The 11th edition of China’s week-long Granfondo Yunnan rolled out of Mangshi on Saturday 2 November, with 1300 cyclists starting the first of five epic mountain stages covering 650 kilometers.

With this year’s route billed as the toughest and most technical to-date, Stage 1 circumnavigated the ‘peacock city’ of Mangshi, including the Jiangdong mountain climb and descent, for a total distance of 113 kilometers.

The Men’s race came down to a 9-up finishing sprint, with Chen Hao of China winning in 3:08:06, followed Yang Qian Bin and Wang Jin one second later. The first non-Chinese rider was USA’s Joel Bruner at 3:10:30 in 10th place.

2023 overall Women’s champion Li Si (NSVE 666) started her campaign for a back-to-back Granfondo Yunnan championships with a victory. She crossed the finish line in 3:23:05, more than six minutes ahead of Cheng Qiao Rou (3:29:21) and Zhou Hui Qian (3:29:46).

Stage 2 on Sunday covers 113km around Tengchong, with three categorized climbs totaling 2000 meters of elevation change.

Monday is set aside for rest/transfer ahead of the 156 kilometer Fengquing Queen Stage the next day. With over 3300 meters of climbing (including an unlucky ascent of Lucky Dragon Mountain), organizers expect attrition (DNFs) to be plentiful on Tuesday.

After another rest/transfer day, Stage 4 takes place in Pu’Er-Simao, covering a short and flattish 106 kilometers through the region’s famous tea plantations.

The final stage in Xishuangbanna will take place on Saturday 9 November after yet a third rest/transfer day. The longest stage at 162 kilometers in length with 2500 meters of climbing will test everyone’s physical and mental resilience after the earlier stages (and transfers).

Granfondo Yunnan stage and overall results HERE.

Photo Credit: Granfondo Yunnan

© 2019-2024 All Rights Reserved Gran Fondo Daily