Update 21 June 2023: Marco Pasquero’s time trial win at UCI Gran Fondo Switzerland has been nullified after officials learned he inadvertently rode a shorter course. Results have been updated with Armin Dederichs now declared the overall winner.

With just eight weeks remaining before the 2023 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships, this past weekend was a busy one for the UCI Gran Fondo World Series, with three events simultaneously qualifying riders to attend the world championships in Scotland.

One Saturday, Gran Fondo Coimbra Region, Gran Fondo Suisse and the Niseko Classic all held UCI Gran Fondo World Championship Time Trial qualifying races. Cyclists finishing in the top 25% of their age/gender category earned the right to participate in the world championships.

In Portugal at Gran Fondo Coimbra Region, Francisco Salido recorded the fastest time of 26:15 from a field of 225 riders to to win the 22.2 kilometer individual time trial with a very quick average pace of 46.114 k/hr. Patricia Rosa won for the women in 31:40 at 38.225 k/hr.

Swiss riders Armin Dederichs (32:04) and Maude Mathys (40:06) both won time trial gold medals at Gran Fondo Suisse in Switzerland on a leg-breaking 11.6 kilometer uphill (+795m) route best ridden on a standard road bike – with climbing wheels.

Since 2019 the Niseko Classic in Japan has hosted world championship qualifying time trial races on a 15 kilometer course with 102 meters of elevation gain. Akira Kurosawa stopped the clock at 18:07 with a lightning-quick average speed of 45.70 k/hr to earn the overall win. Yuko Matsushima recorded a time of 22:06 at an average speed of 37.46 k/hr to win the women’s competition.

Photo Credit: Facebook/GF Coimbra Region, GF Suisse, Niseko Classic

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