A Gran Fondo, “Big Ride”, is a long-distance amateur bike ride with origins in Italy. The format was born in 1970 for amateur cyclists who didn’t quite make it into the professional ranks, but still enjoyed racing, winning and becoming local heroes. It has since spread around the world, encouraging amateur cyclists of all abilities to participate, compete and have fun on both paved and unpaved roads.
At Gran Fondo Daily News we adhere to the Classic Italian Gran Fondo definition that includes 5 key elements: 1) Events are physically challenging, usually 50 – 100 miles in length. 2) All participants are timed and results published. 3) Events are open to all cyclists and no racing license is needed. 4) Riders start en masse. 5) Delicious food is served afterwards, often with beer, in a festive atmosphere.
Whether called a gran fondo, granfondo, gravel fondo, radmarathon, cyclosportive, sportive, ciclotourista, gravel grinder, gravel race, bike race, century or anything else, we’ve done our best to make sure events listed in the Worldwide Gran Fondo Daily News Calendar fit the Classic Italian Gran Fondo definition.
Saluti!
GRAN FONDO DAILY NEWS 