Two weeks ahead of the 2025 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships, the first qualifier of the 2026 season, held in Varese (ITA) had its most successful edition with 3500 participants.
In the time trial on Saturday, World Champion Guillaume Seye from Belgium beated Dennis Biederer from Germany by 25 seconds with Italian Paolo Molinaroli as third at 1m21.
The female time trial win was for Alina Mylka from Poland, beating two Italians. Lucia Lisco finished as second with Silvia Milone as third at respectively 1m32 and 2m06.
The next day, the granfondo saw a complete Italian domination. Alberto Nardin from the M35-39 age category won with an impressive 5m lead to Giovanni Loiscio who outsprinted Marco Rinaldo and Luca Cavallo for second spot. The rest of the field arrived at more than 8 minutes.
The fastest female time in the granfondo was for Annalisa Prato, beating Maria Elena Palmisano by 27 seconds with Francesca Tommasi as third at 4m15.
