The 12th edition of Amy’s Gran Fondo, a UCI World Championship qualifying race, took place Sunday 10 September in Australia, with former WorldTour pro Tom Leaper winning the event for the fourth time from a field of over 4000 participants.

The 122km event was the second of what will likely be over twenty UCI Gran Fondo World Series races around the world that allow amateur cyclists to qualify to participate in the 2024 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships taking place in Aalborg, Denmark next September.

Leaper, 47, soloed in for the win with a final time of 2:53:48, almost two minutes ahead of a nine rider chase pack composed of “youngsters” aged 19-34 years old. It was the fourth Amy’s Gran Fondo victory for the seasoned veteran racer, he also won in 2012, 2017 and 2018. As a WorldTour pro in the early 2000’s he raced in the Giro d’Italia, Milan San Remo and Giro di Lombardia before retiring in 2002.

Winning the bunch sprint for second place was Nick Nocandro (2:55:34), with Ryland Molland (2:55:38) taking third.

Chelsea Wind won the overall women’s race in 3:14:50, just ahead of Megan Mansfield (3:14:54) and Melissa Baster (3:15:09).

Riders finishing in the top 25% of their age/gender category automatically qualify to participate in the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships. The next qualifying races are Tour de Bantam in Indonesia 24 September and Gran Fondo Tre Valli Varesine in Italy 1 October.

Photo Credit: Leaper Cycle Coaching

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