Last weekend, over 6.000 cyclists traveled to the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana to take part in the Maraton Franja BTC City, one of the biggest cycling events in the country. 3.000 of them took part in the qualifying races for the 2023 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships.
The gran fondo riders completed a 157 km course with two longer climbs and a flat final section. This made for a very close finish in the men’s race. Five riders sprinted for the podium, with Matic Grošelj (SLO) taking the win before Igor Zanetti (ITA) and Anthony Bilić (CRO) in 3:35:49.
The women’s race had a different scenario. Erika Jesenko (SLO) finished in 3:44:45, 14 minutes before the silver medalist, Lina Čepak (SLO). One minute later, British rider Lucy Deschamps took the third podium spot.
