With the Lorne, Australia based 2025 UCI Gran Fondo World Championship start just days away, provisional registration data shows only about 1800 riders are signed up to compete in the Time Trial and/or Gran Fondo road race that begins 16 October.
Last year just prior to the Aalborg, Denmark UCI Gran Fondo World Championship 2900 riders were registered to compete, 60% more than Australia.
As expected the 2025 worlds roster looks decidedly Australian, with just over 1000 of the 1800 registered riders coming from Australia.
For non-Australian competitors, the cost of long-haul flights to Australia, especially from North America, Europe, or Asia, is a key reason many say they are skipping this year’s worlds. Those that are attending from abroad seem to be older, have more free time to travel and plenty of disposable income to spend on cycling.
So far the biggest field in the gran fondo competition is the Men’s 50-54 category with 192 riders, followed by Men 40-44 at 166, Men 55-59 at 164 and Men 45-49 at 159. For women the 50-54 category is the largest field with 47, followed by Women 45-49 at 32 and Women 19-34 also at 32.
Those numbers pale in comparison with the 2024 UCI Gran Fondo World Championship in Aalborg where the Men’s 19-34 category had over 550 riders.
Final registration numbers for 2025 are still expected to increase, but below are the provisonal start lists for the Time Trial and Gran Fondo as of 16 September:
Photo Credit: AUSCycling
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