The first 2021 UCI Gran Fondo World Series Race and World Championship Qualifier, Granfondo Australia, takes place in 65 days, but is limited to only 500 riders on a 58km piccolo fondo course.
Those 500 slots are available on a first-come-first-served for cyclists in twenty age/gender groups trying to qualify for the September 2021 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships.
For those trying qualify it makes race planning…interesting.
Jeffrey Hunt via Facebook asked AusCycling, the organizer, “With the way that the UCI gran fondo qualification system works (ie top-20% of finishers), is the 500 limit split evenly across age groups or is it first in, best dressed? I’m conscious that either way has its pros & cons, but calling out how that limit will be imposed is key for athlete race planning.”
AusCycling replied “It is first in best dressed.”
Seems AusCycling may not be taking the UCI amateur event very seriously.
To make things even more troublesome, the race on 6 February in Ballarat, Victoria is technically a 58 kilometre “piccolo” or “little” fondo and not in compliance with UCI regulations requiring all Gran Fondo World Series events to be between 80 and 225 kilometres long.
One bright spot though is the event’s COVID19 policy which says “full refunds will be provided if the event is cancelled for any reason.”
GRAN FONDO DAILY NEWS 