It is easy to see why the Mammoth Gran Fondo is one of the most popular gran fondos in the United States, with a 102-mile closed road loop that winds through California’s stunning Eastern Sierra, past Mono Lake and under the shadow of jagged 13,000′ peaks, it rides like an Alpine European gran fondo.
The course is so amazing and beautiful riders keep coming back, year, after year, after year.
Like Brandon Baker who rode his 4th Mammoth Gran Fondo on Saturday – and won. In fact, the 26-year old also won in 2016, 2017, and 2018.
Starting and finishing in 7800′ Mammoth Lakes, he completed the 102-mile loop with 6000′ of climbing in 4:23:50, followed by Jeff Pettis 4:25:59 and John Janneck 4:30:12.
Karen Embry scored a back-to-back victory too after winning last year. She crossed under the finish banner in 4:58:38, with Amanda Nauman 5:05:29 and Jane Despas 5:17:30 rounding out the women’s podium.
The other 1650 cyclists who rode the Mammoth Gran Fondo enjoyed a wonderful day racing through tall forests, past giant boulder fields, stopping at well stocked aid-stations (chocolate cover bacon anyone?) and, yes, up steep painful climbs.
With wonderful Fall weather, stunning postcard perfect scenery, a challenging course and incredible rider support, the Mammoth Gran Fondo is as close as you can come to experiencing a true European Alpine gran fondo in the United States.
GRAN FONDO DAILY NEWS 