Gran Fondo
A Gran Fondo is a type of long-distance road bicycle 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 (start to finish) 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.
Nowadays only a handful of the largest Italian Gran Fondos have full road closures, but laws requiring riders to obey all traffic signals are more lax in Italy compared to the US.
The first few Gran Fondo events in the United States were organized in 2009, and as of 2017[update] there were over 200 events in North America. There is no official authority to certify US Grand Fondos. As a result, they come in many different varieties with some adhering very strictly to the traditional definition (often going as far as to have a full road closure), and others treating it more like a century ride where riders only compete in short timed sections and enjoy a large elaborate banquet at the finish.
The first Gran Fondo was the Nove Colli held on July 12, 1970, in Cesenatico, Italy. With chip timing becoming more popular in the 1990s, the number of Gran Fondo events grew rapidly in Italy. While many Gran Fondos came and went, a few have remained since the early years, such as Gran Fondo Cooperatori, Gran Fondo 10 Colli, Gran Fondo Felice Gimondi.
The Italian cycling federation "Federciclismo" provides rules of what makes an Italian Gran Fondo.
Similar events were soon held in other countries, most notably France, where they are called “Cyclosportive”.
Today, Gran Fondo events are held in many countries. However, not all of them follow the true Italian Gran Fondo model of a cycling marathon.
Italy
In Italy, Gran Fondos are held between February and October. A full list can be found on dalzero.it [2]. “Dal zero” means “from zero” and refers to the way Gran Fondos are usually raced: “a tutta” or “all out”, from the start.
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