Early in 2020 Spain’s Gran Fondo Ézaro had big plans to be part of the UCI Gran Fondo World Series for the sixth edition. Instead, what arrived was a terrible pandemic that forced cancellation of the event.

Now 15 months later on 11 July Gran Fondo Ézaro will be the first large scale amateur cycling event in Spain since 2019. Unfortunately, the event will not be part of the 2021 UCI Gran Fondo World Series since international travel is still restricted, but plans are already set for the event to return to the worldwide amateur series in 2022 as a Gran Fondo World Championship qualifying event.

Following strict covid safety protocols, including pre-race virus testing of all participants, this year’s event will host 1000 cyclists on the iconic 150 kilometre course along the Costa da Morte, Spanish rough coastline in Galicia, before finishing on Mirador do Ézaro, the steepest finish of any gran fondo in the world – 1.8km climb with an average gradient of 14.4 percent with one corner exceeding 30 percent!

The 2022 edition of Gran Fondo Ézaro is tentatively planned for 10 July and will qualify participants for the 2022 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships in Trento, Italy.

PHOTOS: Gran Fondo Ezaro