Gran Fondo

The Gran Fondo is a type of long-distance road bicycle ride, in which riders are individually chip timed and have the right of way at all intersections.

The term originally stems from cross-country skiing and means "personal challenge" (in English speaking countries often falsely translated to "big ride").

History

The first Gran Fondo was the Nove Colli held on July 12, 1970 held 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 a Gran Fondo.

Similar events were soon held in other countries, most notably France where they are called “Cyclosportive”.

Today

Today, Gran Fondo events are held in many countries. However, not all of them follow 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 e.g. on dalzero.it ^[2]. “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 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, granfondo 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 the men’s professional race Tour de San Luis and the women’s professional race Tour Femenino are held there as well.

Today, the granfondo 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’s a relatively short (100km) but flat and fast race.

AUSTRIA

In Austria, the generally used term for granfondo is Radmarathon. This can be confusing because events with that same term in Germany are non-timed bike tours. While not as competitive as the Italian counterpart, Radmarathons are true granfondo style races. The mother of them all is the Oetztaler Radmarathon over 240km with 5.200m of climbing, one of the hardest granfondo races in the world that attracts a sold-out field of 4000 riders.

AUSTRALIA

Despite the growth of cycling in Australia, granfondo events are still relatively rare. Yet, Amy’s Gran Fondo is one of the most notable globally, held along the Great Ocean Road with 2500 riders completing the granfondo distance.

On the west coast, Perth has been holding a successful granfondo race, that has featured as “UCI Granfondo World Championship”.

BELGIUM

In Belgium, local laws prevent granfondo races. A lot of events have tried it but all that’s left are bike tours. While thousands of riders get to experience events on the same courses like the pros – e.g. at Ronde Van Vlaanderen – they can’t race them.

BRASIL

After a few hickups with early events that were held and later got cancelled, Brasil is starting to embrace granfondo races now that larger organizations appear. Under ASO license, the inaugural L'Etape Brasil was held in 2015. Starting 2017, Gran Fondo New York grants a license to a race organizer in Brasil to host GFNY Brasil.

CANADA

Like in the US, Canadians struggle with what a granfondo is. Due to its French heritage, Quebec embraces the cyclosportive culture which is identical to Italian granfondos. In the English speaking part of the country, many events don’t offer racing despite the granfondo name. The big household name, however, is Gran Fondo Canada which hosted the inaugural Gran Fondo Whistler in 2010 and currently also operates Gran Fondo Banff. Both are true granfondo races.

CHILE

In Chile, road cycling has to catch up in popularity with mountain biking and triathlon but several granfondo events are showing up on the scene, like Gran Fondo Giro del Lago and set for 2017, GFNY Chile just outside Santiago.

COLOMBIA

Colombia is a country where enthusiasm for cycling is near Italian levels and bigger than in most other countries. However, granfondo races are very rare still with GFNY Colombia (first held in 2015), being the only true granfondo. The popular La Ruta Colombia granfondo series with two events in changing locations as well as the one-off Gran Fondo Hincapie are not granfondo races but only bike tours with timed sections.

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

Granfondos are “Cyclosportive” in France and they are just as popular as their counterpart 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, L'Ariegiose and L'Ardechoise.

GERMANY

Granfondos in Germany are usually called “Jedermann” races. These events are generally only open to non-race license holders or those with 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 granfondo 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 the Wicklow 200 have been popular in Ireland for many years. In recent years, some granfondo events appeared but most of them are non-timed bike tours.

MEXICO

Thanks to the GFNY series, granfondos are currently booming in Mexico. GFNY Cozumel was the first granfondo in 2014, followed by GFNY Mexico City. La Etapa Mexico was also a true granfondo while Gran Fondo Giro d'Italia Mexico only featured timed climbs. The so-called "Gran Fondo Mexico" is a 50 km non-timed bike tour.

PANAMA

Gran Fondo Panama is Central America's most popular granfondo, reaching from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

POLAND

With the growing popularity of cycling in Eastern Europe, Poland is at the forefront of hosting granfondo type events. The Poznan Bike Challenge is currently the best known.

NETHERLANDS

Like Belgium, the Netherlands suffer from strict laws that have so far prevented amateur mass participation cycling races.

PORTUGAL

The Gran Fondo Premium series consists of two events: Serra da Estrela and Aldeias do Xisto.

SLOVENIA

The Franja Marathon is one of the oldest mass participation cycling events in the world and as such a true Italian style granfondo.

SOUTH AFRICA

One of the world's biggest granfondos is the Cape Town Cycle Tour (formerly Cape Argus). The 105km race has over 30,000 riders.

SPAIN

Spanish laws require full road closures to organize a fully timed granfondo. Hence, many so called granfondos like Mussara or Barcelona are non-timed events. One of the country's classic is La Quebrantahuesos in the Pyrenees.

SWITZERLAND

Being a hotbed for cycling, Switzerland has always had its fair share of mass participation cycling events. Very popular has always been the "Radmarathon" which are non-competitive but sometimes timed long distance cycling events. One of the longest standing and toughest is the Alpenbrevet. Meanwhile, competitive races have been more rare due to strict Swiss laws. The former legendary pro race Zuri Metzgete used to have an all comers race attached to the event. Since the pro race was defunct, the mass participation event also struggled to survey. Gran Fondo San Gottardo is the only event with the name "Gran Fondo" in it. While it's held in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland (Ticino), it doesn't follow the rules of the Italian cycling federation for granfondos because only the climbs are timed.

UNITED KINGDOM

The concept of Gran Fondo is still new in the UK. Until recently, most endurance cycling events were non-timed bike tours called "Sportive". The lack of timing and competition used to be explained by local locals and insurance limitations. However, with Gran Fondo Cambridge in 2015 this changed. Since, there have been a few true granfondo events in the Italian tradition. The current cycling boom in the UK has helped grow mass participation cycling races tremendously. Large events like Ride London and Velothon Wales take place on fully closed roads and offer chip timing. However, results are only provided in alphabetical order so neither could be considered races in the Italian granfondo tradition.

UNITED STATES

In the United States, the term “Gran Fondo” refers to both traditional Italian gran fondo events where the course is closed and timed from start to finish such as Gran Fondo New York and Gran Fondo Whistler, as well as numerous modified gran fondo events that take place on open roads where riders must adhere to traffic rules, some with timed sections rather than fully timed courses. Examples of these granfondos include the Gran Fondo National Championship Series (GFNCS) and Gran Fondo New Jersey.

The popularity of gran fondos has increased rapidly in the U.S. and in 2016, there are expected to be more than 60 gran fondo events held across the country. While many of these are not cycling marathons in the Italian tradition but are rather modified granfondos, these events are designed to provide competitive and experiential elements for both professional and recreational cyclists. In most gran fondo series, participants do not need a USA cycling license to ride.

URUGUAY

The first ever granfondo in Uruguay was GFNY Uruguay, held in 2016 in Punta del Este. Later that year, Gran Fondo Schneck near Montevideo was a mere bike tour.

Courses

Gran Fondos are run on challenging courses that are usually between 120 km and 200 km and have between 2000m and 4000m of vertical climbing. Most events also offer a shorter and easier version.

Organization

Gran Fondos are run like bike races. They have lead and follow cars, judges, safety escort, police escort as well as technical and medical assistance. Aid stations along the course replace team cars.

Media coverage

Races are covered in regional, national or international press depending on their importance.

Further reading

• What really IS an Italian granfondo?, GFNY Italia
• Definition of "gran fondo", Gran Fondo Guide
• Gran Fondo Rules Italian Cycling Federation, Federciclismo Italiano

External links

• DalZero