The 53rd edition of the world’s original and oldest gran fondo took place on Sunday in Cesenatico with 6500 riders from 44 nations taking on the legendary 194-kilometer “Nine Hills”route in the Italian Emilia-Romagna region.

After winning BGY Airport Granfondo and finishing second at Gran Fondo Squali in the last two weeks, Italian Manuel Senni (CRAINOX) dominated the race and once again climbed atop the podium. The 2023 champion earned back-to-back victories by finishing solo in 5:16:00, followed minutes later by Italian Paolo Castelnovo (5:17:59) and Belgian Vince Battens (5:18:26).

“Today was tough, I pushed as hard as I could because I didn’t know how much of an advantage I had and I wanted to keep it at all costs. I managed to maintain a great pace and I want to dedicate this victory to all the fans I met along the route who cheered me on. There were so many, I didn’t even expect that many. It’s even more beautiful to win in Cesenatico,” Manuel Senni commented from the podium.

In a two-up sprint Giulia Portaluri (DE ROSA) of Italy defeated Venezuelan Venessa Santeliz in 6:13:14 to be crowned champion of the women’s race.

Portaluri was thrilled with the outcome, saying, “I am happy and excited about this great victory that came in the final sprint. Winning the Nove Colli is a great satisfaction because it’s a highly prestigious Granfondo.”

On the shorter 130 kilometer medio fondo route, victories were earned by Matteo Fontanelli (IMOLA BIKE) and 2022 UCI Gravel World Champion Chiara Ciuffini (TEAM CONGOLANI).

Photo Credit: Facebook/NoveColli

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