On 6 November China’s Gran Fondo Yunnan stage race returned after a 1092 day pandemic pause. As one of the first large-scale sporting events to take place in China since the start of the pandemic, more than 1000 cyclists from all over the world once again enjoyed racing under the beautiful blue sky and white clouds of Yunnan province.

Last run in 2019, the six day race scored on cumulative time includes four stages: 1 Fighting Fuxian Lake 108km, 2 Zixin Mountain 23.5km, 3 Erhai Lake 120km and 4 Sky Ride 104km.

Participating in his second Gran Fondo Yunnan, elite rider Wu Yunfei stayed up front through the early roller-coaster sections of stage1 and then attacked on the final climb to build a slim lead that he held all the way to the finish, but by only 2 seconds. He stopped the clock at 3:00:59, with Wu Baochao (3:01:02) and He Shan (3:03:07) finishing second and third respectively.

In the women’s competition, amateur He Chong rode into the overall lead with her oustanding climbing ability. She won the stage by over ten minutes, finishing in 3:21:03. Wang Xing’e (3:31:12) was scored in second place with Li Si (3:35:23) overcoming mechanical issues to earn third.

Masters age men and women are also racing for titles in the 40+ and 50+ age categories. In addition, 13 hand-cyclists from the Guangdong Disabled Cycling Team are also competing in the event for the first time.

The event ends on Friday 11 November with individual stage and overall Gran Fondo Yunnan results available HERE.

Photos/Media: Gran Fondo Yunnan