Varese delivered spectacular road race for the 2026 UEC Granfondo European Championships on Sunday, with thousands of amateur cyclists from across Europe battling for continental glory on the iconic roads of Lombardy. The championships featured two distinct race distances: a 126 km Granfondo for men aged 19-59 and women aged 19-49, while men over 60 and women over 50 contested the European titles on a shorter but 101 km Mediofondo course.
The fastest performance of the day in the Granfondo came from Italy’s Giovanni Loiscio, who claimed the men’s 19-34 European title after covering the 126 km course in 3:10:56, corresponding to an impressive average speed of 40.82 km/h.
Among the women, Italian Martina Cavallo produced the quickest Granfondo ride, securing the women’s 35-39 title in 3:44:03 at an average speed of 34.81 km/h.
On the 101 km Mediofondo course, Switzerland’s Sandro Vitali set the fastest men’s time of the championships, winning the men’s 60-64 category in 2:46:52 at 37.00 km/h.
The fastest female Mediofondo rider was Italian Michela Gorini, who captured the women’s 50-54 European title in 2:53:45 with an average speed of 35.57 km/h.
The host nation Italy enjoyed a particularly successful day, collecting multiple European titles across both the Granfondo and Mediofondo categories, while riders from Belgium, Great Britain, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany also climbed onto the top step of the podium.
2026 UEC Granfondo European Champions
Women 19-34: Victoria Stansfield (Great Britain)
Women 35-39: Martina Cavallo (Italy)
Women 40-44: Valeria Zecchetin (Italy)
Women 45-49: Nicolien Luijsterburg (Netherlands)
Women 50-54: Michela Gorini (Italy)
Women 55-59: Marijke De Smedt (Belgium)
Women 60-64: Olga Cappiello (Italy)
Women 65-69: Jeannie Longo (France)
Women 70-74: Monique Dagorn Brisseaud (France)
Women 75-79: Maria Seefried (Germany)
Men 19-34: Giovanni Loiscio (Italy)
Men 35-39: Patrick Facchini (Italy)
Men 40-44: Julien Antomarchi (France)
Men 45-49: Igor Zanetti (Italy)
Men 50-54: Paolo Calabria (Italy)
Men 55-59: Roger Devittori (Switzerland)
Men 60-64: Sandro Vitali (Switzerland)
Men 65-69: Frank Nijssen (Netherlands)
Men 70-74: Sylvain Oskwarek (France)
Men 75-79: Liberto Correas (France)
Men 80-84: Claude Janus (France)
Men 85-89: Marcel Éve (France)
