A Gran Fondo is a type of long-distance road bicycle 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 75 miles long, and is an individually chip timed(start to finish) race with prizes for the fastest riders in each category. The starts are done en mass, 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. Now only a handfull 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 the US. Recently this format of biking has reached the US, and has exploded with popularity. The first few US Gran Fondos events were organized in 2009. Now 2017 there are over 200+ events in North America. There is no official authority to certify US Grand Fondos. As a result they come in many different varieties with some adhering very strictly to the traditional definition(often going as far 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 banquent at the finish.
Contents
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 an Italian 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 (100 km) 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 240 km 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. Since 2016, the Gran Fondo Boyaca Mundial is being held inside the department of Boyaca.
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 105 km 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 relatively new in the UK. Most endurance cycling events are timed bike events called "Sportive" and rarely exclude vehicle traffic. Held across the UK, they continue to be very popular and attract large numbers of cyclists. Many keen UK cyclists have often preferred to travel to France or Italy for their Gran Fondo experience. However, there are now a number of cycle events that feature roads closed to traffic and chip timing. They include the Gran Fondo Cambridge,Ride London,Velothon Wales and Etape Caledonia [1].
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 Gran Fondos, 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.
A full list of all US Gran Fondos can found here
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.