The sole South American opportunity for amateur cyclists to qualify for the 2026 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships took place Sunday 9 November in the southern region of Brasil at Gran Fondo Brasil.
In a photo finish 21 year-old MTB rider Tales Jardel Soares won the 120 kilometer gran fondo by a tire width in 2:43:01 after outsprinting Leonardo Benedetti. Murilo Kozuchovski Ferreira 2:43:05 was right behind taking third place.
Ana Carla Rocha da Silva, 31, soloed to victory for the women in 3:06:38. Luiza Euzebio de Souza was next at 3:09:58, followed by Camilla Domingos at 3:13:03.
In another thrilling sprint finish Anazelia M Caldas, 54, outsprinted Giovana Ultramari Gau Ribeiro in 2:17:05 to win the women’s 80 kilometer medio fondo for older riders. Roberta Coelho Maia 2:22:31 was third.
Also winning solo was Eduardo Santos Alonso, 60, in the men’s medio fondo with a time of 2:13:30. Marcelo Antonio Serra de Faria 2:17:08 and Israel Nogueira de Almeida 2:18:34 finished in second and third place.
Riders finishing in the top 25% of their UCI age/gender category automatically qualified for the August 2026 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships taking place in Niseko, Japan.
Complete UCI Gran Fondo Brasil results HERE
Photo Credit: Facebook/ucigranfondobrasil
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