has taken place in the north and the south of Israel. In 2015 the Dead Sea Gran Fondo joined forces with the Israel Cycling Federation,
207-502: The 2010s, Gran Fondo races gained a lot of attention and became very popular, hosted by local stars like Rigoberto Urán El Giro de Rigo , Nairo Quintana Gran Fondo Nairo Quintana , and even old glories like Santiago Botero La Ruta Colombia , as well as GFNY Colombia (first held in 2015). The popular La Ruta Colombia Gran Fondo series with two events in changing locations as well as the one-off Gran Fondo Hincapie are not Gran Fondo races but only bike tours with timed sections. Since 2016,
230-523: The Australian cycling calendar, showcasing the unique NT landscape. In South East Queensland, Tour de Brisbane hosts a Gran Fondo course starting in 2019. The July 2021 event had over 4,000 rider registrations. Austria In Austria, the generally used term for Gran Fondo is Radmarathon . This can be confusing because events with that same term in Germany are non-timed bike tours. While not as competitive as
253-654: The County Gran Fondo in Prince Edward County, Ontario. Chile In Chile, road cycling has to catch up in popularity with mountain biking and triathlon, but several Gran Fondo events are showing up on the scene, like Gran Fondo Giro del Lago , and set for 2017, GFNY Chile just outside Santiago. China Since 2014, a challenging multi-stage and multi-city event has been organised in the Southwestern province Yunnan. The Colourful Yunnan Granfondo Cycling Festival
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#1733106578189276-637: The Gran Fondo. Gran Fondo Nowadays only a handful of the largest Italian Gran Fondos have full road closures, but laws requiring riders to obey all traffic signals are more lax in Italy compared to other western countries. The first few Gran Fondo events in the United States were organized in 2009, and as of 2017 there were over 200 events in North America. Although US Gran Fondos are independently owned and operated, Gran Fondo National Series organizes
299-561: The Italian counterpart, Radmarathons are true Gran Fondo-style races. The mother of them all is the Oetztaler Radmarathon, over 240 km with 5,200 m of climbing, one of the hardest Gran Fondo races in the world that attracts a sold-out field of 4,000 riders. Belgium In Belgium, local laws prevent Gran Fondo races. A lot of events have tried it but all that is left are bike tours. While thousands of riders get to experience events on
322-587: The World Championships is achieved through participation in the UCI Gran Fondo World Series . In 2023, for the first time they were held together with the elite road racing championships as part of the inaugural 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships . Medals will be awarded in road race and time trial, across age-group classifications. Older riders compete in Medio Fondo , a shorter version of
345-592: The cyclosportive culture which is identical to Italian Gran Fondos. In the English-speaking part of the country, many events do not offer racing despite the Gran Fondo name. Gran Fondo Canada hosted the inaugural Gran Fondo Whistler in 2010. Gran Fondo Banff was held in Banff until 2016. There are increasingly new Gran Fondo events which are timed but attract recreational cyclists wanting to participate for personal challenge and celebrating cycling on this style of ride, such as
368-508: The lowest-level license (C). As a consequence, many riders no longer obtain racing licenses but rather race Jedermann races. Some riders are organized in teams that are no less professional than elite amateur teams. Indonesia For the first time in 2016, a Gran Fondo was held in Indonesia on the island of Lombok. GFNY Indonesia took place on October 2, 2016, and drew 600 riders from over 30 countries. Ireland Long-distance bike tours like
391-546: The men’s professional race Tour de San Luis and the women’s professional race Tour Femenino are held there as well. Today, the Gran Fondo in San Luis is part of the GFNY World series and now called GFNY Argentina . The other notable event is Gran Fondo Buenos Aires, which was first held in 2015. It is a relatively short (100 km) but flat and fast race. Australia Despite the growth of cycling in Australia, Gran Fondo events are still relatively rare. Yet, Amy’s Gran Fondo
414-564: The official USA Cycling Gran Fondo National Championships. Gran Fondos in the US come in many different varieties with some adhering very strictly to the traditional definition (often going as far as to have a full road closure), and others treating it more like a century ride where riders only compete in short timed sections and enjoy a large elaborate banquet at the finish. Since 2016, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) organizes
437-450: The ones in Italy. Not quite as competitive, the scene is easily the second strongest globally with a solid calendar of racing from March to September. Popular races include La Marmotte , Etape du Tour , Les Trois Ballons , GFNY Mont Ventoux , Kohnse.com/en/ L'Ariegiose and L'Ardechoise . Germany Gran Fondos in Germany are usually called “Jedermann” races. These events are generally only open to non-race license holders or those with
460-662: The organizers of the Tour of Arad, to create the largest international road cycling event in Israel the Gran Fondo Arad Dead Sea . It takes place in the lowest point on the earth and 1,000 riders from 30 countries are expected to take part in the two day three stage 155K km / 96.3 mile race in 2018. Luxembourg The Charly Gaul Cyclosportive is the oldest gran fondo format race in Luxembourg. In 2019, it celebrated its 30th edition. It
483-555: The same courses like the pros – e.g. at Ronde Van Vlaanderen – they cannot race them. Brazil After a few hiccups with early events that were held and later got cancelled, Brasil is starting to embrace Gran Fondo races now that larger organizations have appeared. Under ASO license, the inaugural L'Etape Brasil was held in 2015. Starting in 2017, Gran Fondo New York grants a license to a race organizer in Brasil to host GFNY Brasil . Canada Owing to its French heritage, Quebec embraces
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#1733106578189506-420: The true Italian Gran Fondo model of a cycling marathon. Italy In Italy, Gran Fondos are held between February and October. A full list can be found on dalzero.it. “Dal zero” means “from zero” and refers to the way Gran Fondos are usually raced: “a tutta” or “all out”, from the start. In Italy, a "dilettante" is an Elite amateur under the age of 25 trying to turn professional. Only a handful of athletes have
529-753: Was the Nove Colli held on July 12, 1970, in Cesenatico , Italy. With chip timing becoming more popular in the 1990s, the number of Gran Fondo events grew rapidly in Italy. While many Gran Fondos came and went, a few have remained since the early years, such as Gran Fondo Cooperatori , Gran Fondo 10 Colli , Gran Fondo Felice Gimondi . The Italian cycling federation "Federciclismo" provides rules of what makes an Italian Gran Fondo. Similar events were soon held in other countries, most notably France, where they are called “ Cyclosportive ”. Today, Gran Fondo events are held in many countries. However, not all of them follow
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