The UCI Gran Fondo World Championships are the culmination of a series of mass participation cycling events in the Gran Fondo/cyclosportive tradition. Unlike the UCI Road World Championships, which are considered an elite professional event, the Gran Fondo World Championship are targeted at mass participation and cyclists not in full-time professional teams, uniting amateurs and retired professionals, dedicated club cyclists and age-group competitors. Qualification for the World Championships is achieved through participation in the UCI Gran Fondo World Series.
In 2023, for the first time they were held together with the elite road racing championships as part of the inaugural 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships. Medals will be awarded in road race and time trial, across age-group classifications. Older riders compete in Medio Fondo, a shorter version of the Gran Fondo. [1] [2]
The UCI Road World Championships Elite Men's Road Race is a one-day event for professional cyclists that takes place annually. The winner is considered the World Cycling Champion and earns the right to wear the Rainbow Jersey for a full year in road race or stage events. The event is a single 'mass start' road race with the winner being the first across the line at the completion of the full race distance. The road race is contested by riders organized by national cycling teams as opposed to commercially sponsored or trade teams, which is the standard in professional cycling.
The International Cycling Union is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland.
Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling sports include artistic cycling, cycle polo, freestyle BMX, mountain bike trials, hardcourt bike polo and cycleball. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is the world governing body for cycling and international competitive cycling events. The International Human Powered Vehicle Association is the governing body for human-powered vehicles that imposes far fewer restrictions on their design than does the UCI. The UltraMarathon Cycling Association is the governing body for many ultra-distance cycling races.
The UCI Road World Championships Elite Women's Road Race is a one-day event for professional cyclists that takes place annually. The winner is considered the World Cycling Champion and earns the right to wear the Rainbow Jersey for a full year in road race or stage events. The event is a single 'mass start' road race with the winner being the first across the line at the completion of the full race distance. The road race is contested by riders organized by national cycling teams as opposed to commercially sponsored or trade teams, which is the standard in professional cycling.
A cyclosportive, or often simply sportive, is a short to long distance, organised, mass-participation cycling event, typically held annually. The Italian term Gran Fondo is commonly used for these events in the United States, Australia and some other English-speaking countries.
Cervélo Cycles is a manufacturer of racing and track bicycles. Cervélo uses CAD, computational fluid dynamics, and wind tunnel testing at a variety of facilities including the San Diego Air and Space Technology Center, in California, US, to aid its designs. Frame materials include carbon fibre. Cervélo currently makes 5 series of bikes: the C series and R series of road bikes, the latter featuring multi-shaped, "Squoval" frame tubes; the S series of road bikes and P series of triathlon/time trial bikes, both of which feature airfoil shaped down tubes; and the T series of track bikes. In professional competition, cyclists have ridden Cervélo bicycles to victory in all three of road cycling's grand tours: the Tour de France; the Giro d'Italia; and the Vuelta a España. In 2023, Cervélo achieved a historic sweep of all three grand tours in a single year.
The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and as of 2019, a mixed team relay.
Johnny Hoogerland is a Dutch former professional cyclist, who rode professionally between 2004 and 2016 for the Van Hermet–Eurogifts, Jartazi–7Mobile, Van Vliet–EBH Elshof, Vacansoleil–DCM, Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela and Roompot–Oranje Peloton squads.
RCS Sport is a sports & media company part of RCS Group that specialises in organising and marketing sporting events. RCS organises the Giro d'Italia and other cycling races, as well as other sporting events such as the Milano Marathon. It is the second biggest organiser of cycling events behind Amaury Sport Organisation.
Rasa Leleivytė is a Lithuanian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's Continental Team Aromitalia–Basso Bikes–Vaiano.
A Gran Fondo is a type of long-distance road cycling ride originating in Italy in 1970, and roughly translates into English as "Big Ride". Italian Gran Fondos are officially defined and certified by the Italian Cycling Federation as a bicycle event at least 120 kilometres (75 mi) long, and are individually chip-timed races with prizes for the fastest riders in each category. The starts are done en masse, and the format allows for riders of every level to participate, much like a marathon, where most participants are competing against the clock instead of other participants. Traditionally a large meal is served to the participants at the end of the event, and roads are shut down.
Levi Leipheimer's King Ridge GranFondo is a mass participation bicycle ride held each year in Sonoma County, California. Currently, the event draws 7500 professional and amateur athletes from all 50 US states and from six continents. Sonoma County resident and former professional cyclist Levi Leipheimer founded the ride in 2009.
Michael (Mick) William Cusack is an Irish international racing cyclist, author and speaker. He competed as a member of the Irish national cycle racing team from 1974–1978 and also at the Gran Fondo World Championships in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Ilaria Sanguineti is an Italian professional racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's Continental Team Valcar–Travel & Service.
Anna Turvey is a racing cyclist competing for Ireland. She holds the Irish National records for the 10 miles, 25 miles and 50 miles individual time trials.
Eneicat–CMTeam is a professional cycling team which competes in elite road bicycle racing events such as the UCI Women's World Tour. The team was established in 2018, registering with the UCI for the 2019 season.
Ruby Roseman-Gannon is an Australian professional cyclist riding for UCI Women's WorldTeam Liv AlUla Jayco. She won the Australian National Road Championship in 2024 and the Australian National Criterium Championship in 2022 and 2024. She was the overall winner of Australia's National Road Series in 2021.
The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships was the inaugural edition of the UCI Cycling World Championships organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), held between 3 and 13 August 2023 in Glasgow.
The UCI Cycling World Championships is the multi-discipline world championship event for cycle sports, organised by its governing body the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). It brings together the individual cycling disciplines, which hold separate UCI World Championships events, to be held as part of one event every 4 years; these disciplines will also continue to hold separate annual world championship events outside of the planned quadrennial editions. The inaugural edition was held in 2023, and further editions are to be held in the year preceding the Olympic Games.
The 2023 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships were the culmination of a series of mass participation cycling events in the Gran Fondo/cyclosportive tradtition held across Scotland between 4 and 7 August 2023, predominantly in Perth, Scotland. Unlike the UCI Road World Championships, which are considered an elite professional event, the Gran Fondo World Championships are targeted at mass participation and cyclists not in full-time professional teams, uniting amateurs and retired professionals, dedicated club cyclists and age-group competitors.