The Classique des Appalaches Gran Fondo, in partnership with the French Canadian City of Victoriaville and the Fédération Québécoise des Sports Cyclistes et Cyclisme Canada, has announced it wants to host the 2026 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships.
In a press release André Bellavance, Mayor of Victoriaville, said, “We are very happy to have submitted our candidacy for the 2026 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships and above all are enthusiastic at the idea of hosting this prestigious event, whereas it has never been presented on this side of the Atlantic.”
The partnership based out of Quebec has submitted a bid to the Steering Committee of the International Cycling Union (UCI) to host the first ever Gran Fondo World Championships in North America – excluding Vancouver’s Gran Fondo Whistler that was awarded the 2020 Gran Fondo World Championships, but was forced to cancel due the pandemic.
A 2019 UCI study indicates that hosting a UCI Gran Fondo World Championships (excluding pandemic years) can lead to a huge economic boost for the host city and region.
The International Cycling Union is expected to award and announce the 2026 Gran Fondo World Championship host city on 24 September at their annual meeting as part of the UCI Professional World Road Championships taking place in Flanders, Belgium.
The 2020 edition of Classique des Appalaches Gran Fondo, part of the UCI Gran Fondo World Series and a UCI Gran Fondo World Championship qualifying event, is scheduled to take place 5 September if conditions allow.
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GRAN FONDO DAILY NEWS 