Alexander Worsdale delivered one of the most commanding performances in the 14-year history of the Michelob ULTRA GFNY World Championship NYC, soloing to victory for Italian team OM.CC (Officine Mattio Cycling Club) in 03:34:29 over the demanding 85-mile (137km) course through Bergen and Rockland counties in New Jersey on Sunday 17 May.

Worsdale shed his rivals before the race’s decisive climbs and never looked back, his advantage growing with every kilometre as an international field representing more than 70 countries was reduced to racing for the remaining podium places. The ride required little tactical complexity — just watts, willpower and a pace no rival could match.

The South African road cyclist holds a BSc in Human Physiology from the University of Pretoria and has accumulated more than five years of racing experience in South Africa and Europe. Before joining OM.CC in 2026, he rode for French club OCC Antibes-Alpes-Maritimes. His GFNY World Championship victory marks the biggest result of his gran fondo racing career to date and offers perhaps the strongest evidence yet that fondos can provide a legitimate second chapter for riders who fall short of the WorldTour.

The victory seals a third consecutive GFNY World Championship title for the Cuneo-based Italian squad. In 2025, Matteo Raimondi won the men’s title in 03:34:09 after a three-man sprint to the line, defeating former Tour de France stage winner Jan Bakelants and Mexico’s Luis Enrique Lemus Davila, while OM.CC’s Saure Tyffen claimed the women’s crown in 03:48:48. In 2024, Manuele Caddeo secured the men’s title for the team. All three men’s winners — Caddeo, Raimondi and now Worsdale — have raced under the OM.CC banner, the competitive arm of Italian high-end bicycle manufacturer Officine Mattio.

Worsdale’s solo effort stands apart from his predecessors’ victories. Where Raimondi prevailed in a sprint finish from a select group, Worsdale arrived alone — a different, and arguably more complete, kind of triumph.

The 14th edition of GFNY NYC ran concurrently with the third Gran Premio New York City, a UCI-sanctioned professional road race contested on the same course, with the professional peloton starting approximately ten minutes ahead of the mass-participation field.

Full results: gfny.cc/results

Photo Credit: GFNY

© 2026 Copyright Gran Fondo Daily News – All Rights Reserved